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Merry-Go-Round (1923 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Merry-Go-Round' is a 1923 American feature film directed by Erich von Stroheim (uncredited) and Rupert Julian, starring Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin, and released by Universal Pictures.Koszarski, 1983 p. 110: Universal had removed [von Stroheims] name from all credits.[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/M/MerryGoRound1923.html Progressive Silent Film List: 'Merry-Go-Round'] at silentera.com A copy of the film is held in a collection and it has been released on DVD.
Plot
As described in a film magazine, Count Franz Maxmilian (Kerry), a happy-go-lucky, irresponsible count, is attached to the Austrian court of Emperor Francis Joseph (Vaverka) and by the Emperors mandate is affianced to Gisella (Wallace), the daughter of the Minister of War and a woman he does not love. Having by chance met the innocent little organ-grinder Agnes (Philbin), a peasant toiling in Viennas amusement park, representing a type of womanhood with which he is totally unfamiliar, he experiences a strong attraction. By the dictates of court etiquette, the hated union is solemnized. The organ-grinder, not knowing that the admirer is a member of royalty, believes he has deserted her. War is declared, and the unhappy remorse-stricken count goes to the front. During hostilities, his unloved royal spouse dies. The count later returns, renounces his title, and marries the little organ-grinder.
Cast
*Norman Kerry as Count Franz Maxmilian Von Hohenegg
*Mary Philbin as Agnes Urban
*Dale Fuller as Marianka Huber
*Maude George as Madame Elvira
*Cesare Gravina as Sylvester Urban
*Edith Yorke as Ursula Urban
*George Hackathorne as Bartholomew Gruber
*Al Edmundson as Nepomuck Navrital, the Count's manservant
*Spottiswoode Aitken as Minister of War / Gisella's Father
*Dorothy Wallace as Countess Gisella Von Steinbruck
*Albert Edmondson as Nepomuck Navrital (credited as Al Edmondson)
*Albert Conti as Rudi / Baron von Leightsinn
*Charles King as Nicki (credited as Charles L. King)
*Fenwick Oliver as Eitel
*Sidney Bracey as Gisella's Groom
*Anton Vaverka as Emperor Francis Joseph
*Maude George as Madame Elvira
*Helen Broneau as Jane
*Jane Sherman as Maria
*Gene Roth as Guard (credited as Eugene H. Roth)
*Sadie Campbell as Crying Girl - Clown Scene (uncredited)
*Tommy Hicks as Fat Boy - Clown Scene (uncredited)
*Ella McKenzie as Crying Fat Girl - Clown Scene (uncredited)
*Jack Murphy as Boy in Crowd - Clown Scene (uncredited)
*Rolfe Sedan as Minor Role (uncredited)
*
Pre-Production
Paul Kohner, Universals manager for overseas publicity approached von Stroheim following the success of Blind Husbands (1919) with several proposals for the directors next project. The 20-year-old Kohner, a highly literate and sophisticated Bavarian migr shared a nostalgia for Europe with the working-class von Stroheim, The topic of pre-war Vienna stirred von Stroheims memories of his childhood and youth. A story began to take shape with the central themes built around the Prater, Viennas world famous amusement park and its main attraction, the Merry-Go-Round, from which the films title is taken.Koszarski, 1983 p. 91: Von Stroheim knew exactly what he wanted to do next: rebuild the Vienna that had disappeared forever after World War I.Kindley, 2009
Producer Irving Thalberg encouraged von Stroheim to proceed with writing the script, but with a caveat fully establishing Thalbergs oversight: von Stroheim was not to be part of the cast in the production, a condition that would provide Thalberg and Universal with the option of replacing von Stroheim as director in the midst of filming, without the expense of recasting and reshooting his character. Von Stroheim and his agent consented to this provision reluctantly.Koszarski, 1983 pp. 90-91: ...Thalberg was implicitly threatening his with removal from the production if things began to get out of hand as had occurred during the filming of Foolish Wives. And p. 92: Thalbergs ability to remove him as director must have been a chilling blow to the confidence that he had established with Universal since 1919.
Thalberg carefully vetted von Stroheims screenplay submissions, ultimately paying the director $5000 for the collaboratively written scenario. In order to circumvent von Stroheims excessive use of film stock in a script calling for almost one thousand scenes, Thalberg insisted that each scene be limited by pre-timed estimates in continuity, to ensure the picture emerged at an acceptable length.Koszarski, 1983 pp. 91-92, p. 93: ...a 976 scene version of the script approved by von Stroheim.
Production
'Merry-Go-Round' went into production on 25 August 1922. On 6 October 1922, after six weeks, Universal removed director Von Stroheim from the project and immediately replaced him with director Rupert Julian. Shooting was completed on 8 January 1923.
The production, from the beginning, was fraught with internecine struggles pitting Universal executives against Von Stroheim and his technical assistants over content, scheduling and budgetary control of the film.Koszarski, 1983 p. 92: The film preparations went forward in an atmosphere of uneasy truce Universal unit production manager for the film, James Winnard Hum, serving as proxy for head of production Thalberg, was daily on the set and in direct communication with Von Stroheim and his advisors. Mutual recriminations and accusations of bad faith abounded on both sides. Von Stroheim cultivated a them vs. us atmosphere among his staff and workers, most of whom were loyalists enlisted from his recently completed 'Foolish Wives'.Koszarski, 1983 pp. 101-102: The von Stroheim production unit was carried over directly from Foolish Wives And: Thalberg sent down his unit production manager Hull and gave him full authority over all expenses and details of physical production[von Stroheim] never took [Hums authority] seriously [and] ignored the managers presence. And p. 104: Von Stroheims general air of disrespect for...the studio hierarchy and referring to Hum as a stool pigeon while on the set. Production manager Hum felt that von Stroheim was stalling on portions of the filming in order to assert his control over the shooting schedule.Koszarski, 1983 p. 103: Koszarski reports that Hum suspected von Stroheim of conspiring with his costume man Ned Lambert delayed delivery of uniforms to stop filming.
Von Stroheim felt confident that an appeal to Universal president Carl Laemmle would resolve the matter in his favor, curbing Thalbergs authority, an expectation of which he was quickly disabused.Koszarski, 1983 p. 104: Von Strohiem kept promising wholesale retribution against production managers after consultation with Carl Laemmle. And p. ...Laemmle had already made his decision to remove von Stroheim from Merry-Go-Round. And p. 107: Von Strohiem confronted Laemmle with his arguments, but now it was Thalberg who was irreplaceable.
After a number of delays in filming, including the derailment of a prop streetcar, the overloading of the studio electrical system due to excessive night shooting, an inebriated lead man (Norman Kerry), the general disaffection of the extras, and delays caused by a search for an appropriate orangutan, the upper echelon at Universal mobilized against von Strohiem. Thalberg was authorized to terminate von Stroheim as director. Biographer Richard Koszarski offers an excerpt from Thalbergs notification to von Stohiem:Koszarski, 1983 pp. 103-105 And p. ...practically the entire top echelon of the studio [personally] announced von Stroheims departure to the cast and crew.
Upon von Stroheims departure, Universal instantly replaced him with Rupert Julian. The production proceeded with most of von Strohiems crew and cast intact but some expressions of discontent at von Strohiems departure.Koszarski, 1983 p. 109: ...few of von Stroheims people abandoned the film when he was dismissed. And: Director Julian reported varying degrees of antagonism from von Stroheim sympathizers who stayed with the production.
The question as to the relative contributions to 'Merry-Go-Round' from von Stroheim and Julian remain in dispute. Based on testimony by Hum, Louis Germonprez (von Strohiems business manager) and von Stroheim agreed that about a third of the scenes had been completed by von Stroheim. Thalberg and Julian reported that about 25% had been completed (271 scenes). Though Julians contribution appears to have closely followed the original script, few of the von Stroheim-directed scenes were incorporated into the picture.Koszarski, 1983 p. 108-109: How much of the film [is von Stroheims, in concept if not in execution] has long been debated And p. 110: ...a look at the script shows that Julian followed von Strohiems continuity like a blueprint. And p. 110: ...few von Strohiem-directed directed scenes remain in the picture[but] Julian stayed remarkably close to von Stroheims original ideas.
Theme
'Merry-Go-Round' represents the earliest appearance of a female protagonist as the center of interest in a von Stroheim film, a significant departure from the centrality of the male Prussian officer and pseudo-aristocrat that von Stroheim himself had made infamous as the man you love to hate. Though not fully realized in this film, his tentative shift in focus from the seducer to the victim marks a new phase in von Stroheims career. The character of Count Maximilian (Norman Kerry) is presented as less a caricature of a nobleman than an individual capable of dramatic maturation, another shift that distinguishes 'Merry-Go-Round'. Heroine Agnes Urbans (Mary Philbin) emotional struggles are examined with empathy, marking the first time von Stroheim creates a dramatically successful female, an indication of a general shift in his interest.Koszarski, 1983 pp. 97-98
Von Stroheims nostalgic recreation of Viennas Belle poque serves as a sentimental tribute to the Hapsburg monarchy and its ancien regime, both of which suffered social and economic collapse during World War I. Despite acknowledging the decadence and abuses of the Austrian ruling class, 'Merry-Go-Round' presents their decline and fall with regret.
Von Strohiems obsession with minute details and rituals reveals more than von Stroheims concern with the precise cinematic depiction of props, but a tribute to Austrian aristocratic social order, whose military echelon he portrayed with dignity and fidelity. Von Stroheim arranged for the transportation of the original royal carriage of the deceased Emperor Franz Joseph to Hollywood for use in the film. More than a relic from the Hapsburg dynasty, it serves as a tribute to the lost Austrian Empire.Koszarski, 1983 p. 99
Reception
Despite the fact that von Strohiems name had been expunged from the credits, viewers who attended the premiere at New Yorks Rivoli Theater were well aware that he had conceived, if not executed, 'Merry-Go-Round'. Reviews were mixed, but the picture was ranked the years second best film by 'The Film Daily'.Koszarski, 1983 p. 108: concept was von Strohiems And p. 110: Von Stroheims name had been removed from all credits.
The film was the eighth most successful that year at the box office in the United States and Canada.Rentals in US and Canada - see 'Variety' list of box office champions for 1923
References
Sources
*Kindley, 2009. 'Merry-Go-Round: Rupert Julian and Erich von Stroheim.' Image Entertainment DVD. http://www.notcoming.com/reviews/merrygoround Retrieved 30 August 2020
*Koszarski, Richard. 1983. 'The Man You Loved to Hate: Erich von Stroheim and Hollywood.' Oxford University Press.
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