The Wedding March - 1928 film #11

Director: Erich Von Stroheim

Writing: Harry Carr, Erich Von Stroheim 

Cinematography: Roy H. Klaffki, Ray Rennahan (Technicolor Camera) 

Editing: Frank E. Hull, Erich Von Stroheim, Josef Von Sternberg, and Paul Weatherwax.

Players: Erich Von Stroheim (Nicki/Prince Nickolas), Fay Wray (Mitzi), Matthew Betz (Schani - The Butcher), ZaSu Pitts (Cecelia Schweisser), George Fawcett (Prince Ottokar), Maude George (Princess Maria), George Nichols (Fortunat Schweisser), Dale Fuller (Mitzi's mother), Hughie Mack (The Wine Grower), Cesare Gravina (Mitzi's Father), Sidney Bracey (Navratil), Anton Vaverka (Emporer Franz Josef)  

Paramount Production 

“In its entirety an Erich von Stroheim creation.”  - (With Erich Von Stroheim lol at poster) just in case we missed his name on all the major opening credits, we get a courtesy reminder.

Length: 1 Hour and 52 Minutes 

(Erich Von Stroheim reminisces about pre WW1 Vienna) - "One day when I was homesick I felt physically ill.  It is not because I do not love my adopted land -- it is the natural feeling of one far from home, who remembers those happy, carefree days when life flowed at full tide, without responsibility, flashing past one like the drama in a fascinating story of adventure and romance...  How beautiful were the Viennese women -- like magnolia blossom -- and the flowers and music and perfume, and uniforms covered with gold braid!  I can see it all just by closing my eyes -- a panorama of life lived each day at its highest tempo; each morning bursting with all the freshness of a new appleblossom; each night a dream of waltzes, music and joyousness; a Paradise on earth destined to perish like a butterfly at sunset."

The Wedding March tells the story of Prince Nicki (Stroheim); a penniless prince who falls in love with a lower class girl named Mitzi (Wray), but nevertheless chooses to marry another girl named Cecelia (ZaSu) for money. Prince Nicki becomes swayed by the idea of having millions and allows his greed to over power his true love, so he goes down the aisle a fraud. This familiar plot of love vs. the divide between social classes has been put to the screen loads of times, often in comedy, Arthur comes to mind. But here in Erich Von Stroheim’s story, there is no happy ending. I think what drives people to separate this from other spins of melodrama or other films with a similar tale and mark this as the masterpiece, is that it’s been put onto the screen in such an unprecedented fashion which makes it stand out. Stroheim's movies belong in a class of their own. 

I view The Wedding March as a timeless melodramatic love story with all the Stroheim trimmings that make his films unique. It's an honest story, Stroheim chooses to display his aristocrats as vulgar and the poor as mean and both classes are about as greedy as each other.

(Above is Fay Wray as Mitzi)The films opening line "Love** without thee marriage is a sacrilege and mockery" is basically the theme of the film and is obviously pointed out to us throughout the film, which is a good thing. I mean this being a silent film broad story telling is what keeps us engaged since no one can speak.  I've come to expect the unexpected when watching a Erich Von Stroheim film for the first time, especially being used to watching American films that followed the rules by sticking to studio policy. Erich Von Stroheim notoriously didn't follow the rules, and his 1924 film Greed is a prime example of his maverick take on film making, his own final cut of the film was 8-9 hours long, and this was exactly how he wanted it to be shown to audiences. But at a length that could of been made into four separate films the studios had no choice but to cut the film to 2.5hours. When Stroheim saw this cut of the film he said it was like viewing "a corpse in a graveyard". The film has since been restored but not to the same Film Stroheim created. 

Four years after Greed was released Sroheim was still working to the beat of his own drum. The Wedding March was intended to be much longer than its 113 minutes. It was cut in half before release and luckily instead of the trashing half of it, the film was used in The Wedding March's sequel called The Honeymoon. Sadly the only known print was burnt in fire in 1950.

(Above Erich Von  Stroheim and his Mama played by Maude George).The Film begins on the morning of corpus christi, in 1914 pre war vienna. Its anything but a glorious morning when we enter the bedroom of Princess Maria and Prince Ottakar Wildeliebe-Rauffenburg. We are introduced to the married couple as Prince Ottakar is wearing a mustache protector tightly worn around his face looking like a surgical patient and Princess Maria looking not much better, the two greet each other with the routine morning bicker "You Ugly Fool"  and his reply  "If you could only see yourself". 

In the next bedroom is their "love child" Prince Nicki. He is immediately shown as a playboy as he sneaks a kiss with the maid while still in bed. Nicki is in a "terrible hole", broke from spending all his money on "fancy" ladies and extravagant parties he goes to his father to tell him about his money troubles in hopes for a handout. "Blow out your brains,  - or Marry Money" are his fathers suggestions. He isn't thrilled by either option, but thats until he goes to his mother who tells him again to Marry Money. Convinced by his parents there is no other alternative he allows his mother to arrange the marriage, his mother finds the potential bride in Cecelia Schweisser, heiress to her father's large fortune.As the city waits for the procession to begin, out on the streets Prince Nicki is in full uniform gallivanting on his horse amongst the crowd. Mitzi, a poor inn keeper’s daughter spots Nicki and is immediately taken by him. For an extended amount of time the two make eyes at each other, smiling and giving little hand gestures to know if either are married. Accompanied by Mitzi in the crowd are her mother and Schani, an aggressive grease ball butcher. Mitzi is not at all taken by Schani, much to her mother’s dismay; she wants her to marry Schani for money and doesn’t want anything getting in the way of that happening. Prince Nicki is attracted to Mitzi’s innocents and beauty, although by no means is he about to restrain his corruption of her. Mitzi in turn is taken by Nicki’s charm and nobility, given she was groomed by her mother to stick to suitors with money.

(Above are scenes cut from the wedding march and put into its sequel The Honeymoon with ZaSu Pitts and Stroheim). After Mitzi takes a fall in the stampede of people awaiting the procession, Nicki visits the injured Mitzi in hospital bringing her a gift of extravagant chocolate, the kind only the rich can enjoy. The two then arrange to go on their first date. The scene between Nicki and Mitzi sitting under the appleblossom is the loveliest, where the couple show a genuine love for each other. Something they both would have thought to be impossible, after all they were both brought up by immoral parents with insatiable greed, and surrounded by crooked people. The film never returns to such a scene. Prince Nicki’s mother Princess Maria (who looks as though she was born at the same time as her son) seduces Nicki into going ahead with the marriage. As the wedding takes place Mitzi and Schani are in the crowd, and I can assure you there is no heroic interruption on the marriage, the ending folds as a major tear jerker. Mitzi is crying hysterically in the crowd as her future husband Schani forces her to watch her love ride away with his bride. The Bride, Cecelia asks “who was that sweet girl in tears, and that awful looking man?” Prince Nicki replies “how do I know I never saw them before”. He goes his way, leaving Mitzi to marry a despicable human being. And they all live unhappily ever after.

Stroheim was a stickler for detail, making everything seem totally realistic, bringing to life the old Vienna he was always pining for. He pulled a great cast together for this production: ZaSu Pitts as the bride to be, she has a few brief scenes that show her character to be genuinely kind. It would be so great to see her character grow, if it were only possible to see The Honeymoon! Damn flammable nitrate. Stroheim "the man you love to hate" got that name by always playing villains in his earlier career, throwing babies out of windows, that sort of thing, here you don't hate him so much. Still he is kind of sleazy, that being the way he approached his roles in his own films. Fay Wray who became a star because of her role as Mitzi, she was only 19 when she played the part. She is really fantastic here, delivers a downright believable emotional performance. 

When I saw Stroheims earlier movie Foolish Wives (1922) I found it kind of prolonged which lead me to space out while viewing some of it, didn't excite or engage me. Don't give me wrong it has its good points, one being it has a great plot, but there were too many scenes that seemed like there was little if any point to them and if they weren't there it would have made the plot tighter. Point is I think The Wedding March is a much superior Erich Von Stroheim audience friendly film.