The Private Life of Henry VIII. (1933)

Director:

Alexander Korda

Writers:

Lajos Biró (story) and
Arthur Wimperis (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

21 September 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | 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 | King Henry VIII | Anne Boleyn | Divorce | Jane Seymour

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Charles Laughton	...	Henry VIII
Robert Donat	...	Thomas Culpeper
Franklin Dyall	...	Thomas Cromwell
Miles Mander	...	Wriothesley
Laurence Hanray	...	Archbishop Cranmer (as Lawrence Hanray)
William Austin	...	Duke of Cleves
John Loder	...	Peynell
Claud Allister	...	Cornell (as Claude Allister)
Gibb McLaughlin	...	The French Executioner
Sam Livesey	...	The English Executioner
Merle Oberon	...	Anne Boleyn The Second Wife
Wendy Barrie	...	Jane Seymour The Third Wife
Elsa Lanchester	...	Anne of Cleves The Fourth Wife
Binnie Barnes	...	Katherine Howard The Fifth Wife
Everley Gregg	...	Katherine Parr The Sixth Wife
Lady Tree	...	The King's Nurse
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frederick Culley	...	Duke of Norfolk (uncredited)
Mark Daly	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Annie Esmond	...	The Cook's Wife (uncredited)
William Heughan	...	Kingston (uncredited)
Arthur Howard	...	Kitchen Helper (uncredited)
Judy Kelly	...	Lady Rochford (uncredited)
Wally Patch	...	Butcher in Kitchen (uncredited)
Hay Petrie	...	The King's Barber (uncredited)
Terry-Thomas	...	Extra (uncredited)
John Turnbull	...	Hans Holbein (uncredited)

Directed by
Alexander Korda

Writing credits
Lajos Biró		(story and dialogue) (as Lajos Biro) and
Arthur Wimperis		(story and dialogue)
Arthur Wimperis		(scenario)

Produced by
Alexander Korda	....	producer (uncredited)
Ludovico Toeplitz	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Kurt Schröder		(as Kurt Schroeder)

Cinematography by
Georges Périnal		(photography by) (as Georges Perinal)

Film Editing by
Stephen Harrison

Costume Design by
John Armstrong		(costumes designed by)

Production Management
David B. Cunynghame	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Geoffrey Boothby	....	assistant director

Art Department
Vincent Korda	....	settings designer
C.P. Norman	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
A.W. Watkins	....	sound

Visual Effects by
W. Percy Day	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Stunts
Man Mountain Dean	....	stunt double: Charles Laughton (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Osmond Borradaile	....	camera (as Osmond Borrodaile)

Editorial Department
Harold Young	....	editorial supervisor
Stephen Bearman	....	colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Muir Mathieson	....	assistant musical director (uncredited)
Kurt Schröder	....	musical director (uncredited)
Alfred Strasser	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Alfred Strasser	....	music arranger (uncredited)

Other crew
Philip Lindsay	....	technical adviser
Espinosa	....	choreographer (uncredited)
C.W.R. Knight	....	falconry expert (uncredited)

Production Companies

• London Film Productions (as London Film Productions Limited.)

Distributors

• United Artists Corporation (1933) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1933) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1933) (France) (theatrical)
• Nederland NV (1934) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• British Lion Film Corporation (1946) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Film Classics (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Deutsche London-Film Verleih (1949) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Central Television (1987) (UK) (VHS)
• Nelson Entertainment (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Collection International (1992) (UK) (VHS)
• Eclipse from the Criterion Collection (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Státní Pujcovna Filmu (19??) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• Bridge Entertainment Group (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• B.J. Simmons & Co  costumiers (as B.J. Simmons & Co. Covent Garden London)
• Western Electric Sound System  sound recording system (as Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Also Known As:

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:

Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | Australia:PG | West Germany:16 | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) (1992) (1996) | UK:U (tv rating) | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1934) | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) (2009)

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.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Anne of Cleves compares Henry to the legend of Bluebeard, a literary reference not known to exist before 1697.

Quotes:

King Henry VIII:Diplomacy? Diplomacy, my foot! I'm an Englishman - I can't say one thing and mean another. What I can do is to build ships, ships, and then more ships!
Thomas Cromwell:You mean, double the fleet?
King Henry VIII:Treble it! Fortify Dover! Rule the sea!
Thomas Cromwell:To do this will cost us money, sire.
King Henry VIII:To leave it undone will cost us England!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Shepperton Babylon (2005) (TV)

Great classic movie with Charles Laughton

The personal life of England's infamous monarch is portrayed marvellously in this British classic.Starting with the beheading of his second wife the ambitious Anne Boleyn we follow Laughton's masterly performance of King Henry through his subsequent marriages which all end in tragedy,until his last wife outlives him.

Charles Laughton is simply fantastic in his role.Portraying the King of England as a virile,charming but dangerous man when he's young and a crouching,old fool in his latest years.Very good performances also by Elsa Lanchester and Binnie Barnes as two of his wives. Rating: **** out of *****