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What a Widow!

{{short description|1930 film}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}

{{infobox film

| name = What a Widow!

| image = File:What a Widow poster.jpg

| caption = Lobby card

| director = Allan Dwan
Dudley Murphy (uncredited)
James Seymour (uncredited)

| producer = Gloria Swanson
Joseph P. Kennedy
Allan Dwan

| screenplay = James Gleason
James Seymour

| story = Josephine Lovett

| starring = Gloria Swanson
Owen Moore
Lew Cody

| music = Hugo Felix
Josiah Zuro

| cinematography = George Barnes

| editing = Viola Lawrence

| studio = Gloria Productions

| distributor = United Artists

| released = {{Film date|1930|08|13}}

| runtime = 88 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

}}

What a Widow! is a 1930 American pre-Code musical romantic comedy film directed by Allan Dwan and produced by and starring Gloria Swanson. The music was written by Vincent Youmans. It was distributed through United Artists.{{cite book|last1=Shearer|first1=Stephen Michael|title=Gloria Swanson: The Ultimate Star|year=2013|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1-250-01366-8|pages=445|last2=Basinger |first2=Jeanine }} Although rumored to have been lost for decades, the film is extant in two complete 35mm copies at the George Eastman Museum.

The film was produced by Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. It received generally positive reviews and was noted for its animated title sequence created by William Dietz, but was met with indifferent returns at the box office mainly due to the backlash against musical films late in 1930.{{harv|Shearer|Basinger|2013|pp=1673–1674}} Due to the public's backlash against musicals, United Artists downplayed the fact that the film was a musical, removed references to Vincent Youmans and his songs and advertised the film as a romantic comedy.

File:What a Widow lobby card.jpg, Gregory Gaye, Gloria Swanson, and Owen Moore.]]

Cast

Music

The film features three songs with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by J. Russel Robinson and George Waggner. The songs are titled "Love Is Like a Song," "Say 'Oui' Cheri" and "You're the One" and were all sung by Gloria Swanson in the film. Gloria Swansons also recorded the songs for Victor Records. Due to the public's backlash against musicals the recordings were not released however.

Preservation status

Two 35mm negatives of the film are housed at the George Eastman Museum.https://collections.eastman.org/objects/314889/what-a-widow?ctx=4a105de9-9809-4526-a5fe-14802478e02d&idx=389 ; https://collections.eastman.org/objects/314890/what-a-widow?ctx=4a105de9-9809-4526-a5fe-14802478e02d&idx=390 The soundtrack is preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and the trailer is preserved at the Library of Congress.{{cite book|last=Lombardi|first=Frederic|title=Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios|year=2013|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-786-43485-5|page=180}}Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collections and The United Artist Collections at The Library of Congress [trailer only]. p. 206. c.1978 by the American Film Institute

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{commons category|What a Widow}}

  • {{IMDb title|0021545}}
  • [https://gswanson.weebly.com/what-a-widow.html Stills] at Glorious Gloria Swanson website
  • [https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/gloria-swanson-center-stars-in-the-1930-film-what-a-widow-news-photo/517478818#/gloria-swanson-center-stars-in-the-1930-film-what-a-widow-picture-id517478818 Still] at gettyimages.com

{{Allan Dwan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:What a Widow!}}

Category:1930 films

Category:1930 romantic comedy films

Category:American black-and-white films

Category:Films directed by Allan Dwan

Category:American independent films

Category:1930s independent films

Category:United Artists films

Category:1930s American films

Category:1930s English-language films

Category:English-language romantic comedy films

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