Maps of Movies
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
Where The Great Ziegfeld says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Chicago to Broadway, all built on one Hollywood lot: the real places behind a showman's rise
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Scenes and places
Sandow and the 1893 World's Fair
Flo Ziegfeld Jr. promotes the strongman Eugen Sandow at the fair, up against rival Jack Billings and his belly dancer Little Egypt. A smart trick wins the crowd: women may feel Sandow's muscles.
Set in 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago — Where young Flo first makes his name promoting the strongman Eugen Sandow. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The 1893 Chicago fair that Flo uses as his first stage.
Filmed at MGM Studios, Culver City (now Sony Pictures Studios) — Built and filmed on a studio set on the MGM lot; the sources do not say which stage. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Back to father and Mary Lou
Flo goes back to his father and young Mary Lou at the Chicago Musical College. He does not stay long: San Francisco is next.
Set in Chicago Musical College — The school where Flo's father teaches and where young Mary Lou is. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A music school in Chicago; the point on the map is the school's present-day location, not a 1890s building.
Filmed at MGM Studios, Culver City (now Sony Pictures Studios) — Built and filmed on a studio set on the MGM lot; the sources do not say which stage. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The lion who fell asleep
Flo and Sandow stage a show in which Sandow faces a lion. The lion falls asleep the moment it leaves its cage, and the pair are branded frauds.
Set in San Francisco — City where Flo and Sandow stage the lion act. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The point is the city centre; the film does not name a venue in the sources used.
Filmed at MGM Studios, Culver City (now Sony Pictures Studios) — Built and filmed on a studio set on the MGM lot; the sources do not say which stage. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
On the liner to England
Flo crosses to England on an ocean liner and runs into Billings, who is laughing at a newspaper article calling Flo a fraud.
Set in Ocean liner bound for England — A ship at sea, so there is no fixed map point for the story.
A ship at sea has no place on the map; only the studio set is shown.
Filmed at MGM Studios, Culver City (now Sony Pictures Studios) — Built and filmed on a studio set on the MGM lot; the sources do not say which stage. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Broke at Monte Carlo
Flo loses all his money gambling at Monte Carlo, yet charms the French star Anna Held into signing with him instead of Billings. He pretends he does not even know Billings.
Set in Monte Carlo — The gambling resort where Flo loses all his money. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The point is the Casino de Monte-Carlo, assumed from the town name; the film's own building is not named in the sources used.
Filmed at MGM Studios, Culver City (now Sony Pictures Studios) — Built and filmed on a studio set on the MGM lot; the sources do not say which stage. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Anna Held and the milk bath
Anna's first show at the Herald Square Theatre flops. Flo sends her 20 gallons of milk a day for a made-up milk bath, refuses to pay the bill, and the newspaper stories fill his theater.
Set in Herald Square Theatre, New York — Broadway theatre where Anna Held's first show opens to a thin house. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A Broadway theatre that closed in 1914; the site is now covered by a tall building.
Filmed at MGM Studios, Culver City (now Sony Pictures Studios) — Built and filmed on a studio set on the MGM lot; the sources do not say which stage. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Follies and the Roof
Flo decides to "glorify" the American girl with a new show full of women, costumes and sets: the Ziegfeld Follies. It is a hit, and more Follies follow, while his marriage to Anna starts to strain.
Set in New Amsterdam Theatre and Roof, New York — Theater where the Follies and the late-night Midnight Frolic on the Roof ran. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A Broadway theater; the film's Follies theatre is assumed to be this building from a newspaper description of the Roof.
Filmed at MGM Studios, Culver City (now Sony Pictures Studios) — Built and filmed on a studio set on the MGM lot; the sources do not say which stage. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The apartment above the Ziegfeld Theatre
Broke and seriously ill, Flo sits in his apartment overlooking the Ziegfeld Theatre. In a half-delirium he recalls scenes from several of his hits.
Set in Ziegfeld Theatre, New York — Flo's apartment overlooks his own 1927 theater. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The 1927 theater that carried Flo's name; the point is that building.
Filmed at MGM Studios, Culver City (now Sony Pictures Studios) — Built and filmed on a studio set on the MGM lot; the sources do not say which stage. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Characters
- Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. — A Chicago showman's son who turns publicity stunts into Broadway's biggest revues.
- Anna Held — The French star Flo signs at Monte Carlo and later marries.
- Jack Billings — Flo's rival, first at the Chicago fair, later his money lender.
- Mary Lou — A girl from his father's music college who returns years later as a young woman.
Questions answered on the map
- Where was The Great Ziegfeld really filmed, Chicago or Broadway?
- Where does Flo lose every cent before he signs his first star?