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:

This was Irving Thalberg's last project while head of production at MGM. At the time of his death in 1936, the film was in the planning stages, but his widow, Norma Shearer, took special interest in the film and stuck with it to its completion in 1938.

Quotes:

Marie: Perhaps the great loves come with tears.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Another Romance of Celluloid (1938)

Soundtrack:

Orpheus and Euridice

MGM's lavish look at the French Revolution...a Shearer triumph...

MGM's lavishly budgeted look at the French Revolution during the reign of King Louis and his famously selfish MARIE ANTOINETTE spares no expense in detailing the grim background of court conspiracies and the people's unrest that led to their downfall.

Too bad none of this eye-popping splendor wasn't captured in Technicolor, as originally planned--but with a budget well over 1.5 million it was decided to film it in glorious B&W. No matter, it's still a spectacle for sore eyes.

There can be no doubt about NORMA SHEARER's triumph in the title role nor is any of the acting in the large cast below standard. ROBERT MORLEY as the weak and indecisive Louis is immensely touching and effective as he realizes the gravity of their predicament. JOHN BARRYMORE is fine and Joseph SCHILDKRAUT is wonderful as an aristocratic fop. TYRONE POWER lends his romantic presence to a role that requires little more than his good looks. He and Shearer make a physically appealing romantic team.

It's interesting that Irving Thalberg died before production began on the film. One wonders whether his influence on it might have made it an even stronger production. There are definite lulls in the telling but it builds dramatically to all of the final scenes. It's the kind of film that leads one to read more about the actual events and that's always a good thing.

Summing up: Sumptuously produced, well acted and well directed--what more could you want for an interesting glimpse of a life of royalty among a time of social upheaval? Shearer's triumphant return to the screen after a two-hear absence.