Trivia for
Cabaret (1972) More at IMDbPro »

• Five songs from the original Broadway production did not make it into the movie as "performed" songs, but appear as background music. On Brian's arrival, Sally prepares two Prairie Oysters and puts on a record, which turns out to be "Don't Tell Mama". When Sally tries to seduce Brian and she brings in the gramophone, the song is "It Couldn't Please Me More". This song, once again on gramophone, reappears when Sally is packing for Africa. In the parlor as Sally prepares to leave for dinner with her father, the song being played on the piano is "Married". This song makes a reprise when Sally and Brian talk about getting married, this time on the gramophone in German ("Heiraten") sung by 'GRETA KELLER'. This German version also appears in the park and at the train station. When Max, Brian and Sally have lunch at the fancy restaurant, a small ensemble is playing "Sitting Pretty", which is also heard on the gramophone at Max's estate, when they are dancing. When Brian and Fritz walk into the parlor together and the other tenants are talking about the Nazis, the background music (although faint and barely recognizable) is the song "So What".
  
  
• In the original Broadway version, the main characters are an American writer and English singer. In the film version, they are an English writer and an American singer.
  
  
• Brian expresses surprise that Sally Bowles is an American, a sly reference to the fact that in the musical on which the movie is based, Sally is British.
  
  
• The song "Married", originally in the Broadway version, was cut from the movie. It can be heard playing on a radio in the background during the scene where Brian and Sally are discussing marriage.
  
  
• In an interview given at the time of the film's release, Liza Minnelli said you could tell she was the star of the cabaret in which the movie is set because she's the only performer with shaved armpits.
  
  
• Has the distinction of winning the most Oscars (8) not one of which included the Best Picture Oscar
  
  
• Billy Wilder and Gene Kelly turned down the offer to direct the project before it was accepted by Bob Fosse.
  
  
• Selected in 2003 by the Smithsonian Institution as one of eight films being preserved for future generations.
  
  
• Liza Minnelli designed all her own hair and make-up with the help of her father, famed musical director Vincente Minnelli.
  
  
• In preparation for his revival of the role of the MC (Master of Ceremonies) in the film, Joel Grey did extensive research in order to achieve a completely authentic German accent.
  
  
• "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb in the style of a traditional German song, sung by the Nazi youth in the movie, to stir up patriotism for the "fatherland". It has often been mistaken for a genuine "Nazi anthem" and has led to the songwriters being accused of anti-Semitism. This would be most surprising, as they are, in fact, Jewish (This fact has not stopped openly racist and anti-Semitic rock groups, like Skrewdriver, from recording the song and performing it at White Power rallies). It is also the only song sung outside of the cabaret setting to survive the transition from stage to film.
  
  
• Originally sung in English, "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" was dubbed in German for the French version of the film.
  
  
• There is much speculation about the identity of the singer of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me". Apparently, Bob Fosse's biography states that the song was recorded for the film by Broadway actor/singer called Mark Lambert. This actor is said to have refused to dye his hair blond so a German extra (the "Nazi youth") stood in for him on camera.
  
  
• Years before Cabaret (1972) was filmed Liza Minnelli performed Maybe This Time when she appeared with her mother Judy Garland at the London Palladium.
  
  
• Many of the interiors of the film were done on sound stages in Munich recently vacated by the cast and crew of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971).
  
  
• The strange woman appearing at the beginning of the movie sitting in the back of the Kit Kat Club holding a cigarette is based on the painting "Portrait of Journalist, Sylvia Von Harden" by German Expressionist painter Otto Dix.
  
  
• In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #63 Greatest Movie of All Time. It was the first inclusion of this film on the list.
  
  
• The original Broadway production of "Cabaret" opened at the Broadhurst Theater on November 2, 1966, ran for 1165 performances and won the 1967 Tony Award for the Best Musical. Joel Grey recreates his role in the movie for which the won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
  
  
• Best Picture nominee to win the most Academy Awards (8) without winning Best Picture.
  
  
• When Liza Minnelli won the Best Actress Academy Award for this movie, she became the first and to date (2009) only person to win an Oscar whose parents (Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli) had both won Academy Awards.
  
  

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