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This 1936 Best Picture Oscar® winner is every bit extravagant as its subject: theatrical empresario Florence Ziegfeld, Jr. Said Newsweek, “it carries on his tradition of superlatives: the most expensive actors, the best dancers, the most beautiful girls…“ William Powell gives one of his most acclaimed performances as the legendary Ziegfeld. Joining him are other stars from the MGM constellation: Myrna Loy (Powell‘s partner in The Thin Man series), Luise Rainer (the portrayal that won her the first of two consecutive Oscars®), The Wizard of Oz’s Frank Morgan and Ray Bolger, and, in a rare screen appearance, the legendary Ziegfeld star Fannie Brice (whose life story would later become the stage and movie hit Funny Girl). Of course, it wouldn’t be Ziegfeld without a parade of tunes (more than 20!), Showgirls (more than 300!) and dazzling set pieces. Most spectacular of all is the massive “wedding cake“ sequence said to Irving Berlin’s “A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody“. No applause was added to the soundtrack of this scene. Live audiences, provided plenty… and still do!

Description

Marion Davies stars in this pre-code comedy as Joyce Stanton, who becomes the unsuspecting subject of scandal after being wrongly assumed pregnant. She soon finds the gossip helps her sidestep an unwanted marriage to a wealthy suitor. As whispers spread and assumptions multiply, the misunderstanding plays out, with increasingly comic results. Under Robert Z. Leonard's direction, this film showcases Davies' impeccable comic timing, as small-town morality is turned upside down and laughter ensues.

Description

Like the arrows she launches at an archery target during an elegant lawn party, Elizabeth Bennet's wit is pointed and unerring. "If you want to be really refined, you have to be dead," she says, skewering the imperious airs of her hosts. Jane Austen's timeless 1813 novel of unlikely romance is richly adapted in this lavish Academy Award winner.* Greer Garson portrays spirited Elizabeth, one of five Bennet sisters hoping for matrimony. Laurence Olivier plays Darcy, whose arrival at a nearby estate sets maiden hearts aflutter. But first impressions can mean so very much. Elizabeth and Darcy find reasons to view each other with disdain, setting in motion a velvet struggle of Pride and Prejudice, perception and reality, forgiveness and love. You'll be irresistibly caught up in it.