Marie Antoinette

Comment: Irving Thalberg never tired of seeing his beloved wife Norman Shearer in films, especially period pieces. Thalberg rescued her from a reasonably undistinguished though profitable career in silent films when they married in 1927 and he put her in "The Divorcee" (1930) for which she won the Oscar. Despite her successes (6 Oscar nominations), Thalberg's love for her had her playing roles in which she was far too old to be realistic. She played the teenage Juliette in 1936 and in 1938 she plays the teenage Marie Antoinette. It's just plain silly to see a 36 year old woman trying her best to act like an 18th century teenager. BTW - this was Thalberg's last film. He died while it was still in the planning stage.

If Shearer's pracing like an adolescent isn't enough to make you fast forward, the deadly slow pace of the film will. Tyronne Power doesn't even show up until 40+ minutes into the film, and then disappears again for quite a while.

Of course the film is not entirely without its merits. The costumes and the music are great, as one would expect in a $2 million film. Robert Morley steals the show in his film debut as the shy Louis XVI, although his performance seems more invented than biographical. Morley, of course, was a great actor, and for his role in this film he was nominated for an Oscar (but lost to Walter Brennan in "Kentucky"). He was nominated for a Golden Globe for "Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe" (1978), but personally I thought his best performance was as the missionary in "The African Queen" (1951).

It's always good to see John Barrymore. He'd been in Romeo and Juliette with Shearer in 1936 and appears with her again in Maria Antoinette. This was one of his last films, though he managed to get in "The Great Man Votes" the following year.

Woody van Dyke directs. Best known for his "Thin Man" films, for which he received an Oscar nomination in 1935, he also received a nomination for "San Francisco" (1936) and directed Nelson Eddy and Jeanette Macdonald in 6 of their films. Van Dyke enjoyed exotic locations and made such films as "Heart of the Yukon" (1927), "White Shadows in the South Seas" (1928), "Eskimo" (1933), "Northwest Passage" (1940) and "Cairo" (1942).

Herbert Stothart was the composer. Stothart won the Oscar for "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) and was nominated 9 more times, including for this film. He was often used in period pieces, and his films include "Treasure Island" (1934), Viva Villa" (1934), "David Copperfield" (1935), Anna Karenina" (1935), "Tale of Two Cities" (1935), and "Romeo and Juliette" (1936).

All things considered the film is a bore. And there is no worse bore than a long bore at 160 minutes.

Comment: NOTE: This review was written in reaction against the recent Kirsten Dunst film]

The interesting thing about Marie Antoinette is that she was a rather ordinary woman of her class who, through motherhood & unbelievably bad luck (like a revolution), nonetheless matured as an individual & discovered the courage to face the terrors life had in store for her. In many ways her story parallels that of Princess Diana. The royal marriage that was supposed to be something out of a fairy tale, turns out to be more a deadly nightmare instead. Both had husbands who were really not interested in them; Diana's because of adultery, and Marie's due to her husband's physical impediment. They both fiercely loved their children--and, of course, both died tragically.

Marie Antoinette also pre-shadowed Diana's hounding by the paparazzi. She was the first monarch to fall victim to the (printing) press. The hated Austrian Queen of France was subject to an unrelenting & savgage attack in slanderous articles, broadsides & vicious cartoons. All the problems in France at that time were said to be instigated by her. She was accused of every crime & sin in the book. We won't go into that, but the point is that there was such more to the real story of this ill-fated woman.

An early Hollywood B&W film "Marie Antoinette" even with all its historic inaccuracies & romanticisms hit truer to the mark than Coppola's nonsense. Actress Norma Shearer is very good in the role, ranging from fifteen to thirty-seven. Of course she never really appears to physically age in the film until the final scenes (that would have been a box office no-no), but she conveyed the age progression through her art. In one scene a timeless moment of acting brilliance is captured in the picture. It is the scene following the King's execution. Marie Antoinette, who by this time had developed a solid marriage & deep friendship with Louis, is alone in a dingy cell with her son & daughter. The revolutionists barge in with an order to permanently remove the boy from his mother's care. As they go to take him, Norma Shearer lunges at them screaming, almost snarling, "You're not going to take my son!"

The authenticity of the performance, in that one moment, is a revelation of real acting talent.

That one B&W scene from a typical 1930's Hollywood costume drama rose to a level of artistic achievement that leaves the Kirsten Dunst "Marie" in the dust.

Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette: A Film by David Grubin
Marie Antoinette: Scapegoat Queen
The Duchess
Marie Antoinette: The Journey
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
Tale of Two Cities: Literary Masterpieces [VHS]
A Tale of Two Cities (Penguin Classics)

Comment: Purists will hate me for saying this, but I wish this film could be colorized. I caught this on TV many years ago and was stunned by how sharp and beautiful the costumes were. If only this pageantry had been captured in color! Other than that, it was gorgeous to look at and Shearer's acting was excellent (especially in the last scenes). I think she overacted in the beginning with the teenage girl coquettishness - "Oh Mama, think of it! I will be Queen of France" - but she got better and better as the movie continued until she really disappeared into the character at the end. I can't imagine any contemporary Hollywood productions topping this for production values!

Comment: Flick is almost unwatchable for someone with an appreciation of acting and a sense of screenwriting and history. Zweig would have been better off by hitting the archives himself and not just relying on the faulty Girard letters and his amateur psychology. Shearer is plain unbearable with her constant sobbing and shrugging. It's painful to watch her at 35 trying to play a 14 year-old girl. Spending 3m and not shooting in Technicolor was another huge mistake MGM made. And it's really great to see Louis XVI and the "mob" both portrayed as retards. Thanks, Hollywood, now the French Revolution finally makes sense.

Comment: Norma Shearer is believable the way she portrays a giddy girl becoming a self indulgent and finally down-trodden queen. Anita Louise is really outstanding in her role of the beautiful Princess de Lamballe and Robert Morley correctly plays poor Louis XVI. They worked well together in their portrayal of the doomed trio and Tyrone Power was superb as Count Ferson.