Sinfonia nuziale

A sweet, sweet film full of apple blossoms, parades, and Miss Wray's delight at being bought a box of chocolates ... absolutely wonderful ... despite Nicki and Mitzi being perhaps the oddest odd couple you could find, it somehow works. Lingers in the mind a long time after viewing. Highly recommended.

Von Stroheim stars as Austrian nobleman Nickolas von Wildeliebe-Rauffenberg. His family wants him to marry Cecelia Schweisser (Zasu Pitts), the crippled daughter of a wealthy business magnate. But Nicki meets the beautiful Mitzi (Fay Wray), a farm girl and harp player of low birth. Mitzi is being pursued by the loutish butcher Schani (Matthew Betz), but her heart pines for the dashing Nicki. Can their love survive the pullback from society?

Stroheim lavishes the screen with ornate costumes and settings that threaten to overwhelm the meager narrative. There's even a lengthy Technicolor segment showing a parade full of pomp and majesty. Wray is very good, sensual yet innocent at the same time. Pitts also manages to elicit pathos from a role that could easily have been a one-note villain. Stroheim encountered his usual post-production problems, and multiple editors were brought in to work on the film, including Josef von Sternberg. Some consider this a masterpiece, whereas I found it good, though not exceptionally so.

The plot and storyline of "The Wedding March" has been done before. Rich boy meets poor girl, rich boy gives up poor girl to marry rich girl - similar to "The Student Prince" without music. Erich von Stroheim looks very young as the prince, Fay Wray looks very pretty as the poor girl, and Zasu Pitts looks like Zasu Pitts as the rich girl. No bad acting performances in this picture as the cast are all very competent. I'm passing on a recap as every reviewer gives one.

What sets "The Wedding March" apart are the sets and the costumes. Scene after scene is meticulously staged for optimum effect, and apparently no expense was spared on either props or costumes. This is part of the reason von Stroheim ran into problems with the heads of several studios, as he usually went way over budget, incurring the wrath of many producers. It is rumored that, for instance, he would insist that extras wear underwear with a royal monogram in his period pieces so that all concerned would feel intimately connected to the production!

Erich von Stroheim directs himself in the lead in this silent film from 1928.The Wedding March tells about Prince Nicki (von Stroheim) who has to marry money.That is his parents' order.Cecelia Schweisser (Zasu Pitts) is one with money so he ought to marry her.But Nicki has fell in love with someone else.That someone is inn-keeper's daughter Mitzi Schrammell (Fay Wray).And she ought to marry the nasty butcher Schani (Matthew Betz).Who gets who in the end? Watch the movie and find out.Erich von Stroheim knew how to make good movies.As a filmmaker he was a perfectionist so maybe that's the reason why the result was so good.The lovely leading lady is the gorgeous Fay Wray who went on and starred King Kong five years later.This was her first starring role.Matthew Betz makes a great villain.Zasu Pitts gives a very touching performance as the limping Cecelia.One interesting detail about the film is that it contains an early Technicolor episode at the Corpus Christi festival.This melodrama from 80 years back is a fine example of movie-making at its finest.These romantic movies that are made today have often got the lack of magic.That wasn't the case in the silent era.

Erich Von Stroheim is known for his iron-clad grip on his productions. "The Wedding March" is no exception. But his desire for perfection is one reason this movie is so wonderful. For those of you who only know him as Max von Mayerling in "Sunset Blvd." and Fay Wray as King Kong's "girlfriend", you need to do yourself a favor and watch this movie. It's touchingly beautiful and doesn't end quite the way you'd think it would.