Madame Curie (1943)

Despite himself, accomplished physicist and avowed bachelor Pierre Curie falls for brilliant student Marie, and together they embark on the discovery of radium.

Directors:

Mervyn LeRoy, Albert Lewin (uncredited)

Writers:

Paul Osborn (screen play), Hans Rameau (screen play) (as Paul H. Rameau)

Stars:

Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Henry Travers

Nominated for 7 Oscars.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Greer Garson	...	Marie Curie
Walter Pidgeon	...	Pierre Curie
Henry Travers	...	Eugene Curie
Albert Bassermann	...	Professor Jean Perot
Robert Walker	...	David Le Gros
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Lord Kelvin
May Whitty	...	Madame Eugene Curie (as Dame May Whitty)
Victor Francen	...	President of University
Elsa Bassermann	...	Madame Perot
Reginald Owen	...	Dr. Becquerel
Van Johnson	...	Reporter
Margaret O'Brien	...	Irene Curie - Age 5
James Hilton	...	Narration Spoken By (voice)

Storyline

Biopic of the famed scientist and the work she did with her husband Pierre in the discovery of radium. Marie was a student at the Sorbonne studying for her Master's degree in physics when they first met. She received permission to use space in Professor Pierre Curie's laboratory. They soon fall in love and are married, working together on trying to isolate a radioactive substance Marie has identified as radium. Years of painstaking research and experimentation led to success and Marie and Pierre Curie shared the Nobel Prize in Physics. Sadly, Pierre was killed crossing the street in the rain when he was run over by a horse and wagon. Marie continued to work and make major contributions to science.

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Plot Keywords:

waterfall | radiation | discovery | younger version of character | sorbonne | 

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Taglines:

MR. and MRS. MINIVER together again

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Curie-Sklodowska

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Only one scene in the entire film--a long shot of the Curies on honeymoon--was actually filmed outside of the studio, and even that was second unit.

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Goofs

When Pierre and Marie wake up from their nap in the lab, the blanket is on the shoulder in one cut, but off in the next.

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Quotes

[last lines]
[Madame Curie addresses a large gathering of scientists]
Marie Curie: Even now, after twenty-five years of intensive research, we feel there is a great deal still to be done. We have made many discoveries. Pierre Curie and the suggestions we have found in his notes, and his thoughts he expressed to me have helped to guide us to them. But no one of us can do much. Yet, each of us, perhaps, can catch some gleam of knowledge which, modest and insufficient of itself, may add to man's dream of truth. ...

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Hist-o-Rama: Greer Garson (1961)

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Soundtracks

Wedding March
(1843) (uncredited)
from "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Written by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
In the score as Pierre and Marie start on their honeymoon

User Reviews

one of the better bio-pics of the 40s

Hollywood did a lot of biography pictures in the 1940s. Most of them were awfully good, though a little bit too idealized. Almost all were pretty entertaining. Among them, there are some standouts, such as Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet and Madame Curie. This film was reasonably faithful to her real story, though most notably Greer Garson was a tall lady and Ms. Curie was, according to everything I have read, a tiny little woman. And, thankfully, the MGM people didn't change how her husband died (such as having him survive in order to give the movie an upbeat ending). So what we have is a good primer for kids and teens about the accomplishments of this great lady.

Garson and Pigeon did a nice job--give it a try.