Blistering performances.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

THE EMPEROR WALTZ (Paramount, 1948), directed by Billy Wilder, stars the unlikely pair of Academy Award winners, Bing Crosby (Best Actor of GOING MY WAY (1944) and Joan Fontaine (Best Actress of SUSPICION (1941) for the only time. With the title lifted from the famous Johann Strauss composition, the script, as written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, has its very own direction with a story about an unlikely pairing of a traveling salesman and an aristocratic countess, a sort of theme commonly found in the Depression era 1930s made famous by director, Ernst Lubitsch with such titles as THE LOVE PARADE (1929) starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald as a commoner who marries a queen . Even with such an old-fashioned tale carried on into post World War II, THE EMPEROR WALTZ no doubt worked wonders with audiences in 1948, but has become somewhat underrated today.Opening title: "On a December night some forty-odd years ago, His Majesty, Francis Joseph, the first emperor of Austria, apostolic King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia and so forth and so forth, was giving a little clambake at his palace in Vienna." Enter Virgil Smith (Bing Crosby), a traveling American salesman, walking through the snow, climbing the vine to the second floor terrace and into the palace of a social ball given by the Emperor Franz Joseph (Richard Haydn). Attracting attention to himself, he heads over towards the Countess Johanna Franziska Von Stultzenberg Stultzenberg (Joan Fontaine) on the dance floor demanding to speak with her. She angrily replies: "Go away. I hate you … I loathe you … I despise you!" At a distance, this union is observed by the middle- aged Princess Bitotska (Lucile Watson), who soon narrates the story to the guests seated around her. The flashback scenario tells of how the two met and what soon occurred to develop into a four month courtship: Virgil, a super salesman from Newark, New Jersey, comes to the Emperor's palace with his dog, Buttons, and a black box consisting of a phonograph recording machine to show the Emperor to introduce to the lives of the people of his country. Also awaiting to see the Emperor are Countess Johanna and her father, Baron Holenia (Roland Culver), a general, the matching of their black poodle with his very own dog in order to produce puppies for the lonely Emperor. After a rough start where Virgil's black box is mistaken for a time bomb, Buttons starts a battle with Johanna's dog. At first the snobbish Johanna of Stultzenberg Stultzenberg Palace on Stultzenberg Stultzenberg Square, wants nothing to do with Virgil nor his animal, but after a visit to Doctor Zwiegback (Sig Rumann), a dog psychiatrist, suggesting that both dogs should get together, not only does love eventually blossoms for both dogs, but for the salesman and the countess as well, until something occurs to cause Johanna to hate Virgil. As the princess finishes her story, more unexpected events occur. Other members of the cast consist of Julia Dean (Archduchess Stephanie); Harold Vermilyea (Chamberlain); and Doris Dowling (The Tyrolean Girl).Filmed in glorious Technicolor, much of the premise is a reminder of those Ernst Lubitch musicals for Paramount which would make one feel that had THE EMPEROR WALTZ been produced around 1932, naturally the envisioned casting might have been altered to Maurice Chevalier (the salesman), Jeanette MacDonald (the countess) and C. Aubrey Smith(The Emperor). Yet something like Rouben Mamoulian's LOVE ME TONIGHT (1932) that featured the trio in that very same musical may have some connection involving a tailor and a princess with an assortment of very fine songs. For THE EMPEROR WALTZ, with Crosby doing a Chevalier trademark by wearing a straw hat, there's limitations to song interludes, something quite unusual for a Bing Crosby movie. Songs include: "Friendly Mountains" (by Johnny Burke); "I Kiss Your Hand, Madame" (sung by Crosby, and danced by chauffeur (Bert Prival) and two barmaids); "I Kiss You Hand, Madame" (reprise); "The Kiss in Your Eyes" and finally Johann Strauss' "The Emperor Waltz" sung by Crosby with new lyrics by Johnny Burke. As beautiful as any Strauss melody can be, the major disappointment is not having "The Emperor Waltz" presented as a major dance sequence participated by cast members in song and dance rather than in brief as presented in the final print.With Joan Fontaine donning period costumes and headdress from early twentieth century, though in her early thirties, appears ten years older, with the exception of one scene where she discovers she's in love through the glitter of her eyes where she appears to look quite youthful. Character actor, Richard Haydn, unrecognizable under white mustache, beard and heavy eye lashes, is satisfactory as the emperor. At 106 minutes, an enjoyable lavish production.Formerly shown on commercial television before shifting to cable such as American Movie Classics (1995-1999), and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: March 1, 2011); THE EMPEROR WALTZ has become available on both home video and later DVD (with Crosby's A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT (1949) on the flip side for anyone's viewing pleasure of a movie set in merry old Vienna. (***)

The Emperor's (Richard Haydn) dog is betrothed to Johanna's (Joan Fontaine) dog. However, when Virgil (Bing Crosby) arrives in town to sell a gramaphone record player to the Emperor, his dog is attacked by Johanna's dog. After a revenge attack where Virgil is banished from town, a psychoanalyst insists that Johanna's dog must confront Virgil's dog so that she can overcome her doggy fears. This is arranged and the dogs fall in love. So do Virgil and Johanna. The rest of the film passes by with romance and at the end, Johanna's dog gives birth. But who is the father.......? The dog story is the very weak vehicle that is used to try and create a story between humans. Its a terrible storyline. There are 3 main musical pieces all of which are rubbish - bad songs and dreadful choreography. Its just an extremely boring film - Bing has too many words in each sentence and delivers them in an almost shouty, irritating manner. Its not funny............ EVER..........but its meant to be. Bing and Joan have done much better than this.

... is, of course, streets ahead of four-quarter Godard but this does disappoint more than it pleases. If she's not careful Joan Fontaine is likely to wind up on the wrong end of a Trivial Pursuit question: Which non-singing, non-dancing actress still managed to co-star with a leading singer and THE dancer of the twentieth century. There's absolutely no chemistry whatsoever between Fontaine and Crosby which is understandable considering Crosby was in love with himself. Although they were at the same studio, Paramount, Crosby was serenely unaware that Wilder was in the middle of a hitting streak and had just turned out four smashes - The Major And The Minor, Five Graves To Cairo, Double Indemnity and The Lost Weekend - in a row and collected Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Picture Oscars for the last one, because he showed up with his own team of writers headed by Barney Dean (yeah, you heard; Barney Dean to re-write Billy Wilder)and would hand new pages to Wilder each day saying 'here's what we'll be shooting today' or 'I'll be playing golf, let me know'. Alas, what he lacked in manners/respect Crosby made up for in clout, his pictures were just as big hits as Wilder's and he'd had more of them. Apart from this what started out as a valentine to fin-de-siecle Vienna metamorphosed into a tribute to Yankee know-how/get-up-and-go with Crosby's David taking on the Viennese Goliath in the shape of Emeror Franz-Joseph (Richard Haydn). No Wilder film could ever be all bad and his barbed reference to genocide remains with Crosby saving a mongrel litter from Sig Ruman's 'doctor' and confronting Franz-Joseph with a speech about the mongrels not being 'pure' enough to be allowed to live. Franz-Joseph is played as something just this side of a buffoon and there's absolutely no mention of the assassination of his wife, Sissi (a memorable role for Romy Schneider) or the double suicide of his son and the son's mistress at Mayerling. The prime interest will be to Wilder completists and/or what-might-have-beeners.

This is a film you needn't strain your thinking on but it's a charming confection all the same. If you like Bing's easygoing style then there's lots to enjoy here. I was captivated by the superb photography of the mountains and local scenery, and being musical myself, very much appreciated the violin selections that were played. All the scenes are replete with gorgeous settings and costumes and Ms Fontaine is as exquisite as ever. I was intrigued by those 'horseless carriages' -- the vintage cars from the turn of the century. Personally I don't care to look for faults but just come to sit and appreciate the movie for what it has to offer, which is light entertainment with a happy ending -- a time of simple enjoyment.