Maria Walewska (film)

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Movie
German title Maria Walewska
Original title Conquest
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1937
length 112 minutes
Rod
Director Clarence Brown
script Salka Quarter , SN Behrman
production Clarence Brown for MGM
music Herbert Stothart
camera Karl friend
cut Tom hero
occupation

Maria Walewska (Original Title: Conquest ) is an American fictional film with Greta Garbo and Charles Boyer directed by Clarence Brown about the romance between the Polish Countess Maria Walewska and Napoleon Bonaparte . It was brought into national distribution on November 4, 1937.

action

The plot tells a romanticized version of the story of the Polish Countess Maria Walewska, who enters into a relationship with the general and Emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte for the good of the country. At the beginning of the plot, the countess is married to a man many years older, whom she respects but does not love. Napoleon becomes aware of her when the countess approaches the emperor in enthusiastic admiration. Later, at a ball, there is an unexpected reunion. Napoleon's affection for the beautiful woman quickly increases and he demands that she visit him at his headquarters. Her husband is appalled and does not want to consent under any circumstances. Patriots try to convince him that the Countess' influence could help to reunite the country that was divided among the neighboring states by the partition of Poland and to make it a sovereign state again. Count Walewski does not agree and Maria begins a relationship with Napoleon against his will, who soon afterwards establishes the Grand Duchy of Warsaw . After the peace agreement with Tsar Alexander of Russia in the Peace of Tilsit , the countess followed the emperor to Paris, later to Vienna, where the victory over the Austrians in the war of 1809 was celebrated. In Vienna Napoleon announced to the countess that he would marry the daughter of the Emperor of Austria, Marie Louise, in order to found his own dynasty. Deeply wounded, and without telling him that she was expecting a child, Countess Walewska then left the emperor. A few years later the Countess visits Napoleon on Elba and introduces him to their son Alexander. The defeat at Waterloo brings them together one last time in the port of Rochefort. The Countess tries to convince him to flee to America, but Napoleon refuses. He says goodbye to her and their son and begins his journey into final exile in Saint Helena alone.

background

The production of Marie Walewska was problematic from the beginning. Against the advice of all friends and acquaintances, Greta Garbo wanted to appear again in a period film . Of the many options that the studio offered her, none found the approval of the actress, who was finally brought to the story of Maria Walewska and Napoleon by her friend Salka Viertel. A total of 17 different authors worked on the script and in the end there was a collection of different scenes, but no single story. This was also due to the rigid censorship regulations that prevented the relationship between the two protagonists from being told in detail. In addition, there was the fact that this episode of the story was rather unknown to the broad masses of the population and so there was no interest in necessarily having to see a film about this romance.

Filming was unusually slow and ended up taking 127 days, which was the record for all Garbo films. Cinematographer Karl Freund took on the job only because Norma Shearer refused to release William H. Daniels from his responsibilities in her production of Marie Antoinette . Freund received Garbo in a somewhat harsher light than Daniels usually did. The accentuation of light and shadow was also more pronounced than in most other films, perhaps with the exception of Helga's Fall and Rise . The studio couldn't agree on a title for the film for a long time and only after endless back and forth between Less Than the Dust , The Road to Destiny , The Road to Waterloo , Star-Crossed and several other suggestions, did the choice fall on Conquest , a title as banal as it is misleading.

Theatrical release

The production costs escalated over the course of the 127 days of shooting and in the end reached the sum of 2,732,000 US dollars, making Maria Walewska the studio's most expensive production since Ben Hur . But just a few months later, Marie Antoinette once again exceeded this amount considerably. In addition to her salary of 275,000 US dollars, Greta Garbo received an additional 100,000 US dollars in overtime compensation due to the long filming time, which was her highest salary ever.

The box office results were catastrophic, at just $ 737,000 in the US, with overseas revenue of $ 1,414,000. A cumulative total box office income of $ 2,141,000 meant a total loss for the studio of $ 1,397,000. It should be the highest single loss for an MGM film by then. So it was not surprising if Greta Garbo was on the list of stars who would be poison at the box office in 1938.

Reviews

For the first time in her career, Greta Garbo had to put up with some bitter criticism. Most reviewers found her portrayal anemic, hollow, and boring. The few good contemporary reviews came from Charles Boyer and Maria Ouspenskaya , who attracted attention with a short scene.

For example, John Mosher wrote in the New Yorker :

“Madame Garbo's elegant anemia can, I fear, lose its charm at times. Your performance seems static. "

The lexicon of international film is less strict after a few decades:

“The film suggests that a noble end [the liberation of Poland] justifies vulnerable means; exceptional acting, he offers Greta Garbo one of her best roles. "

Awards

The film went to the 1938 Academy Awards with two nominations , but won none of the trophies

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [Barry Paris, 'Garbo', p. 495]
  2. ^ Maria Walewska. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 13, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 

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