Marie Antoinette

The life of Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) from betrothal and marriage in 1770 to her beheading. At first, she's a Hapsburg teenager isolated in France, living a virgin's life in the household of the Dauphin, a shy solitary man who would like to be a locksmith. Marie discovers high society, with the help of Orleans and her brothers-in-law. Her foolishness is at its height when she meets a Swedish count, Axel de Fersen. He helps her see her fecklessness. In the second half of the film, she avoids an annulment, becomes queen, bears children, and is a responsible ruler. The affair of the necklace and the general poverty of France feed revolution. She faces death with dignity.

Director

W.S. Van Dyke, Julien Duvivier

Writer

Claudine West (screen play), Donald Ogden Stewart (screen play), Ernest Vajda (screen play)

Released

26 Aug 1938

Country

USA

Awards

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.