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Erich von Stroheim's THE MERRY WIDOW 1925 Mae Murray & John Gilbert Title Card
$ 396
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Description
Vintage original 11 x 14 in. (28 x 35 cm.) US title lobby cardfrom the classic 1920's silent film drama/romance,
THE MERRY WIDOW
, released in 1925 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and
directed by Erich von Stroheim
. Adapted from the musical comedy by
Viktor LĂ©on and Leo Stein, a
prince (John Gilbert) must woo the now-wealthy dancer (Mae Murray) he once abandoned in order to keep her money in the country in order to keep it from crashing economically. The cast includes Roy D'Arcy, Josephine Crowell, George Fawcett, Tully Marshall, Edward Connelly, Gertrude Bennett, and Sidney Bracey.
The designed features beautiful artwork of Sally O'Neal (
Mae Murray
) and Prince Danilo Petrovich (
John Gilbert
) in a passionate embrace above the border art, which depicts four officers saluting their Prince. It is unrestored in very good condition with a large pinhole in the top left corner that was reinforced with archival tape on the verso; pinholes in the bottom corners and a small chip and signs of wear on the bottom left corner; and scattered light spotting and smudging across the entire card. The color tints are fresh and vibrant without any signs of fading.
The Merry Widow
is considered a classic silent film and one of the best of the genre--and slso one of the most notorious because of its tempestuous production. The problems von Stroheim caused during production, particularly with star Mae Murray (whose temper was equal to his) and with MGM executive Irving Thalberg, were such that this would be the last film he would direct for MGM. It was also one of the most expensive and decadent films of the silent era, and the infamous champagne-fueled orgy scene (one of the film's most expensive scenes to shoot) featuring numerous undressed chorus girls had to be severely cut for censorship reasons. Shot in 1924, newcomers Joan Crawford and Clark Gable reportedly appeared as extras. The film was remade twice by MGM
in later years.