Rembrandt (1936)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Alexander Korda

Writers:

Carl Zuckmayer (story)
June Head (writer) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

The Private Life and Loves of...

Plot:

This character study joins the painter at the height of his fame in 1642, when his adored wife suddenly dies and his work takes a dark...

Plot Keywords:

Painter | Maid | Loneliness | Struggle | Morality

Cast

Charles Laughton	...	Rembrandt van Rijn
Gertrude Lawrence	...	Geertje Dirx
Elsa Lanchester	...	Hendrickje Stoffels
Edward Chapman	...	Fabrizius
Walter Hudd	...	Banning Cocq
Roger Livesey	...	Beggar Saul
John Bryning	...	Titus van Rijn
Sam Livesey	...	Auctioneer
Herbert Lomas	...	Gerrit van Rijn (father)
Allan Jeayes	...	Dr. Tulp
John Clements	...	Govaert Flinck
Raymond Huntley	...	Ludwick
Abraham Sofaer	...	Dr. Menasseh
Laurence Hanray	...	Heertsbeeke
Austin Trevor	...	Marquis de Grand-Coeur

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

London Film Productions

Quotes:

Rembrandt van Rijn: What is success? A soldier can reckon his success in victories, a merchant in money. But my world is insubstantial. I live in a beautiful, blinding, swirling mist.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Star! (1968)

Stylish but slow-moving biography gives Laughton a gem of a role...

REMBRANDT was made at a time when CHARLES LAUGHTON returned to his native England to do some work there for Alexander Korda. It happens to be one of his best works, but the film itself does not do the artist justice. GERTRUDE LAWRENCE in one of her rare screen roles is fine, as is ELSA LANCHESTER as the woman he would eventually marry in the film and was already married to in real life--but the script never really paints a full enough picture of the artist's life.

Despite financial struggles, Rembrandt's life was not as colorful or full of tragic ironies as some of the other artists whose lives were depicted on screen and the screenwriter has not chosen to create any additional conflicts beyond the financial problems which plagued so many artists. Thus, his tale is told in a brief running time (by today's standards), no frills added. He died in obscurity, penniless--one of the world's greatest artists whose masterpieces are worth millions today.

The 17th Century detailed sets look authentic and were designed by Vincent Korda, but the story drags interminably through a number of vignettes which never paint a complete portrait of the artist. Just as interest is waning, ELSA LANCHESTER enters the picture and saves it from being completely dull.

Summing up: Interesting for history lovers or artists, but others beware. The story itself is simply not interesting enough.