Désirée (film)
| Désirée | |
|---|---|
20th Century Fox | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English Swedish |
| Budget | $2,720,000[2] |
| Box office | $9,000,000 |
Désirée is a 1954 American historical romance film directed by Henry Koster and produced by Julian Blaustein from a screenplay by Daniel Taradash, based on the best-selling novel Désirée by Annemarie Selinko. The music score was by Alex North and the cinematography by Milton R. Krasner. The film was made in CinemaScope.
It stars Marlon Brando as Napoleon Bonaparte and Jean Simmons as Désirée Clary. It also stars Merle Oberon and Michael Rennie with Cameron Mitchell, Elizabeth Sellars, Charlotte Austin, Cathleen Nesbitt, Carolyn Jones and Evelyn Varden.
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Art Direction (color) (Lyle R. Wheeler, Leland Fuller, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox) and Best Costume Design (René Hubert and Charles LeMaire).[3]
Plot
In 1794, in
Napoleon eventually returns to Marseille, tells Désirée that he has been cleared of all charges, but has been ordered to track down Bourbon royalists in Paris. Désirée begs Napoleon to leave the Army and join her brother in business, but he scoffs at the idea and instead proposes marriage. Désirée accepts and lends Napoleon the money to return to Paris.
Napoleon tells her that he will always love her and will return soon for their wedding, but, as the months pass, Désirée starts doubting him and goes to the city where she meets General Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. She learns that Napoleon is engaged to the wealthy Joséphine de Beauharnais. Désirée contemplates suicide, but Bernadotte, who has fallen in love with her, stops her.
Later, in 1797, Napoleon, now France's leading general, has succeeded in
By July 4, 1799, Désirée and Bernadotte have happily settled into married life and have a son,
Several years later, Napoleon is proclaimed emperor, and at his coronation, he takes the crown from the hands of Pope Pius VII and crowns himself.
Five years later, desperate for an heir, Napoleon divorces Josephine, and Désirée comforts her former rival, before Napoleon's upcoming marriage to the 18-year-old Marie Louise of Austria. Napoleon involves France in more wars, and Bernadotte is approached by representatives of King Charles XIII of Sweden, who wishes to adopt him and make him the heir to the throne. Désirée, stunned by the news that she will one day be a queen, nevertheless supports her husband, and eventually Napoleon allows both of them to leave Paris.
In Stockholm, Désirée does not fit in with the royal family and asks to go home. Eight months later, she attends a ball in Paris at which Napoleon shows off his new son, Napoleon II. Napoleon makes veiled threats about Bernadotte's alliance with Russia and announces to the crowd that she will be held hostage to ensure Sweden's support while his army invades Russia and captures Moscow.
Napoleon's army is defeated, and he visits Désirée, asking her to write a letter to Bernadotte, requesting his help. Désirée realizes that Napoleon still loves her and came more for her than to seek her husband's help. Soon after, during the War of the Sixth Coalition, Bernadotte leads one of the armies that overwhelms Napoleon, and the triumphant general reunites with Désirée before returning to Sweden.
Napoleon's exile to
Cast
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Uncredited
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Reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote: "A great deal of handsome decoration and two talented and attractive stars have been put into the CinemaScope production of the historical romance 'Desiree.' The only essential missing is a story of any consequence ... Mr. Taradash's script is quite positive in indicating that Napoleon loved the girl in the first flush of his ascendancy. But then it permits the amorous passion to appear to die, and there is not much in this line to intrigue the viewer until the end of the film."[4] Variety called the film "easily one of the best and most potent costumers to come along in the widescreen age," and called Brando's performance "a masterful exhibition of thesping."[5] Harrison's Reports called it "an engrossing entertainment, with exceptionally fine performances."[6] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post called the film "a feast to the eyes and a torture to the ears, intelligence and sensibilities," and called Brando's performance "better than 'Desiree' deserves."[7] John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote, "There's a lot of colorful stuff on view—palace fêtes, lovely gardens and so on—but the plot is practically invisible."[8] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "As Napoleon, Marlon Brando is given little opportunity to do more than wear the uniforms and strike the familiar attitudes ... although the performance is tentative and uneasy, he carries off some scenes with authority, a suggestion of muffled power, that perhaps indicates what he might have been able to make of the character in a film more ambitiously and imaginatively conceived."[9]
Notes
The story of Désirée was the subject of an earlier film, Le Destin fabuleux de Désirée Clary, made in 1942 by Sacha Guitry.
References
- ^ "Désirée". Retrieved June 23, 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p248
- ^ "NY Times: Désirée". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (November 18, 1954). "The Screen: 'Desiree' and Napoleon". The New York Times: 42.
- ^ "Desiree". Variety: 6. November 17, 1954.
- ^ "'Desiree' with Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Merle Oberon and Michael Rennie". November 20, 1954: 187.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Coe, Richard L. (November 26, 1954). "Napoleon Brando Not Quite Vintage". The Washington Post. p. 17.
- ^ McCarten, John (November 27, 1954). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. p. 189.
- ^ "Desiree". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 22 (254): 34. March 1955.
External links
- Désirée at IMDb
- Désirée at Rotten Tomatoes
- Désirée Clary
- The story of Desiree (ger.)
