Madame Bovary (1949)

A provincial doctor's wife's romantic illusions about life and social status lead her to betray her naive husband, take on lovers and run up ruinous debts.

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Robert Ardrey (screenplay), Gustave Flaubert (novel)

Stars:

Jennifer Jones, James Mason, Van Heflin

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Jones	...	Emma Bovary
James Mason	...	Gustave Flaubert
Van Heflin	...	Charles Bovary
Louis Jourdan	...	Rodolphe Boulanger
Alf Kjellin	...	Leon Dupuis (as Christopher Kent)
Gene Lockhart	...	J. Homais
Frank Allenby	...	Lhereux
Gladys Cooper	...	Mme. Dupuis
John Abbott	...	Mayor Tuvache
Harry Morgan	...	Hyppolite (as Henry Morgan)
George Zucco	...	Dubocage
Ellen Corby	...	Felicite
Eduard Franz	...	Roualt
Henri Letondal	...	Guillaumin
Esther Somers	...	Mme. Lefrancois

Storyline

French author Gustave Flaubert is on trial for writing the "indecent" novel "Madame Bovary." To prove that he wrote a moral tale, Flaubert narrates the story of beautiful Emma Bovary, an adulteress who destroyed the lives of everyone she came in contact with.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | trial | author | adulteress | debt | 

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Taglines:

Whatever it is that French women have ... Madame Bovary had more of it!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 January 1950 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Madame Bovary und ihre Liebhaber

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Vincente Minnelli wanted Lana Turner for the role of Emma, but was convinced that a more dignified actress like Greer Garson or Jennifer Jones was needed for the audience to understand the character more.

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Quotes

Emma Bovary: Is it a crime to want things to be beautiful?

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Connections

Version of Madame Bovary (1974)

User Reviews

Flaubert revisited by Hollywood.

Three versions stand out as far as Flaubert's classic is concerned:the Jean Renoir one,with Valentine Tessier,which has not worn well,the acting has become unconvincing and almost lurid when you see it today,Minelli's version and Claude Chabrol's starring Isabelle Huppert ,which doesn't avoid totally academism,despite Jean-François Balmer's portrayal of Charles that steals the show . Now for Minelli 's attempt:some have been hard on his rendition,and however,it features the best Emma ever:Jennifer Jones,the romantic heroine par excellence.Her savage beauty,looking tense,triumphs here. The supporting acts are well-chosen:Van Heflin is oafish,meek.The French Louis Jourdan is well-cast as Rodolphe Boulanger,Emma's lover who betrays her and leaves her to despair.Their final confrontation,in Boulanger's luxury mansion oozes hatred and contempt. The main drawback is the rural background:Minelli did not realize how this country life disgusted Emma:the wedding,a very very peasant one ,which Flaubert describes in lavish detail,is too short on the screen.The farms are too clean-Emma dreamed her childhood away because she could not stand the mediocrity of her milieu.She jumped out of the frying pan into the fire:a two-bit doctor,a would-be sawbones who 's totally incompetent.Van Heflin's rendering makes up for Minelli's weaknesses.The movie is sandwiched between two brief scenes of Flaubert 's trial (He was accused of immorality in his book),that's redundant.It would have been better to tell the audience about Emma's daughter's terrible fate:after the doctor's death,an orphan,she becomes a worker in a spinning mill.Supreme decay for a mother who was longing to be a socialite.