| Song of Norway | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Andrew L. Stone |
| Written by | Andrew L. Stone |
| Starring | Toralv Maurstad Florence Henderson |
| Music by | Robert Wright George Forrest, based on the music of Edvard Grieg |
| Cinematography | Davis Boulton |
| Editing by | Virginia Stone |
| Distributed by | ABC Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1970 |
| Running time | 138 min. |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| Language | English |
Song of Norway is a 1970 film adaptation of the successful operetta of the same name, directed by Andrew L. Stone.
Like the play from which it derived, the film tells of the early struggles of composer Edvard Grieg and his attempts to develop an authentic Norwegian national music. It stars Toralv Maurstad as Grieg and features an international cast including Florence Henderson, Christina Schollin, Robert Morley, Harry Secombe, Oskar Homolka, Edward G. Robinson and Frank Porretta (as Rikard Nordraak). Filmed in Super Panavision 70 by Davis Boulton and presented in single-camera Cinerama in some countries, it was an attempt to capitalise on the success of The Sound of Music.
Song of Norway was one of a series of commercial disasters which followed the success of My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music, which caused studios to imagine a full-scale musical film revival was in the cards. Similar box-office disasters included Darling Lili, Mame, Paint Your Wagon and Lost Horizon.[1]
Critics were virtually unanimously negative on its release, noting especially the aping of The Sound of Music and its generally poor production quality despite obvious expense. Pauline Kael said: "The movie is of an unbelievable badness; it brings back clichés you didn’t know you knew - they’re practically from the unconscious of moviegoers".[2] Critics' views were echoed by cast members. Harry Secombe was to note later that it was the kind of film "you could take the kids to see... and leave them there."[3]