On P List of Movie Reviews

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The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 2/17

2/17: I wanted to see The Private Life of Henry VIII for one reason: Charles Laughton.

He didn't disappoint me one bit. It may be the finest performance of his career. He's perfect and convincing as Henry VIII. As a reward, Charles Laughton was given an Oscar for Best Actor, the only one of his career.

The most well-known figure in England history, Henry VIII was notorious for having six wives and had two of them beheaded because one failed to produce a male issue and the other cheated on him.

The trouble is it's an inaccurate farcical movie that's slow in parts while telling an incomplete story of the king's life. Also, the ending isn't well-conceived. Not much of thought went to it, and the final line "Six wives, and the best of them's the worst" is silly. Regardless, it catapulted Alexander Korda and Charles Laughton, as well as Robert Donat, Elsa Lanchester, and Merle Oberson, to greater heights of stardom.

All in all, The Private Life of Henry VIII is Charles Laughton's show all the way through.

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