Oh... Rosalinda!!
Encyclopedia
Oh... Rosalinda!! is a film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
. The film stars Michael Redgrave
, Mel Ferrer
, Anthony Quayle
, dancer Ludmilla Tchérina
and Anton Walbrook
and features Dennis Price
.
The film is based on the operetta Die Fledermaus
(The Bat) by Johann Strauss
, but updated to take place in post-war Vienna
as occupied by the four Allied powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the U.S.S.R. The music, played by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
under conductor Alois Melichar, has new lyrics by Dennis Arundell, and professional singers dubbed for some of the actors. The choreography is by Alfred Rodrigues, and the production was designed by Hein Heckroth
.
Oh... Rosalinda!! is a light-hearted Technicolor
romp that makes full use of the new CinemaScope
process, and is not just a film of a staged production but a filmic operetta.
), plays a practical joke on British Colonel Eisenstein (Michael Redgrave
) and his flirtatious wife Rosalinda (Ludmilla Tcherina
) at a masked ball.
Cast notes:
in Boreham Wood, Hertfordshire
and on location in London.
Powell and Pressburger had suffered through four box office disappointments in a row before this film, which is one reason that Bing Crosby
, Maurice Chevalier
and Orson Welles
were approached about playing the roles of Alfred, Eisenstein and Orlovsky – however Oh... Rosalinda!! was not commercially successful.
Powell and Pressburger
The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers, made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1981 they were recognized for their contributions to British cinema with the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the most prestigious...
. The film stars Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
, Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Early life:Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, of Catalan and Irish descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer , was born in Cuba, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St....
, Anthony Quayle
Anthony Quayle
Sir John Anthony Quayle, CBE was an English actor and director.-Early life:Quayle was born in Ainsdale, Southport, in Lancashire to a Manx family....
, dancer Ludmilla Tchérina
Ludmilla Tchérina
Ludmilla Tchérina was a French prima ballerina, sculptor, actress, painter, choreographer and author of two novels....
and Anton Walbrook
Anton Walbrook
Anton Walbrook, born was an Austrian actor who settled in the United Kingdom.- Life :...
and features Dennis Price
Dennis Price
Dennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
.
The film is based on the operetta Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
(The Bat) by Johann Strauss
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
, but updated to take place in post-war Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
as occupied by the four Allied powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the U.S.S.R. The music, played by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
-History:In 1900, Ferdinand Löwe founded the orchestra as the Wiener Concertverein . In 1913 it moved into the Konzerthaus, Vienna. In 1919 it merged with the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In 1933 it acquired its current name...
under conductor Alois Melichar, has new lyrics by Dennis Arundell, and professional singers dubbed for some of the actors. The choreography is by Alfred Rodrigues, and the production was designed by Hein Heckroth
Hein Heckroth
German art director Hein Heckroth began his career working with the German national ballet...
.
Oh... Rosalinda!! is a light-hearted Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
romp that makes full use of the new CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
process, and is not just a film of a staged production but a filmic operetta.
Plot
In postwar Vienna, a playboy American officer, Capt. Alfred Westerman (Mel FerrerMel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Early life:Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, of Catalan and Irish descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer , was born in Cuba, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St....
), plays a practical joke on British Colonel Eisenstein (Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
) and his flirtatious wife Rosalinda (Ludmilla Tcherina
Ludmilla Tchérina
Ludmilla Tchérina was a French prima ballerina, sculptor, actress, painter, choreographer and author of two novels....
) at a masked ball.
Cast
Singing voices:
|
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Cast notes:
- Roy KinnearRoy KinnearRoy Mitchell Kinnear was an English character actor. He is best remembered for playing Veruca Salt's father, Mr. Salt, in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.-Early life:...
is listed in the cast, but no role is specified.
Production
Oh... Rosalinda was filmed at Elstree StudiosElstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
in Boreham Wood, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
and on location in London.
Powell and Pressburger had suffered through four box office disappointments in a row before this film, which is one reason that Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
and Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
were approached about playing the roles of Alfred, Eisenstein and Orlovsky – however Oh... Rosalinda!! was not commercially successful.
External links
- Oh... Rosalinda!! reviews and articles at the Powell & Pressburger Pages. Full synopsis and film stills (and clips viewable from UK libraries).