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:

MGM's recreation of the ballroom at Versailles was twice as large as the original.

Quotes:

Duke d'Orléans: Bravo, witty & beautiful. Oh most rare lady. To the King:Sire.
Mme. du Barry: Oh, his Grace d'Orleans. I've been waiting.
Duke d'Orléans: I'm desolate.
Mme. du Barry: His grace is late.
Duke d'Orléans: The loss is mine, Madame.
Mme. du Barry: Flatter, I believe you want something.
Duke d'Orléans: Let's see. Why, of course I do. I want to be Grand Admiral of France
Mme. du Barry: Laughing: And can we resist him? He has all the charm of a sailor.
Duke d'Orléans: You're too kind.
Mme. du Barry: Oh, but you have. And I've know lots of sailors. All fancy lads. And all liars.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Another Romance of Celluloid (1938)

Soundtrack:

La Marseillaise

"They don't make them this way anymore!"

Often said, and, for better or for worse, just as often true: "Marie Antoinette" is one of THE definitive examples of an MGM prestige picture, 1930s style. Years in planning and preproduction, "Marie Antoinette" was Norma Shearer's first film after Irving Thalberg's death: little expense was spared in making the "First Lady of MGM"'s return to the screen a royal one in every sense.

Technically superb, the film suffers from erratic pacing and a patchwork script. But the supporting cast alone almost compensates for these deficiencies: Robert Morley side-stepping caricature to make Louis XVI touchingly human; John Barrymore and Gladys George contributing brilliant, razor-sharp vignettes as Louis XV and Madame du Barry (indeed, the confrontation between Marie Antoinette and du Barry is one of the film's highlights); and Joseph Schildkraut redefining the term "oily" as the scheming Duke of Orleans. Only Tyrone Power (borrowed from 20th Century-Fox) comes off less well; this, perhaps is due more to an ill-conceived role in the script than to a lack of acting ability as such.

But it is, first and foremost, Shearer's film and she is superb. From the young, light-hearted Austrian Archduchess to the fun-loving, lightheaded Queen to the prematurely aged but proud and defiant widow on her way to the guillotine, Shearer is in full command, giving a splendid display of her artistry (including, in the prison scenes, an outstanding example of silent film technique): it is her finest mature dramatic performance.

Carps, quibbles, and differences of opinion? Yes, every film lover has them, if only out of love for the medium or a specific film. But after viewing a film such as "Marie Antoinette," it can with utmost conviction be stated, "They DON'T make them that way anymore."