Lucrezia Borgia (1935)
"Lucrèce Borgia" (original title)

At the end of the 15th Century, Rome is ruled ruthlessly by power mad and sex hungry Cesare Borgia, the eldest son of Pope Alexander VI. Following the advice of his chief adviser Niccolo ... See full summary »

Director:

Abel Gance

Writers:

Abel Gance (screenplay), Léopold Marchand (dialogue),

Stars:

Edwige Feuillère, Gabriel Gabrio, Maurice Escande

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edwige Feuillère	...	Lucrezia Borgia
Gabriel Gabrio	...	César Borgia
Maurice Escande	...	Jean Borgia, Duke of Gandie
Roger Karl	...	Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI
Aimé Clariond	...	Niccollo Machiavelli
Philippe Hériat	...	Filippo, sculptor-lover
Jacques Dumesnil	...	Giannino Sforza, Duke of Milano
Max Michel	...	Alfonse de Aragon
Louis Eymond	...	Capt. Mario, officer-lover (as Aymond)
Jean Fay	...	Tybald
René Bergeron	...	Pietro (as Bergeron)
Gaston Modot	...	Fracassa
Antonin Artaud	...	Girolamo Savonarola (as Artaud)
Marcel Chabrier	...	Un moine - l'envoyé de Savonarole (as Chabrier)
Georges Prieur	...	Baron de Villeneuve (as Prieur)

Storyline

At the end of the 15th Century, Rome is ruled ruthlessly by power mad and sex hungry Cesare Borgia, the eldest son of Pope Alexander VI. Following the advice of his chief adviser Niccolo Macchiavelli, Cesare Borgia decides to attempt to unify the country in order to become even more powerful. To this end he needs his sister Lucrezia. Presently, the beautiful creature is married to the Count of Pesaro but she would be more useful if she was the wife of Alphonse of Aragon. Never mind, let the Count join his ancestors! And when the Duke of Aragon becomes useless, Cesare easily finds his replacement. Used as a pawn by her brother, Lucrezia eventually renounces happiness and becomes patron of the arts and the letters/

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Plot Keywords:

female full frontal nudity | assassination | italy | suicide | machiavellianism | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

12 October 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lucrezia Borgia

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 2,100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compagnie du Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film created a scandal in 1935 because of its raunchy orgy scenes and of a brief naked shot showing Edwige Feuillère naked.

User Reviews

Big budget history movie of specialized interest only

Episodes from the life of Lucrecia Borgia's. Spoiled and willful, she has many love affairs and tries to resist her ruthless and scheming brother César Borgia's plans to marry her off for political advantage.

Episodic and hard to follow to those not familiar with Italian geography and with the political situation of the time. Nice sets and costumes but the 16 millimeter print I saw did not show them well.

The kind of movie the French New Wave rebelled against.