General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20266 min read

The Merry-Go-Round

The Merry-Go-Round is a 1923 American silent drama film produced by Universal Pictures, set in prewar Vienna, in which a young Austrian count posing as a necktie salesman falls in love with a circus organ-grinder while engaged to the daughter of his country's minister of war. It stars Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin, and it is remembered chiefly for its production history: original director Erich von Stroheim was fired partway through shooting and the film was completed by Rupert Julian under producer Irving Thalberg.¹

Key fact	Detail
Release	Premiered 1 July 1923 at the Rivoli Theatre, New York; general release 3 September 1923¹
Physical form	Silent, black and white, 10 reels, 9,178 feet¹
Directors	Erich von Stroheim (fired during production, uncredited) and Rupert Julian¹
Stroheim's output	In five weeks of shooting he filmed 271 scenes, about 83,000 feet of negative, at a cost of $220,000; roughly 600 feet of his footage remained in the final cut²
Lead cast	Norman Kerry (Count Franz Maximilian von Hohenegg), Mary Philbin (Agnes Urban), Cesare Gravina, George Siegmann, Dale Fuller²
Producer	Irving Thalberg, as a Universal "Super-Jewel" production¹
Rights	Public domain in the USA; a 35mm print exists in the Cohen Media Group (Raymond Rohauer collection)²

Spoilers

Plot

Count Franz Maximilian von Hohenegg, a young personal aide to Emperor Franz Josef in prewar Vienna, is engaged to the stately Countess Gisella, daughter of the war minister. At a merry-go-round he encounters Agnes Urban, an organ-grinder who works, along with her father Sylvester, a puppeteer, for the brutal concessionaire Shani Huber. Posing as a necktie salesman, the count courts her; realizing he truly loves her, he tries unsuccessfully to break his engagement, and the wedding proceeds as planned. Agnes and her father denounce the count when they discover his imposture, but Agnes continues to care for him.¹ The story is set in Vienna between 1914 and 1918, and war eventually separates the lovers before a final reunion.³

Production and the dismissal of von Stroheim

Shooting began on 25 August 1922. After five weeks, during which von Stroheim had shot 271 scenes for approximately 83,000 feet of exposed negative at a cost of $220,000, studio executive Irving Thalberg replaced him with Rupert Julian.² Von Stroheim maintained that he had shot half the film, and his original scenario called for 1,500 scenes, but only approximately 600 feet of his footage was used in the final cut.² In a telegram to The New York Times published 22 July 1923, Julian stated that with the exception of about 600 feet, the entire production was directed by him.¹ When von Stroheim was fired, actor Wallace Beery quit the production in protest and was replaced by George Siegmann.² Shooting resumed under Julian on 7 October 1922 and continued through 8 January 1923, at an additional cost Julian put at $170,000.²

Von Stroheim's direction and scenario writing went uncredited in the final release prints, which named Julian as director.² No screen credit was given for writers; Finis Fox's name appears in company records as the author of the treatment, though the American Film Institute notes this is unconfirmed, and Harvey Gates is listed as a writer in catalog records.¹ A contemporary Mexican review by Marco-Aurelio Galindo (6 September 1923) argued that the production was almost entirely due to von Stroheim's talent, since he wrote the argument, prepared its continuity, designed the scenario, and planned the whole production, even though his name had been struck from posters and press books.⁴

The firing ended von Stroheim's career at Universal; he left the studio and made Greed (1924) for Goldwyn.⁵ A German-language account attributes the break to his spending, including an order of original Austro-Hungarian imperial silk underwear, monogrammed with the imperial guard's insignia, for his extras, garments that would never appear on screen.⁶

Reception and critical view

The film was a box office hit, and the 1929 Film Daily Year Book voted it one of the "Top Best Features" of 1923.⁷ Modern critics read it as a divided work. A Time Out review holds that the sets and screenplay remain von Stroheim's personal achievement, that the opening sequence showing the count's daily rituals suggests what he would have done with the whole film, and that the fairground scenes are weakened by Julian's direction of actors, while a strong contrast between the lavish Viennese court and the fairground's low life survives.⁸ Jake Cole of Slant Magazine wrote in 2025 that the film "plays like a Cliff's Notes version of a von Stroheim film," while Matt Brunson of Film Frenzy, rating it 3/4, argued that Julian is unfairly cast as a butcher of von Stroheim's work and that the film stands as an absorbing and often moving melodrama.⁷ MUBI's note says only some 10 minutes of von Stroheim's footage remain, but that Julian proves no slouch in pursuing the silent master's vision.⁹

Preservation and restoration

The film survives; a 35mm positive is held by the Cohen Media Group (Raymond Rohauer collection), and the film is in the American public domain.² Years ago, the film archivist David Shepard assembled a restored version from two 16mm reduction prints.¹⁰ A new restoration by Lobster, made from an original nitrate print held by Gaumont in Paris, was presented at the 42nd Giornate del Cinema Muto in 2023, the film's centenary year.¹¹ In April 2025 Flicker Alley released a Blu-ray edition pairing the film with Old Heidelberg (1915), running 123 minutes, with audio commentary by the von Stroheim scholar Richard Koszarski, a featurette on the restoration with archivist Serge Bromberg, a 17-minute compilation of pre-1920s Vienna actualities from Filmarchiv Austria, and a copy of von Stroheim's initial screenplay.¹²^•¹³ The Blu-ray's restoration featurette describes sourcing cut footage from prints around the world to bring the theatrical release closer to von Stroheim's intended vision.¹⁴

Other films of the same title

The title has been used more than once. The Merry-Go-Round (1919) is a five-reel Fox Film Corp. comedy-drama directed by Edmund Lawrence, starring Peggy Hyland and Jack Mulhall, released 21 September 1919, about a struggling carnival show bought by a clubman who falls in love with the ticket-taker Gypsy; sources conflict over whether Richard Washburn Child or Philip E. Hubbard wrote the story.¹⁵ A 1903 S. Lubin actuality, Merry-Go-Round or Carrousel, shows riders on a carousel in 75 feet of film.¹⁶

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Early and silent cinema › Silent feature films › Released 1914 to 1926

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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