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Anthony Adverse (1936)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
29 August 1936 (USA) morePlot:
In 18th-century Italy, an orphan's debt to the man who raised him threatens to separate him forever from the woman he loves. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Won 4 Oscars. Another 3 nominations moreUser Comments:
Epic Aspirations Undermined by Uninspired Film-making moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Fredric March | ... | Anthony Adverse | |
| Olivia de Havilland | ... | Angela Guiseppe | |
| Donald Woods | ... | Vincent Nolte | |
| Anita Louise | ... | Maria | |
| Edmund Gwenn | ... | John Bonnyfeather | |
| Claude Rains | ... | Marquis Don Luis | |
| Louis Hayward | ... | Denis Moore | |
| Gale Sondergaard | ... | Faith Paleologus | |
| Steffi Duna | ... | Neleta | |
| Akim Tamiroff | ... | Carlo Cibo | |
| Ralph Morgan | ... | Signore De Bruille | |
| Fritz Leiber | ... | Ouvrard | |
| Luis Alberni | ... | Tony Guiseppe | |
| Billy Mauch | ... | Anthony Adverse, at 10 | |
| Henry O'Neill | ... | Father Xavier |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
141 minCountry:
USAColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoFilming Locations:
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USAFun Stuff
Trivia:
The film required 131 sets, including a 12-acre African compound built on the studio backlot - the largest set which had ever been constructed. moreQuotes:
[first lines]Marquis Don Luis: I dare say you wish you'd never left Versailles. You had a very pleasant time at court with those gallant young officers. With one in particular, I recall.
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Soundtrack:
Orfeo (Opera in Leghorn) moreFAQ
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Anthony Adverse (1936)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| Anthony Adverse | digitaldiva |
| Gale Sondergaard's performance | jrhpax |
| When is this title to be released on DVD? | zendragon77 |
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I have not read the largely forgotten book on which this movie is based.
My favorite films are from the early 30's to the mid 40's. The cast in this film is stellar, including some of my favorite leads and supporting actors. I love costume dramas and adventures set in exotic places. However, with all of those factors to prejudice me in favor of Anthony Adverse, I was hugely disappointed.
The plot seems okay. The sets and costumes are excellent. The cast, as I already mentioned, is stellar (in the credits!). The score seems appropriate. The expensive production shows throughout. The reason this film is so unsatisfying is rather puzzling. I think it may be one of those times everybody from the director on down was simply going through the motions. Hard to believe, given the cast. But they all seem so - not just two-dimensional, but - lifeless. Perhaps, as one other reviewer suggests, this film would have been better if de Havilland had been teamed with Errol Flynn instead of Frederic March. I don't remember seeing Flynn ever give a less than energetic performance.
Frederic March, one of America's greats, fails to create a character that I could like, sympathize with or root for with any enthusiasm. In fact enthusiasm is what he seems to lack in this role. Olivia de Havilland is somewhat better, but this is one of her least impressive performances. Gale Sondergaard did very little to receive an academy award. The appearances of Louis Heyward and Anita Louise are entirely too short. I like both, and I would have liked more of them and less of March and de Havilland. Perhaps they should have reversed roles...
Edmund Gwenn delivers a typically endearing performance in a typical Edmund Gwenn role. Henry O'Neill is usually very interesting, because he plays both sides of the fence - both good and bad guys. Here, his father Xavier is far more enjoyable than Pedro De Cordoba's Father Francoise.
The only bright spot in this under-achieving ensemble is Claude Rains. He, too, plays both good and bad guys. Here he is an aristocratic charmer and schemer - despicable and deceitful. He is great! In the scene where he laughs demonically, he sends a chill up my spine. Thank you, Mr. Rains, for delivering a great, under-appreciated performance, in an otherwise deservedly forgotten film.
At film's end, I felt like I had read a 1200 page novel - and simultaneously like I had no interest in reading THIS one.