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:

All she wanted was everything.

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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

The Breen Office opposed the movie, saying that it had too many controversies and innuendo; everything from the makeup to the kissing scenes had be washed down a bit to pass the censors.

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Quotes

Charles Bovary: [to the Marquis] I'm just a village doctor and it isn't often I have the honor of murdering such a distinguished patient.

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Connections

Version of Madame Bovary (1947)

User Reviews

Positive review of a half forgotten film

Although it is several years since I saw it I can remember the beautiful photography and period setting of this not very happy story of a tormented woman.Particularly Jennifer Jones,a vastly underrated actress giving a sensitive performance which one imagined could have done with a bit more directoral guidance. Minnelli was one of those directors who seemed to give all or nothing to his projects.By his own admission he had very little interest in "Kismet" as he wanted to get it out of the way in order to start "Lust for Life" with Kirk Douglas.The lumbering manner of "Kismet" shows this to be true !! (he owed MGM one picture under his contract before starting "Lust for Life" and unfortunately for the project "Kismet" was it)Additionally Minelli did not want Jones in the lead role and one wonders how influencial David Selznick was in pushing for Jennifer once Lana Turner was unavailable for the lead.At any rate Lana had not yet developed her dramatic abilities which would lie some years ahead.Jennifer showed that she was adaptable to many moods including a few years later her scene stealing turn in "Beat the Devil" few actresses can take credit for stealing a picture away from Bogie,Peter Lorre,Robert Morley and LaLolla. Back to Madame Bovary,although the subject is a heavy one,it is well handled by Minnelli,and most reference books today regard it as a sadly neglected piece,which deserves a wider recognition.Interestingly if my memory serves me correctly Vincente barely mentions it in his autobiography.Maybe his private life at the time and his more financially successful works figure more prominantly in his memory.If I had directed Madame Bovary I would be immensly proud of it.Maybe he was.