Pierre Fresnay and his wife Yvonne Printemps teamed up for this ill-fated love story between a noble officer and a commoner thespian .
Actually , Maurice led a racy life and Adrienne collected the lovers ;legend had it (so had the movie) that it was a desperate love,a la "dame aux camelias" ; some events are historically true: Adrienne financially helped the Marechal with his career. The thespians were excommunicated and , on her deathbed ,Adrienne was asked to abjure her ungodly occupation.
On the other hand , the poisening by her rival was never proven. Voltaire ,whose tragedies she would perform , demanded an autopsy which was not conclusive .
One sees the actress perform Molière's "Psyché " and Racine's "Phèdre ",and the screenwriters desperately tried to connect the shows with Adrienne's predicament in real life .
This is not one of Lherbier's best films: talky, theatrical , and in spite of two legendary actors, the characters are rather flat ; should you take one of the director's talkies, you will be better off with his Gaston Leroux work in two parts ,"la tragédie impériale", "le bonheur" or "la nuit fantastique".
Actually , Maurice led a racy life and Adrienne collected the lovers ;legend had it (so had the movie) that it was a desperate love,a la "dame aux camelias" ; some events are historically true: Adrienne financially helped the Marechal with his career. The thespians were excommunicated and , on her deathbed ,Adrienne was asked to abjure her ungodly occupation.
On the other hand , the poisening by her rival was never proven. Voltaire ,whose tragedies she would perform , demanded an autopsy which was not conclusive .
One sees the actress perform Molière's "Psyché " and Racine's "Phèdre ",and the screenwriters desperately tried to connect the shows with Adrienne's predicament in real life .
This is not one of Lherbier's best films: talky, theatrical , and in spite of two legendary actors, the characters are rather flat ; should you take one of the director's talkies, you will be better off with his Gaston Leroux work in two parts ,"la tragédie impériale", "le bonheur" or "la nuit fantastique".
