Marie Antoinette (1938)

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

Claudine West (screenplay) and
Donald Ogden Stewart (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 August 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

Plot:

The life of Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) from betrothal and marriage in 1770 to her beheading. At first...

Plot Keywords:

France | Necklace | Revolution | Locksmith | Marie Antoinette

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Norma Shearer	...	Marie Antoinette
Tyrone Power	...	Count Axel de Fersen
John Barrymore	...	King Louis XV
Robert Morley	...	King Louis XVI
Anita Louise	...	Princesse de Lamballe
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Duke d'Orléans
Gladys George	...	Mme. du Barry
Henry Stephenson	...	Count de Mercey
Cora Witherspoon	...	Countess de Noailles
Barnett Parker	...	Prince de Rohan
Reginald Gardiner	...	Comte d'Artois
Henry Daniell	...	La Motte
Leonard Penn	...	Toulan
Albert Dekker	...	Comte de Provence (as Albert Van Dekker)
Alma Kruger	...	Empress Maria Theresa

Runtime:

149 min | USA:157 min (original road show print including entry, intermission and exit music)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:G | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #4322)

Filming Locations:

Chateau de Versailles, Versailles, Yvelines, France

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Anita Louise, who acts the role of the Princesse de Lamballe, portrayed Marie Antionette in the film Madame Du Barry (1934).

Quotes:

Marie: Perhaps the great loves come with tears.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Another Romance of Celluloid (1938)

Soundtrack:

La Marseillaise

absolutely adored it - and Adrian worked overtime

Adrian went all out for this lavish, gorgeous production of "Marie Antoinette" starring Norma Shearer, who is never more beautiful or glamorous than in this epic biography. This Marie is quite the heroine, a woman of the people, generous to a fault, and never says, "Let them eat cake," and would only have said it in reference to her children. History tells us that Marie's downfall was really the "Affair of the Necklace," and she was no different from other aristocrats in being totally out of touch with what was going on with the French people.

This film is jaw dropping in its splendor. Adrian's costumes are totally magnificent, as are the palace settings. Tyrone Power is drop-dead gorgeous as Marie's Swedish lover, who comes to her aid in her time of need. Power was the inspiration for Barbara Cartland to say, when asked how she could write so convincingly about sex while she was a still a virgin, "We didn't need sex. We had Tyrone Power." The rest of the cast is fantastic, including Robert Morley, John Barrymore, Joseph Schildkraut, and Gladys George. As for Norma, she does a great job, giving a vivid, if movie star, performance in one of her last films. The last scenes are very touching and beautifully done.

I had no expectations for this film and as a rule am not crazy about period pieces, but this one swept me away. It does follow history quite closely - for those who commented that the Tyrone Power character was fictional, he was not, and he did try to help her.

Don't miss this one.

**A funny Marie Antionette anecdote: The studio wanted Shearer to use their contract star, Robert Taylor, but Shearer got a look at Power at a dinner, invited him to be part of the film, and got her way. During their first kiss, she held on so long the kiss had to be edited down. Power apparently did not return her affections. She became angry. At a photo shoot, she appeared with gigantic plumes that hid him as he posed behind her and the plumes shot up. The photographer gave Power a box to stand on. As the photographer activated the flash, Power crashed through the box and hit the floor. Though he escorted Shearer to the premier, he snuck out to see his soon to be wife, Annabella.