Saint Joan (1957)

Young Joan of Arc comes to the palace in France to make The Dauphin King of France and is appointed to head the French Army. After winning many battles she is not needed any longer and soon... See full summary »

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Graham Greene, George Bernard Shaw (play)

Stars:

Richard Widmark, Richard Todd, Anton Walbrook

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Widmark	...	The Dauphin, Charles VII
Richard Todd	...	Dunois, Bastard of Orleans
Anton Walbrook	...	Cauchon - Bishop of Beauvais
John Gielgud	...	Earl of Warwick
Felix Aylmer	...	Inquisitor
Archie Duncan	...	Robert de Baudricourt
Harry Andrews	...	John de Stogumber
Margot Grahame	...	Duchesse de la Tremouille
Barry Jones	...	De Courcelles
Francis De Wolff	...	La Tremouille
Finlay Currie	...	Archbishop of Rheims
Victor Maddern	...	English Soldier
Bernard Miles	...	Master Executioner
David Oxley	...	'Bluebeard',- Gilles de Rais
Patrick Barr	...	Captain La Hire

Storyline

Young Joan of Arc comes to the palace in France to make The Dauphin King of France and is appointed to head the French Army. After winning many battles she is not needed any longer and soon she is thought of as a witch.

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Plot Keywords:

france | joan of arc | trial | religion | religious conviction | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die heilige Johanna

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wheel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A special effects accident caused actress Jean Seberg actually to catch fire in the scene where Joan of Arc is burned. (She [Seberg] sustained only very minor injuries.)

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Quotes

St.Joan of Arc: There's no help, no council in any of you. I thought I would have friends in the court of France, and I find only wolves fighting for pieces of her poor torn body. I believed that you, who now cast me out, would be like strong towers to keep harm from me. But I'm wiser now and nobody is any the worse for being wiser. Don't think you can frighten me by telling me that I'm alone. France is alone... and God is alone... and what is my loneliness before the loneliness of my country and my God?

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Connections

Referenced in The Closer You Get (2000)

User Reviews

This is Shaw, NOT Who have you

Most of the comments made on this film suggest that the writers have neither read nor seen the George Bernard Shaw play on which it is based. Shaw in "St. Joan," as in every single one of his plays, is all about talk. It's impossible to make an action movie out of a Shaw play without doing it irremediable violence. "St. Joan" is a play about Nationalism and Protestantism, ideas that did not even exist in the period when the play is set. Shaw's St. Joan IS a French nationalist, which is what makes her an anathema to the British. Shaw's St. Joan IS a Protestant, inspired directly by the spirit of God, un-mediated by the Church, and that is why she is an anathema to the Catholic authorities. Preminger's "St. Joan" is an adaptation of the play and, because the play (in important respects) utterly defies film conventions, the movie is mediocre. Anyone who wants to understand "St. Joan" as Shaw conceived her needs either to read or see the play, preferably both. Unfortunately, "St. Joan" is rarely performed these days, partly because Shaw has fallen out of fashion but also because it takes an extraordinary young actress to perform convincingly as Shaw's Maid, a warrior child whose voices speak common sense to her, , and there aren't too many of those around. If a director wishes to make another FILM about Jean d'Arc, as someone, somewhere, some time will undoubtedly want to do, Shaw's play is not the place to look. It belongs to the stage or the page, not the movies.