| What a Widow! | |
|---|---|
 Lobby card | |
| Directed by | Allan Dwan Dudley Murphy (uncredited) James Seymour (uncredited) |
| Screenplay by | James Gleason James Seymour |
| Story by | Josephine Lovett |
| Produced by | Gloria Swanson Joseph P. Kennedy Allan Dwan |
| Starring | Gloria Swanson Owen Moore Lew Cody |
| Cinematography | George Barnes |
| Edited by | Viola Lawrence |
| Music by | Hugo Felix Josiah Zuro |
Production company | Gloria Productions |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
What a Widow! is a 1930 Americanpre-Code musicalromantic comedy film directed byAllan Dwan and produced by and starringGloria Swanson. The music was written byVincent Youmans. It was distributed throughUnited Artists.[1] 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 byJoseph 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.[2] Due to the public's backlash against musicals, United Artists downplayed the fact that the film was a musical, removed references toVincent Youmans and his songs and advertised the film as a romantic comedy.
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.
Two 35mm negatives of the film are housed at the George Eastman Museum.[3] The soundtrack is preserved at theUCLA Film and Television Archive, and the trailer is preserved at theLibrary of Congress.[4][5]
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