Inaccuracies
The Great Ziegfeld takes many key liberties with Ziegfeld's life and with the history of the Follies. For instance, George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue was never featured in the Follies, and the number "Pretty Girl" was written for the 1919 Follies, not the first edition of the revue, as shown in the film.
Although she was born in the U.S, Billie Burke grew up in England, and she spoke with an English accent throughout her life. Her most famous role was as Glinda the Good Witch in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939).
The film also gives the impression that the successful original production of Show Boat, which Ziegfeld produced, closed because of the Great Depression. In fact Show Boat ended its original 1927 run in the spring of 1929 and the stock market crash did not occur until October of that year. It was the 1932 revival of the show (also produced by Ziegfeld), not the original production, that was affected by the Depression.
In the film, the last few lines of the song "Ol' Man River" (from Show Boat) are sung by what sounds like a tenor, while the song was intended for bass Paul Robeson and sung in the original production by bass-baritone Jules Bledsoe.
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