The Private Life of Henry VIII. (1933)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Alexander Korda

Writers:

Lajos Biró (story) and
Lajos Biró (dialogue)

Release Date:

21 September 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

HE GAVE HIS WIVES A PAIN IN THE NECK And did his necking with an axe. Henry, the Eighth Wonder of the World! And this picture...the wonder of all time!

Plot:

Tells how King Henry VIII came to marry five more times after his divorce from his first wife.

Plot Keywords:

King Henry VIII | Anne Boleyn | 1530s | Royalty | 1540s

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Charles Laughton	...	King Henry VIII
Robert Donat	...	Thomas Culpeper
Franklin Dyall	...	Thomas Cromwell
Miles Mander	...	Wriothesley
Laurence Hanray	...	Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (as Lawrence Hanray)
William Austin	...	Duke of Cleves
John Loder	...	Thomas Peynell
Claud Allister	...	Cornell (as Claude Allister)
Gibb McLaughlin	...	The French executioner
Sam Livesey	...	The English executioner
Merle Oberon	...	Anne Boleyn
Wendy Barrie	...	Jane Seymour
Elsa Lanchester	...	Anne of Cleves
Binnie Barnes	...	Katherine Howard
Everley Gregg	...	Katherine Parr

Runtime:

USA:97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A

Filming Locations:

British and Dominions Studios, Elstree, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

London Film Productions

Trivia:

While he was on a tour of Europe, huge American professional wrestler Man Mountain Dean was hired to be Charles Laughton's uncredited stunt double. This would be the first of Dean's appearances in motion pictures.

Quotes:

French executioner: There is a blade for you fit for a king! Or in this case, a queen, n'est-ce pas?
English executioner: Not fit for our Queen!
French executioner: No? Why not?
English executioner: She is an English Queen, ain't she? Well, what's wrong with English steel? And come to that, what's wrong with an English headsman?
French executioner: Ah, meaning yourself?
English executioner: Why not? I was good enough to knock off the Queen's five lovers, wasn't I? Why'd they want you, a Frenchman from Calais?
[spits]
French executioner: I will tell you...
English executioner: No, I'm telling you. It's a crying shame. 'N half the English executioners out of work as it is!
French executioner: And why are they out of work? Because they are only fit to sever the bull necks of their countrymen with a butcher's cleaver. But a woman's neck, a Queen's neck: that calls for finesse, for delicacy, for chivalry... in one word, a Frenchman!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Ultimate Film (2004) (TV)

Charles Laughton IS Henry VIII.

Charles Laughton is quite simply one of the best actors to ever grace the earth. EVER. He proves his range once again as he portrays Henry VIII. Now, I've never seen Henry VIII, but I swore I was looking at him. To me, Laughton is that convincing. Compare this confident, powerful character to his 'Ruggles', in "Ruggles of Red Gap". A total wimp. A complete 180. Then there's Capt. Bligh. From sissy to nasty. The freaks: Quasimodo, Dr. Moreau, Nero, et.al. To say this man can play any sort of role is putting it mildly. Name one other actor with more range. I personally can't.