The Private Life of Henry VIII

Rollicking historical bio-pic of the notorious love-life of Britain's most married monarch in this early talkie directed by the celebrated Alexander Korda and featuring a bravura performance by the young Charles Laughton. Of course, condensing six marriages into one 97 minute movie (a famous BBC series of the early 70's allocated one hour to each wife!), means that cuts are made, for instance Katherine Of Aragon (his divorce of whom saw Henry excommunicated by the Pope and effectively make England a Protestant country, in other words, no insignificant event), is sidestepped completely and we only see Anne Boleyn, possibly the most interesting and charismatic of the wives as she readies herself for her beheading. So really we only get four and a half wives for the price of six but to be fair the film is pretty much all about Henry, as the title makes clear. Laughton is terrific in the title role even if one may smile now of the casting at the time which saddled the homosexual actor with six women (not to mention the more than occasional mistress), all of whose prime purpose was to beget a male heir to Henry's throne. The movie also gets across well the excesses of Henry's court as well as the sycophancy which inevitably accompanied this despot with at different stages his songwriting and wrestling prowess lauded to the heavens. There's a relatively minor sub-plot with Robert Donat's Thomas Culpepper's relationship with the over-ambitious Kathaerine Parr which is later exposed by an army of witnesses leading to their immediate demise, but you sense the director's sympathies are with Henry in any case. There's much ribald humour, quite racy for the time, in the utterings of the hoi-polloi at the queens' executions and amongst the King's serving staff, while the encounter with the exceeding ugly Anne Of Cleves is played for laughs pretty much from the start. The direction is fast moving and while telescoping a lot of history into its short running time, does so with wit and flair - like when the second and third queens say to camera "What a lovely day", for one, her last and the other, first words as a monarch, or the elevated shot of a solitary Hanry when his beloved Kate (Parr) gets the chop for her adultery with Donat. Bowdlerised history it may well be but this is great fun and can teach all manner of succeeding stodgy and static historical recreations, both big and small-screen, a thing or six about delivering fine entertainment.

Highly enjoyable British film from Alexander Korda, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII gives CHARLES LAUGHTON the plum role of his career and he munches on all the scenery with artistic skill and great humor. Even though he has the spotlight, others around him make the film a highly enjoyable one to watch. ROBERT DONAT is handsome and sensitive as Culpepper, a favorite of the Court who has the misfortune to love one of Henry's wives (BINNIE BARNES). MERLE OBERON has a brief role as Ann Boleyn in a sensitive scene where she worries about meeting the executioner's ax. Oberon would later marry Korda and this was a showy but brief role that gave her career a good start. ELSA LANCHESTER provides a lot of chuckles as Anne of Cleves, the woman whose portrait fascinates Henry--until he meets her. Her facial displays are deliberately meant to provoke him--that and her ungainly movements--and she and Laughton play their scenes together with great finesse. TCM is showing a good print of the film which makes it all the more enjoyable, because the sets and costumes are quite opulent and photographed skillfully. The pace is brisk, the humor is ever present, the story never loses interest and Laughton--even at his hammiest--is superb as the king who tried to find happiness but found out that it eluded him at every turn.

This was god damn bleeding great. Both hilarious and sad. With a sarcastic and somewhat sarcastic tone, we see the life of the notorious king and the relationships to his five last wives, the first is left out since she according to the film's opening titles were not interesting enough. : ) What to say about this. Executioners who bicker over who has the right to cut off the head of the Queen (opening scenes), and spectators who wants the best possible view of the execution is the beginning of this wonderful genre mix from Alexander Korda. Charles Laughton plays the crazed Henry, whom despite many ugly acts you just have to love. The rest of the cast is quite good as well, especially Elsa Lanchester, but Laughton is indeed the star. Not a boring, empty, or uninteresting moment. If you have not seen this you most definitely have to! Delicious black humor and some great drama is what awaits you. Rating: 9.5/10

So persuasive was Charles Laughton in his first major role that he defined for all time our image of the famous English monarch with the perennial marriage problems: regal in bearing, arrogant in manner, stuffing himself on roasted fowl and tossing the bones haughtily over each shoulder. The film was a huge success both at home and abroad (it was the first British production ever to win a sizable American audience), most likely because of Laughton's entertaining portrait of the king, ascribing to Henry the petulance and charm of a precocious child. The temperamental actor took the role in his teeth and ran away with it, winning international acclaim and a Best Actor Oscar. And yet for all its flamboyance his performance is also surprisingly sympathetic, revealing the aging king as a lonely man unable to find the simple happiness he desperately craved, and in the end wistfully accepting the nagging, maternal attentions of his sixth and final wife. The elegant settings and costumes were achieved on an amazingly small budget, but the static camera and sometimes primitive dialogue should be forgiven as typical artifacts of the early sound era.

I cannot tell you how many people I have come across who do not get that this is a black comedy and not a factual representation of the life of Henry VIII, despite the dryness of the title. One person even said they shut the film off after the first inter title quips that Katharine of Aragon was not worth mentioning because she was a good woman. Do they not realize that was a joke or are people THAT dense? If you don't realize it's supposed to be humorous after witnessing the circus-like attitude toward Anne Boleyn's execution at the opening, then surely you did by the time it gets to the wedding night between Anne of Cleves and Henry, where they play cards as they nonchalantly discuss terms of divorce. Ranting aside, if you're one of those people who DOES realize that this is a comedy, then you're bound to have a good time. The Private Life of Henry VIII (1934) is an episodic picture going through the many marriages of one of England's most infamous monarchs. Charles Laughton is amazing in the lead, portraying a Henry that is commanding and powerful as well as humorous and poignant. He's especially moving during his final scenes, where Henry tries fighting against his advancing age to impress his much younger fifth wife and especially when he breaks down after discovering she has been carrying on with a much younger man. Other notable performers are Elsa Lanchester as Anne of Cleves who plays off of Laughton well, and the gorgeous Merle Oberon as Anne Boleyn who faces death with dignity and a bit of humor. Turn your inner historian off and enjoy!

The personal life of England's infamous monarch is portrayed marvellously in this British classic.Starting with the beheading of his second wife the ambitious Anne Boleyn we follow Laughton's masterly performance of King Henry through his subsequent marriages which all end in tragedy,until his last wife outlives him. Charles Laughton is simply fantastic in his role.Portraying the King of England as a virile,charming but dangerous man when he's young and a crouching,old fool in his latest years.Very good performances also by Elsa Lanchester and Binnie Barnes as two of his wives. Rating: **** out of *****

You should probably know that I was a world history teacher, so I tend to look at historical films differently from the average person. I love a good historical film but I am also very unforgiving of a sloppy film or one that gets its facts wrong. Keep this in mind when you read this review. Compared to the average 1930s historical film, this one is pretty good and pretty accurate. Aside from a few mistakes here and there (such as showing Anne Boleyn being publicly executed), the spirit of the film is pretty accurate to Henry in his later years. However, it shows an odd view of his life--completely bypassing his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (it said she was a good woman so her life was omitted--but she also was married to Henry the longest--and this would take up at least two movies to discuss well) as well as only giving the briefest glimpse of Boleyn just as she was being executed--but nothing more. So it skips a lot--and only shows a small glimpse of Henry's life (about a six year period). BUT, and this is important, there is STILL way too much material for this film. You see, during this time, Henry had five different marriages--and each is treated almost like a Cliff Notes version of the marriage. So, despite its limitations, is it entertaining? Well, perhaps. If you like historical period pieces and don't mind the sketchy nature of the film, it's fine viewing. The acting is very good--and Charles Laughton was in fine form. And the film looks beautiful. As for the script, it's pretty good--with some nice sparkling dialog.

I managed to avoid this for most of my life but in the end I capitulated if only in order to see hambone Laughton actually chewing something else - several chickens - besides the scenery. Okay, it was made back in the day, when punters were still getting used to hearing the actors actually speaking and would accept virtually anything but seen today it's dire personified with Laughton leading a group of actors who appear to mistake Denham for Straftord-upon-Avon and appear to be competing for the Bransby Williams medal for declamatory, with only Elsa Lanchester's Ann of Cleves anchored in Buckinghamshire. Fits where it touches.

Near the beginning of "Three Days of the Condor," Max von Sydow and his gang of hired hit men brutally murder in cold blood half a dozen harmless and unarmed civilians. At the end, von Sydow's character has a little speech that is supposed to make us sympathetic. He may kill for the group that pays him the most, but he is a sensitive man, a man of principle. But that initial mass murder, starkly depicted, is an unforgivable act. It was so repellant that the fact that he might know the Louvre inside and out became irrelevant. I had the same problem with "The Private Life of Henry VIII." Charles Laughton gives a find performance, considering that it's so overplayed. But one expects a great big ham at a royal banquet. The difficulty is that the film begins with the tragic beheading of Anne Bolyne, Henry's second wife. And the preparations are dwelt on. The French headsman, imported for the occasion, spends forever sharpening his sword. There is reassuring talk about how it doesn't hurt. Happily the execution takes place off screen, as does the descending sword in "Anne of the Thousand Days," which tells part of the same story. The king isn't at all put off by his wife's death. She had to make room for wife number three. He goes through half a dozen wives. In the last scene he turns to the camera and says, "Six wives, and the last one is the worst." And we're supposed to chuckle at the bad luck of this pompous, self indulgent, murdering curmudgeon who lives by hypothetical imperatives alone. Laughton's performance can't be criticized. He shouts out orders and bullies everyone, man and woman alike. When he executes another wife for possible adultery, he weeps as he prays for forgiveness, "Mea culpa," but I don't believe it. He's never shown remorse in his life. Yet he injects some humor into the narrative. "There is no more delicacy," he complains at the dinner table, as he tears off a large piece of capon and slips the bones over his shoulder. Laughton has developed a walk that reeks of uncompromising authority, as he stomps around the castle. I guess the contemporary audience enjoyed it. I didn't like it much.

The reasons to watch this are A. Laughton's marvelous performance. He captures the bombast and lust for life of King Henry, and he also captures Henry raging against the dying of the light - his own aging - in a very poignant way. And he certainly looks like him. Then there is B. The fabulous cast, often before they are famous in America, such as Merle Oberon and Robert Donat, who wins the Best Actor award six years later as Mr. Chips. As for the facts? I never expect dead on accuracy in historical dramas, BUT this one completely misses the mark. Catherine of Aragon, married to Henry for 18 years and the inability of Henry to obtain a divorce from her causing the founding of the Church of England, and she is given just a title card at the beginning, described as being "of no importance". The film picks up at the execution of Anne Boleyn (Oberon), Henry's second wife. Anne of Cleves, Henry's fourth wife with whom he probably never consummated his marriage because he found her ugly and ungraceful, is supposedly the centerpiece of his life! Now I realize this was done because she is played by Elsa Lanchester, and she and Laughton were married - and the two have marvelous chemistry and comic timing - but the film so misrepresents their relationship it is mind boggling. And Katherine Howard, wife number five, was a 17 year old girl when Henry married her, not a grown woman sitting around for years waiting for Henry to dispose of wives until he got around to her. What really puzzles me is that this film was made in Britain, so I'm surprised they played so fast and loose with the facts. It would be like making a film in America about George Washington in which Marie Antoinette was the great love of his life, and that her beheading brought on his decline and death. But then history is so poorly taught in this country perhaps the public would buy it.