The life...the women...the conquests of Napoleon!
In Marseilles, France in 1794, Desiree Clary, a young millinery clerk, becomes infatuated with Napoleon Bonaparte, but winds up wedding General Jean-Baptiste Berandotte, an aid to Napoleon who later joins the forces that bring about the Emperor's downfall. Josephine Beauharnais, a worldly courtesan marries Napoleon and becomes Empress of France, but is then cast aside by her spouse when she proves unable to produce an heir to the throne.
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- Wuchakon TMDB · Oct 20217/10
_**Talky Napoleonic drama with Brando, Jean Simmons and Michael Rennie**_ From 1794-1815, the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte (Marlon Brando) is chronicled through the eyes of Désirée Clary (Jean Simmons), a young millinery clerk from Marseilles, who is initially infatuated with the future emperor of France, but winds up marrying one of his top generals, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (Michael Rennie), who remarkably becomes Crown Prince of Sweden and potentially allied with the very forces that oppose Napoleon. Based on Annemarie Selinko’s hit 1951 novel, “Désirée” (1954) is a costume drama concentrating on the historical love triangle and behind-the-scenes politics. Don’t expect any flashes of action, like in Brando’s “The Young Lions” (1958). While Marlon begrudged the role because he was settling legal issues for walking off the lead role in “The Egyptian” (1954) and thus phoned-in his performance, the movie interestingly made more at the box office than his other 1954 film, the heralded “On the Waterfront.” Phoned-in or not, Brando captured the essence of the brooding conquest-obsessed Napoleon and makes the flick worthwhile. But you have to be in the mood for dialogue-driven hi
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Cast
- Marlon BrandoNapoleon Bonaparte
- Jean SimmonsDesiree Clary
- Merle OberonEmpress Josephine
- Michael RennieBernadotte
- Cameron MitchellJoseph Bonaparte
- Elizabeth SellarsJulie
- Charlotte AustinPaulette Bonaparte
- Cathleen NesbittMme. Bonaparte
- Evelyn VardenMarie
- Isobel ElsomMme. Clary
Crew
- Henry KosterDirector
- Daniel TaradashWriter
- Milton KrasnerDirector of Photography
- Alex NorthOriginal Music Composer
- William ReynoldsEditor
- Julian BlausteinProducer
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