The Great Ziegfeld - Definition and Overview

The Great Ziegfeld is a 1936 film. Although Florenz Ziegfeld's life provides a plot thread for this movie, it's really meant to showcase a series of spectacular musical productions. The film includes original music by Walter Donaldson and Irving Berlin. In its cast were William Powell (as Ziegfeld), Myrna Loy (as Ziegfeld's wife Billie Burke), Luise Rainer (as the actress Anna Held), Nat Pendleton (as strongman Eugen Sandow), Frank Morgan and Virginia Bruce. Ziegfeld performers Fanny Brice and Ray Bolger played themselves. Dennis Morgan, in an uncredited role, performed the song "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody".

The movie won three Oscars:

• Academy Award for Best Picture - Hunt Stromberg, producer
• Academy Award for Best Actress - Luise Rainer
• Academy Award for Best Dance Direction - Seymour Felix - For "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody".

It was nominated for an additional four:

• Academy Award for Best Art Direction - Cedric Gibbons, Eddie Imazu and Edwin B. Willis
• Academy Award for Directing - Robert Z. Leonard
• Academy Award for Film Editing - William S. Gray
• Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay - William Anthony McGuire