Queen Victoria (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Queen Victoria |
| Original title | Victoria the Great |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1937 |
| length | 110, 112, 118 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Herbert Wilcox |
| script |
Charles de Grandcourt Miles Malleson based on the play Victoria Regina by Laurence Housman |
| production | Herbert Wilcox for British Lion, London |
| music | Anthony Collins |
| camera |
FA Young William V. Skall |
| cut | Jill Irving |
| occupation | |
| |
Queen Victoria is a British period film from 1937. Under the direction and production of Herbert Wilcox play Anna Neagle and Anton Walbrook (in exile as Anton Walbrook ), the royale, British-German couple Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha .
action
The film, spanning six decades, is laid out like a large sheet of images and follows the life stages of the still young queen from the year of her coronation in 1837 to her 60th jubilee on the throne, with which the film ends. The political aspects of those years that went down in history as the Victorian Age play only a subordinate role.
Most of the space is occupied by Victoria's relationship and passionate romance with her future husband, Prince Albert. Her encounter with the German aristocrat, the rapid fall in love and marriage, and above all the happiest years of Victoria up to Albert's surprisingly early death in 1861 are shown. In the further course of the film, Queen Victoria's skilful power politics for the benefit and glory of the Empire are the focus moved.
Production notes
The film was shot in late spring (May / June) 1937 and marked the breakthrough as a film star in Great Britain for the Austrian actor Adolf Wohlbrück, who emigrated to England at the end of January 1937. Queen Victoria became an overwhelming success with both domestic critics and British cinema audiences. It was created as part of the large-scale centenary celebrations on the occasion of Victoria's accession to the throne in 1837. On this occasion, the play Victoria Regina , written in 1935 , which served as a template for this film, became more numerous both in the United Kingdom and in the USA Performed theater performances and tours. A number of German-speaking actors - Paul Henreid , Willy Eichberger , Albert Lieven (all in England) and Werner Fuetterer (in the USA) - celebrated great theater successes in 1937 with the role of Prince Albert .
The world premiere of Queen Victoria took place on September 16, 1937 at the Leicester Square Theater in London . The following month the film could also be seen in France and the USA. In Austria it ran under the slightly different title Queen Victoria almost at the same time, on October 21, 1937, in Vienna's Rotenturmkino. The film was presented in Vienna as part of a gala screening in front of invited diplomatic representatives from Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, the Soviet Union, Japan and China. Queen Victoria did not call in Germany until 1954.
The last sequence of the film Queen Victoria , which was mostly shot in black and white - the anniversary celebration on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the throne - was filmed in Technicolor. In 1938 the same team (Wilcox, Neagle, Walbrook) shot a no less splendid sequel under the programmatic title Sixty Glorious Years . Given Queen Victoria's great commercial success , the sequel has now been shot entirely in color.
Grete Wegener in the role of Baroness Lehzen is Paul Wegener's wife Greta Schröder , who had twice (1937 and 1938) received an exit permit to England from the German Propaganda Minister Goebbels for this role .
Reviews
Wiens Neue Freie Presse reported in 1937: “The positive aspects of this film include three factors: Wilcox's lively direction, the beauty, but also Anna Neagle's theatrical intensity and Adolf Wohlbrück's discreet technique, which gives him an excellent start in English film . "
The Wiener Zeitung wrote in 1937: “Herbert Wilcox (...) understood how to offer a coherent picture of the life of Queen Victoria as wife. Everything related to their marriage (...) are shown in effective moving pictures. In Anna Neagle, Wilcox has found an actress who manages to make the Queen believable for six decades (...). "
In 1937 the Austrian Film Newspaper read: “Herbert Wilcox, with an understanding approach to cinematic possibilities, depicts the life of Queen Victoria and her love for Prince Albert against the background of a cross-section through England during the long reign of the Queen brought the canvas. "
The Movie & Video Guide wrote: “ Neagle is radiant as Queen Victoria in often-stodgy biopic emphasizing her romance with Prince Albert (Walbrook). ”
Halliwell's Film Guide characterized the film as follows: “ A decent film with all the British virtues, and a milestone in the cinema of its time. Script and performances are excellent; production sometimes falters a little. ”
The online edition of the New York Times reads: “ Herbert Wilcox was the producer, so no one was surprised and everyone was satisfied when Wilcox cast his actress wife, the beloved Anna Neagle, as Queen Victoria. The film repeats the play's episodic approach, tracing Victoria from her 1837 coronation to her Jubilee celebration sixty years later. Ms. Neagle is faultless, if perhaps a bit too self satisfied in this actor-proof role; her best scenes are with Prince Albert, played with finesse by Anton Walbrook. ”
The lexicon of the international film says: "Well-played and solidly staged film biography that glorifies the character of the monarch a little, but treats historical backgrounds and the atmosphere of the time with care."
Web links
- Queen Victoria in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kay Less : "In life, more is taken from you than given ...". Lexicon of filmmakers who emigrated from Germany and Austria between 1933 and 1945. A general overview. ACABUS Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86282-049-8 , pp. 29, 57.
- ↑ according to the film archive Kay Less
- ↑ Queen Victoria. In: Neue Freie Presse , October 23, 1937, p. 9 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ Queen Victoria. In: Wiener Zeitung , October 23, 1937, p. 9 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ Queen Victoria. In: Österreichische Film-Zeitung , October 29, 1937, p. 2 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 1409. Translation: "Neagle shines as Queen Victoria in the often cumbersome film biography that focuses on her romance with Prince Albert (Walbrook)."
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 1080. Translation: “A decent film with all the British virtues. Script and presentations are excellent; the production is a little weak. "
- ↑ Victoria the Great . In: New York Times
- ↑ Translation: “Herbert Wilcox was the producer, so it came as no surprise and everyone was satisfied that he cast his acting wife, the dearly beloved Anna Neagle, as Queen Victoria. The film repeats the episodic approach of the play, following Victoria's trail from her coronation in 1837 to her anniversary celebration 60 years later. Miss Neagle is impeccable, if perhaps a little too complacent in her safe acting role; She has her best scenes with Prince Albert, who is played with finesse by Anton Walbrook. "
- ^ Klaus Brüne (Red.): Lexicon of international films. Volume 4, p. 2086. Reinbek near Hamburg 1987.