"MARIE ANTOINETTE"

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 17, 21 January 1939, Page 7

"MARIE ANTOINETTE"

THE LIFE OF A QUEEN

Whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad, and with its verymadness the dissolute, wasteful, and base French Court invited its own destruction in the desperate struggles of revolution. Royalty and all it stood for was condemned, and thousands of nobles, men and women, were dragged to the guillotine,.-to .die .bravely, with a final jesting, aiiip, ox .to be forced, despite last vain entreaties, across the fateful block. One who died on such a scaffold was" "Marfe Antoinette; another was her1 husband, King Louis XVI. It is of-this -woman and this strange., man that "Marie Antoinette," the film now. showing at the Majestic Theatre, tells its tale. Tied to a stultified husband, humili^ ated by courtesans and fools, the earlydays of Marie Antoinette's marriage are relentlessly pictured. But one courtier is more subtle than the rest, and lets the Royal lady know that with her beauty and wit she could have Paris at her feet. So it is? the rose blossoms forth, even though its petals take on a brittle sheen and its perfume is lost amid the follies and vanities of unbridled pleasures. Loneliness of heart: and spirit can, to some extent, be hidden or forgotten in the abandonment of the moment, and the beautiful woman, has admirers iv plenty eager to take.part in any senseless escapade which might be the result of a momentary caprice. With her features enhanced by a superb coiffure, and clothed in rustling: silks, Norma Shearer is a true figure of a queen, even though the queen'a behaviour is hardly befitting to ona of Royal blood. There comes a night, \ however, when the mad round of frivolity takes her to a gambling house from which, by chance, she sees the handsome Count .Axel de Fersen. Brought into the gambling hall. as a result of the lady's whim, insulted by: the dandies and their women, this retiring young foreigner can yet summon enough courage to tell the future Queen of France and her followers how disgusting he finds their behaviour. It is new to Marie Antoinette; a man who does not speak in riddles, who is honest in his words and his beliefs, is deserving of her attention. It is some time before they are to meet again, but eventually their love and admiration cannot be hidden. Threatened with expulsion from the kingdom at the hands of the dying, monarch, Marie Antoinette pictures a new, fuller life ahead of her with the man she loves.

But it is not to be, for the old king dies. She finds herself a queen, destined to rule a people and die at their hands. Her young lover must go, to return years later to fight for her safety 'and lose, and-to hear the roll of the drums that signal her ignominious end. Tyrone Power takes the part of the Count, and although he does not appear throughout the film, his handling of the part is very adequate. Norma Shearer's performance seems to emphasise one thing;* that the queen. is first of all a woman, and then a Royal lady. The mask of rank, worn so frequently in the days of the Court, is dropped almost entirely near the close of the scene, when children and husband are torn from, her by relentless revolutionists. Gladys George is cast, as Madame dv Barry, and Joseph Schildkraut as the Duke d'Orleans. A fine-study of a very strange yet pitiful man is given by Robert Morley, as the King. .:.••'' As a: spectacle, "Marie' Antoinette" is unimpeachable. As entertainment, it holds attention with its fine acting and its fascinating and true story. But it is a sad tale,, punqtuated with the creaking of tumbrils, the roll of drums, and the inarticulate sounds of themerciless mobs. Pretty romances may come to a blissful ending, according to the author's fancy, .but no attempt has been made, for the ■'sake of the screen, to avert the tragic destiny which finally, awaits France's unhappy Marie Antoinette. ." ,