Merry-Go-Round
(1923) American
B&W : Ten reels
Directed by Rupert Julian + [Erich von Stroheim]

Cast: Norman Kerry [Count Franz Maximilian von Hohenegg], Albert Conti [Rudi, Franz’s friend], Mary Philbin [Agnes Urban], Cesare Gravina [Sylvester Urban, her father], Edith Yorke [Ursula Urban, her mother], Dorothy Wallace [Countess Gisella von Steinbrück], Al Edmundsen [Nepomuck, Franz’s valet], George Siegmann [Schani Huber, the carousel owner], Dale Fuller [Marianka Huber, his wife and the carousel cashier], George Hackathorne [Bartholomew Gruber, the jorobado (hunchback)], Maude George [‘Madame’ Elvira], Lillian Sylvester [Aurora Rossreiter, the puppet show cashier], Charles L. King (Charles King) [Nicki, one of Franz’s friends], Jane Sherman [Maria, one of Franz’s friends], Anton Vaverka [Emperor Franz Josef], Spottiswoode Aitken, [Countess Gisella’s father, the Minister of War], Sidney Bracey [Countess Gisella’s groom], Fenwick Oliver, Helen Broneau, Joe Martin the chimpanzee

Universal Pictures Corporation production; distributed by Universal Pictures Corporation [Universal Super-Jewel]. / Produced by Irving Thalberg. Scenario by Finis Fox + [Irving Thalberg and Rupert Julian], from a scenario adaptation by Erich von Stroheim [?] and Finis Fox? of a story by Harvey Gates. Production design by Richard Day and Erich von Stroheim. Set decoration assistants Elmer E. Sheeley and Archie Hall. Costume design by Erich von Stroheim and Richard Day. Assistant directors Eddy Sowders and Louis Germonprez. Cinematography by William Daniels, Ben Reynolds and Charles Kaufman. Intertitles by Mary O’Hara. Edited by Maurice Pivar and James McKay. Musical setting by M. Winkler. / Premiere 1 July 1923 at the Rivoli Theatre in New York, New York [?] (at 12 reels)? / Standard 35mm spherical 1.37:1 format. / The production began shooting on 25 August 1922. Stroheim was replaced by studio executive Irving Thalberg with director Rupert Julian after five weeks of shooting, during which Stroheim had shot 271 scenes for approximately 83,000 feet of exposed negative and at a cost of $220,000. Stroheim maintained that he shot half the film — his original scenario called for 1500 scenes — but only approximately 600 feet of his footage was utilized in the final cut. When Stroheim was fired, actor Wallace Beery quit the production in protest and was replaced by Siegmann. Under Julian’s direction, shooting resumed on 7 October 1922 and continued through 8 January 1923. Julian maintained that he finished the film at an additional cost of $170,000. Stroheim’s direction and scenario cowriting went uncredited in final credits. Actor Al Edmundsen is erroneously listed by Hirschhorn-Universal p. 41 as Ed Edmundsen.

Drama: Romance.

Survival Status: Print exists.

Keywords: Animals: Horses, Monkeys (Chimpanzees) - Austria: Vienna - Death - Hunchbacks

Listing updated: 11 October 2006.

References: Ball-Shakespeare pp. 354, 388; Bardèche-History p. 288; Brownlow-Parade pp. 424-425, 580; Edmonds-BigU pp. 83, 107, 119, 120, 125, 130, 135; Everson-American p. 286; Fell-History p. 114; Higashi-Virgins p. 147; Hirschhorn-Universal pp. 14, 41, 44; Kerr-Silent p. 8; Limbacher-Feature p. 158; Sherwood-Best p. xvii; Sinyard-Silent pp. 126, 127; Vermilye-Twenties pp. 73-74; Weinberg-Stroheim pp. xiii, xvi, 72-93, 137.

Home Video: DVD.