I knew it was black-and-white, and that the leading actor won the Oscar, it was the first time a British actor in a British film won the Academy Award. So, you could say, it is the British movie that finally cracked America, produced and directed by Alexander Korda. Basically, it tells the story of King Henry VIII (Oscar winning Charles Laughton), through his five marriages, after the divorce from his first (and least interesting) wife, Catherine of Aragon. It begins in the immediate aftermath of the execution of his second wife, Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon), beheaded for high treason. Henry goes om to marry Jane Seymour (Wendy Barrie), who dies giving birth to their son Edward eighteen months later. He then weds a German princess, Anne of Cleves (Bride of Frankenstein's Elsa Lanchester, Laughton's real-life wife). This marriage ends in divorce when Anne deliberately makes herself unattractive so she can be free to marry her sweetheart. (An imagined scene sees Anne "wins her freedom" from Henry in a game of cards.) After this divorce, Henry marries the beautiful and ambitious Lady Katherine Howard (Binnie Barnes). But this marriage also ends when Henry discovers her affair with his handsome courtier Thomas Culpeper (Robert Donat), their liaison leads to them both being beheaded. Henry is weak and aging, but he allows himself one last chance of happiness, when he marries sixth wife Catherine Parr (Everley Gregg). She proves domineering, he breaks the fourth wall, saying "Six wives, and the best of them's the worst." Also starring Franklin Dyall as Thomas Cromwell, and Lady Tree as The King's Nurse. Laughton definitely deserved his Academy Award, he essentially created the humorous roaring glutton monarch we've come to expect in most adaptations, and there are good supporting performances, especially a funny turn from Lancaster being the eccentric German fourth wife. It is a very simple story, thankfully there is hardly any political stuff going on, it concentrates solely on Henry VIII's relationships with women, and it's fair to say that the British film industry flourished, especially across the pond, with this movie, an enjoyable historical biographical drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Picture. Laughton was number 10 on Britain's Finest Actors, he was number 45 on The 50 Greatest British Actors, and he was number 37 on The World's Greatest Actor, and the film was number 87 on The Ultimate Film. Good!
Review of The Private Life of Henry VIII
