Watchingwell
Curated classic films
History from Hollywood
As Women's History "Month" draws to a close, it's not too late to take note of some films where historical figures are portrayed by classic film actresses. Although some of these films take liberties with the real history, for the sake of artistic appeal, I recommend them for the wonderful sets, costumes and makeup that were devoted to portraying accurately these women and their times.
Hollywood was always interested in royalty, and one of the most famous biopics starred the most famous actress, Greta Garbo. She plays the Queen of Sweden in the 1933 film, Queen Christina. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, and co-starring John Gilbert, the film is about the Queen's choice between duty to country and personal happiness.
In 1934, Cecil B. DeMille directed the most unlikely- looking Claudette Colbert in Cleopatra -- seemingly. But it's amazing what makeup, hairstyles, and costumes can do. Watch for the opulence of a DeMille spectacle, rather than a history lesson.
Also, from 1934, Marlene Dietrich plays Catherine the Great in The Scarlet Empress, directed by her mentor/collaborator, Josef von Sternberg, in an Expressionist vision that is clearly pre-code. The story of the young and innocent German princess who marries the idiot Czar and then takes over when he is 'deposed' is accurate in that she was German and she did eventually take over.
Royalty was not the only biopic subject released in 1934. Norma Shearer portrayed poet, Elizabeth Barrett, in The Barretts of Wimpole Street. Directed by Sidney Franklin, the film seems to center more on the tyrannical father, played by Charles Laughton, who forbids his children to marry, than it does on the romance between Elizabeth and Robert Browning. Also starring Maureen O'Sullivan as sister, Henrietta, who also wants to marry.
Barbara Stanwyck stars in the 1935 romanticized account of sharpshooter, Annie Oakley. Directed by George Stevens and co-starring Preston Foster and Melvyn Douglas, the film traces her transformation from farm girl to international celebrity. Mostly fiction, but entertaining.
From 1936, we have Katherine Hepburn as Mary of Scotland. We all know the political and personal rivalry between Mary and her cousin, Elizabeth I, who eventually signs the order for her execution, but this film reveals Mary's struggle for the loyalty of her own Scottish lords and the intrigues of ambitious husbands. Directed by John Ford, it costars Frederic March and Florence Eldridge.
Queen Elizabeth I was played by Flora Robson in Fire Over England in 1937. The story of England's rivalry with Spain, while Spain still dominated the seas has a fine cast of players, the most interesting of which are Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, who fell in love in real life during the making of this film. Directed by William K. Howard and co-starring James Mason and Raymond Massey.
Norma Shearer portrayed the doomed royal personage in Marie Antoinette from 1938. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, the film follows her life from her marriage in 1770 to her beheading in sumptuous splendor. Well-acted by Shearer and Robert Morley as the weak and indecisive Louis, and a fine cast of players.
In 1939, Bette Davis took a turn as Elizabeth I in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. This episode in the Queen's life involves her love for the much younger Earl of Essex, played by Errol Flynn. In the end, she sees that his ambition would make him too dangerous to marry. More legend than history -- there was no romance between them, it is as historically accurate as Warner Bros. costumers, makeup artists, and set designers could make it. Directed by Michael Curtiz, Davis rivets the attention with her performance, but co-stars Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland, Vincent Price, Alan Hale, and Henry Daniell are all good.
Bette Davis portrayed another royal in a film released in the same year. The role was Carlota, the wife of the Emperor Maximilian, the doomed monarch planted in Mexico after France defeated Spain. The film is actually called Juarez, after the leader of the Mexican democracy movement, although the film concentrates as much on Maximilian, played by Brian Aherne, and Carlota, as much as Juarez, played by Paul Muni, king of the biopics.
In 1941, we move away from royalty to the story of Edna Gladney, played by Greer Garson in Blossoms in the Dust, directed by Mervyn Leroy. Gladney devoted her life to removing the unfair stigma from illegitimate orphans, who were discriminated against in adoptions because of the circumstances of their birth. Beautifully acted by Garson and co-stars, Walter Pidgeon, Marsha Hunt and Felix Bressart.
In 1943, Greer Garson, with her team of co-star Walter Pidgeon and director Mervyn Leroy, told the story of Madame Curie. Actually, the film covers only a short period of her life when she meets Pierre at the Sorbonne, when they work together, trying to isolated radium, and when she becomes the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in science.
In the same year, 1943, Rosalind Russell stars in Flight for Freedom, a somewhat fictionalized account of Amelia Earhart's career and last flight, as a character named Tonie Carter. Directed by Lothar Mendes and co-starring Fred MacMurray as ace pilot Randy Britton with whom she goes on a special assignment over Japanese-held islands.
Rosalind Russell attempted a more serious biography in 1946 as Sister Kenny, the Australian nurse who had developed a treatment for polio victims, which was met with skepticism and condescension from the medical profession. The treatment was controversial as to its effectiveness, but it was often rejected because of her lack of status. Directed by Dudley Nichols.
Also from 1946, Devotion, directed by Curtis Berhardt, the story of the Bronte sisters, Emily, played by Ida Lupino, Charlotte, played by Olivia DeHavilland, and Anne, played by Nancy Coleman. Arthur Kennedy is cast as the tormented brother, Branwell, with Paul Henreid as the love interest. Not particularly accurate history, but well-acted and accompanied by a superb score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Irene Dunne is the English schoolmistress in Anna and King of Siam, the 1946 film directed by John Cromwell. Also starring Rex Harrison as the King, this film is more realistic and a truer account of events than the musical version of 1956. Additionally, the musical shifts the energy to Yul Brynner, while this film is Anna Leonowen's story, and Ms. Dunne delivers.
Dunne also portrays Queen Victoria in the 1950 film, The Mudlark. A homeless boy, played by Andrew Ray, finds his way into the lives of the Queen and Prime Minister, Disraeli, played by Alec Guiness, in this heartstrings-tugging story. Guiness does a great job as the eloquent orator in Parliament and the one who takes an interest in the "mudlark', one of the homeless boys who live on the banks of the Thames. Directed by Jean Negulesco.
