Marie Antoinette (1938) | |
| Director(s) | W.S. Van Dyke, Julien Duvivier (uncredited) |
| Producer(s) | Hunt Stromberg, Irving Thalberg (uncredited) |
| Top Genres | Biographical, Drama, Historical, Romance |
| Top Topics | Book-Based, Infidelity, Paris, Romance (Drama), Royalty |
Featured Cast:
Marie Antoinette Overview:
Marie Antoinette (1938) was a Drama - Drama Film directed by W.S. Van Dyke and Julien Duvivier and produced by Hunt Stromberg and Irving Thalberg.
The film was based on the biography Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman written by Stefan Zweig 1932.
SYNOPSIS
A long, lavish biopic chronicling the life of the French queen (Shearer) who wanted only a simple life on a farm, but was finally consumed by the French Revolution. Central to the film's story, adapted from the best-selling biography by Stefan Zweig, are the intrigues at Versailles and the scandal of the diamond necklace. Power, on loan from Fox (in exchange for Spencer Tracy's appearance in Stanley and Livingstone), plays Marie's Swedish lover Ferson and Morley is excellent as weak Louis XVI. A big-budget showcase for Shearer's return after a two-year absence while she grieved the loss of husband and MGM production chief Irving Thalberg. While Sidney Franklin spent years preparing to direct the film, studio boss Mayer forced him to stand back and allow no-nonsense Van Dyke to take over.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
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Academy Awards 1938 --- Ceremony Number 11 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Supporting Actor | Robert Morley | Nominated |
| Best Actress | Norma Shearer | Nominated |
| Best Art Direction | Cedric Gibbons | Nominated |
| Best Music - Scoring | Herbert Stothart | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
Marie Antoinette (1938)
By Amanda Garrett on Jun 3, 2016 From Old Hollywood FilmsToday, I'm reviewing the 1938 biopic of French Queen Marie Antoinette, starring Norma Shearer. This article is part of The Royalty on Film Blogathon hosted by The Flapper Dame. Eighteenth century French Queen Marie Antoinette is still a pop culture icon for her over-the-top fashions and her ... Read full article
Marie Antoinette (1938)
By Beatrice on Dec 2, 2013 From Flickers in TimeMarie Antoinette Directed by W.S. Van Dyke Written by Claudine West, Donald Ogden Stewart, and Ernest Vajda based in part on the book by Stefan Zweig 1938/USA Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer First viewing I am not big on 2 1/2 hour-plus costume dramas … especially if Norma Shearer is going to play a tee... Read full article
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Quotes from
Comte de Provence: I say run and you'll loose your crown!
Comte d'Artois: And I say stay and you'll loose your head!
Count Axel de Fersen: I must let you go. Goodbye.
Marie: Good night. Or, if you wish good morning. I shall never say goodbye.
Count Axel de Fersen: When I'm gone you'll be glad that I didn't stand in the path of your destiny making you less than you were meant to be.
Marie: And that other kingdom? The love, the youth, the happiness we might have had... what of that?
Count Axel de Fersen: We shall dream of it more tenderly because we didn't destroy it.
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Facts about
Gladys George (who plays du Barry) and the real Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry, share the same death day. George died from a cerebral hemorrhage on Dec. 8, 1954, while the comtesse was a victim of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution and was guillotined on Dec. 8, 1793 - less than two months after Marie Antionette's own execution.
The film credits Louis XI as uttering the famous quip,"After me, the deluge" referring to the upcoming chaos of the French Revolution. However, it is his most celebrated mistress Madame de Pompadour who is historically credited to have made this comment to Louis XI. France played a disastrous role in the Seven Years' War, which among other loses, included losing Canadian territory to the much hated British. But it was after the humiliating Prussian defeat in the Battle of Rossbach that caused Pompadour to comfort the king by saying to him,"After us, the deluge" as France emerged from the war diminished and virtually bankrupt and greatly reduced the king's popularity.
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