The Merry Widow

Jeanette MacDonald is Sonia, a bubbly widow who owns 52% of every cow and cow town in the tiny European country of Marshovia. When she relocates to glittery Paris, suave ladies' man Captain Danilo (Maurice Chevalier) sets out in how pursuit. His mission: avert his homeland's financial ruin by bringing Sonia back on the wings of love. But hang on tight, Danilo. Love always flies a delirious course when helmed by legendary director Ernst Lubitsch, known for his sophisticated wit and style affectionately dubbed 'the Lubitsch touch.' A frothy, high-spirited gem based on Franz Lehar's operetta, The Merry Widow set the standard for musicals to come. And it confirmed what MGM's top brass already knew: Jeanette MacDonald was a major new star. Filled with rapturous music, sparkling dialogue -- courtesy of screenwriters Ernest Vajda and Samson Raphaelson -- and the swirling 'Merry Widow Waltz.' You'll have to look far and wide for a better comedy operetta than this.