Marie Antoinette (1938)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

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

Release Date:

26 August 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

France | Locksmith | Marie Antoinette | Necklace | Revolution

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:

King Louis XV: [presenting Marie to Louis the Dauphin on their wedding night] Louis, I cast this pearl before you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Another Romance of Celluloid (1938)

Soundtrack:

Orpheus and Euridice

One of the best and most sumptuous film biographies of all time.

This film boasts a number of wonderful performances and is a great example of film acting in the thirties and the power of the studios. Robert Morley steals the show as Louis XVI, but equally fine are John Barrymore as the dying Louis XV, Gladys George as Madame du Barry, Joseph Schildkraut as the Duke of Orleans and a whole slew of wonderful character actors who enlivened even the smallest role. Norma Shearer admirably tackles the nearly impossible task of portraying the life of Marie Antoinette from a young girl to a broken woman on her way to the guillotine. In the style of the time, the film has a tendency toward histrionics but for the viewer with patience the overall effect is fascinating. Of special interest to students of art direction. The sets and costumes are incredible.