Strauss's Great Waltz

Dull costume drama directed by a young Alfred Hitchcock during what he has called "the lowest ebb" of his career. STRAUSS'S GREAT WALTZ was a musical based on a stage play which detailed young Johann's efforts to establish himself as a composer despite his famous father's dismay at being dethroned by his own son. When a wealthy countess commissions the young composer to put some of her verse to music, "The Blue Danube" is born, making him a sensation. While there are some clever moments, Hitchcock was obviously bored with the assignment and must have shocked his peers when his next film, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1934), demonstrated a brillance nowhere to be seen ...