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| Marie Antoinette - 1938 |
Our next Royal Week post comes in the form of 1938's "Marie Antoinette", the story of the ill-fated Queen of France from her arrival on the French scene until her execution by guillotine.
The film's cast includes Norma Shearer, Tyrone Power, John Barrymore, Robert Morley, Gladys George, Anita Louise, Cora Witherspoon, Reginald Gardiner, Barnett Parker, Marilyn Knowlden, Scotty Beckett, Alma Kruger, Joseph Schildkraut, Henry Stephenson, and Ruth Hussey.
In Austria, Empress Maria Theresa informs her daughter Antoine that her marriage treaty has just been signed. She will be henceforth known as Marie Antoinette, and she will one day become the Queen of France.
Excitedly, she sets out for France. Her excitement wanes, however, when she meets her future husband, Louis Auguste.
She puts on a brave face and goes through with the marriage ceremony, becoming the Dauphine of France. Her husband isn't interested in the physical side of things at all, and the marriage goes unconsummated.
After two years of marriage, there is still no child born of the union of Louis Auguste and Marie Antoinette. The king's mistress, Madame du Barry, leads the court in making fun of the couple.
After all du Barry's insults, Louis Auguste wants nothing more than a platonic friendship out of their marriage. Marie Antoinette is deeply disappointed.
She rushes into a maddening and dizzying array of parties and frivolities, dazzling the courtiers with her opulent gowns and glittering jewels.
It's at one of these parties that she meets Count Axel de Fersen. She's looking for a Russian for a scavenger hunt party game. Seeing him, she asks, "Are you by any chance a Russian?" To which he responds, "I, a Russian? Unfortunately, no, Madame." Marie Antoinette sighs and says, "Oh, don't say that. I need one so badly."
They are instantly and powerfully drawn to one another. Marie Antoinette at first conceals her identity from him, but then reveals all, to Count Fersen's shock.
The Austrian ambassador, Count de Mercey, chastises Marie Antoinette for her frivolity and her coldness towards the King's mistress.
So, Marie Antoinette does what she does best: throws a party. Invited for the first time is Madame du Berry.
Marie Antoinette has every intention of receiving her cordially. However, Madame du Berry spews out pointed barbs and biting insults. Marie Antoinette insults her right back, and the king as well, causing the couple to leave the ball.
Louis Auguste leaps to Marie Antoinette's defense, and promises to be a better husband to her.
Humiliated, Marie Antoinette flees to Count Mercey's residence with every intention of returning to Austria.
Instead of Count Mercey, she meets Count Fersen. The two of them renew their acquaintance and their chemistry is very much in evidence again. They decide to run away together, but first Marie Antoinette wants to return to the palace to tell her husband the news herself.
Their romance is not to last. Not too long after returning to the palace, the king dies and Louis Auguste and Marie Antoinette are proclaimed King and Queen of France.
While Marie Antoinette wants to keep on seeing Count Fersen, he breaks off the relationship, saying that he doesn't want to ruin her reputation. The two part in tears.
Of course, we know what happens during the course of the new reign. Marie Antoinette becomes caught up in the scandalous Affair of the Diamond Necklace.
She is horrified at the way the crowds now react to her and the other members of the royal family.
Marie Antoinette and her husband have no one but themselves to turn to in their hour of need.
Count Fersen resurfaces and offers to help them escape. However, the plan falls through and the royal family is captured.
The bitter pill of separation is almost to much for the husband and wife to bear. Eventually, their road leads to the end of the monarchy and to the guillotine.
Count Fersen is a witness to Marie Antoinette's death. After it is over, he looks down at a memento of their friendship.
Cast rundown:
Norma Shearer..............................Queen Marie Antoinette
Tyrone Power.................................Count Axel de Fersen
John Barrymore.............................King Louis XV
Robert Morley................................King Louis XVI
Gladys George...............................Madame du Berry
Anita Louise...................................Princess de Lamballe
Cora Witherspoon...........................Countess de Noailles
Reginald Gardiner...........................Comte d'Artois
Barnett Parker................................Prince de Rohan
Marilyn Knowlden...........................Princess Therese
Scotty Beckett................................Prince Louis
Alma Kruger...................................Empress Maria Theresa
Joseph Schildkraut..........................Duke d'Orleans
Henry Stephenson..........................Count de Mercey
Ruth Hussey..................................Duchess de Polignac
And that's it for Marie Antoinette. This film was originally supposed to be shot in Technicolor, but the huge productions costs caused that idea to be scrapped. It's unfortunate, because many of the costumes had been dyed specifically for that purpose. One of the capes worn by Norma Shearer had a fur trim, and it had been dyed the exact shade of her eyes. The costumes were created by famed Hollywood designer Adrian, who conducted meticulous research in Paris and Vienna on royal portraits. He often used a microscope so that he could duplicate the exact embroidery on the gowns. The costumes used for this movie were the most expensive in film history. Norma Shearer's gowns had a combined weight of 1,768 pounds. The heaviest of these gowns was the wedding dress, which weighed 108 pounds and featured hundreds of yards of white silk satin hand embroidered with gilt thread.
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