Desirée (1954)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

Annemarie Selinko (book)
Daniel Taradash (writer)

Release Date:

17 November 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Plot:

The rise and fall of Napoleon Botaparte, Emperor of France.

Plot Keywords:

France | Napoleon Bonaparte | Napoleon I | One Word Title | Royalty

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Napoleon Bonaparte
Jean Simmons	...	Desiree Clary
Merle Oberon	...	Empress Josephine
Michael Rennie	...	Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
Cameron Mitchell	...	Joseph Bonaparte
Elizabeth Sellars	...	Julie, Desiree's sister
Charlotte Austin	...	Paulette Bonaparte
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Mme. Bonaparte
Evelyn Varden	...	Marie
Isobel Elsom	...	Mme. Clary, Desiree's mother
John Hoyt	...	Talleyrand
Alan Napier	...	Despreaux
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary Stewart

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Marlon Brando's nose is faked (make-up).

Quotes:

Napoleon Bonaparte: I want my family to be well established. Joseph, particularly. The rest must wait until the victorious culmination of my campaign in Italy.
Desiree Clary: And you think you can do with people precisely what you want? That life is as you say it is?
Napoleon Bonaparte: Have you ever heard of a thing called destiny, Désirée?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Munsters: Munster Masquerade (#1.1)" (1964)

One of the best book to film movies I've ever seen.

My first introduction to this stroy was when my best friend gave me a copy of a very battered "Desiree" by Annemarie Selinko. When I found this movie, I was skeptical. I love the book, and most often, when books are made into movies, they are ruined. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie fit in so well with the book, and in fact used some of the same dialogue.

I felt that all of the actors did a remarkable job. Desiree was almost exactly the way that I had pictured her. Jean-Baptiste was also very like the image I had previously formed. Napoleon was amazing. He was so like the real Napoleon, I didn't have any trouble beliving that it really was him. Even though there were some things left out, like the end of the book and therefore the end of the story, I enjoyed it very much. I would not object to seeing this movie more, and it made my love for the book increase a great deal.

If you loved the movie, and even if you didn't, I would suggest getting a copy of the book. The romance between Desiree and Napoleon is much more pronounced as well as Desiree's love for Jean-Baptiste. The story-line is the same, but the end gives you the much needed satisfaction of seeing Desiree back in Sweden.

In my opinion, this is a first-rate movie, and I reccommend it to all.