Review: Marie Antoinette 1938, an American Mockery of French History

Few films embody Hollywood’s inability to capture a historical period (or figure) like W. S. Van Dyke’s Marie Antoinette 1938. 

I still remember when reports came out of French critics booing Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006) when it premiered at Cannes. It seems strange to look back at all of that vitriol because today it’s difficult to see that film as anything other than a masterpiece of postmodern cinema. Coppola perfectly captured the decadence, beauty, naivety, and obliviousness of France’s final (and perhaps most infamous) Queen. When you compare it to Hollywood’s first attempt at the story of Marie Antoinette in 1938, it’s hard to believe that the 21st Century iteration wasn’t received with rapturous applause across the board. Why? Because MGM’s Marie Antoinette (1938) is by far one of the worst pieces of historical fiction I’ve ever seen.

Historical epics were especially popular during the Silent Era of Hollywood filmmaking, and this popularity continued even as “talkies” became the most common attractions at the cinema. Consequently, studios like MGM were much more willing to throw money — and a lot of it — at historical dramas. Based on the biography penned by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig in 1932, Marie Antoinette 1938 had all the trappings of a big Hollywood success. The budget came out to about $2 million USD (roughly $38 million in today’s dollars), making it one of the most expensive Hollywood films of the era. It was so expensive that, despite being enormously popular with American audiences of the time, it recorded a loss of more than $700,000 USD. 

Marie Antoinette 1938: a Fanciful, Stylized, Historically Inaccurate Mess

All the money in the world couldn’t have saved such a dreadfully “American” production. I don’t always take issue with Americans portraying historical figures from other countries (Kirsten Dunst couldn’t be more American if she tried), but Norma Shearer puts such strong, American theatrics into the role that it’s difficult to associate her with anything remotely “French.” That said, it was common for actors and actresses of the time to use a more theatrical style in film, as performative realism was something that wouldn’t really come about until the Italian Neorealist films of the 1940s.

In any case, Marie Antoinette 1938 has everything you would expect from an Old Hollywood costume drama. There are giant ballrooms with dozens of guests, mobs of revolutionaries, and extravagant sets designed to mimic the interior and exterior of Versailles. Unfortunately, once you look past all of the glitz and glamour and background actors that the budget allows, there’s really nothing of substance. The filmmakers attempt to make the actors speak “properly” to fit with the times, but when you have Maria Theresa calling her daughter “Tony” and saying things like “so you don’t want to be Queen, huh?” the ability to suspend your disbelief fades quickly. 

King Louis XVI serves as a kind of comic relief and, despite an incredibly strange performance by Robert Morley, is probably the most historically accurate character in all of Marie Antoinette 1938. He is naive, shy with his own wife, and constantly preoccupied with little hobbies like clockwork, even as his country crumbles around him. Nonetheless, his goofy delivery of every line makes the otherwise accurate characterization laughably bad. 

Old Hollywood and Revolutionary France Just Don’t Mix Well

If the minds behind Marie Antoinette 1938 had simply created a non-descript costume drama about some fictional historical figure, it might have been passable; not great, but passable. Unfortunately, they attempted to recreate the culture and style of 18th Century France using the techniques of 1930s Hollywood. They might have tried to blend the two cultures, but in the end, it just feels like the United States with a few vaguely French ideas thrown in. 

One of the most obvious Hollywood tropes is the strange “Jezebel” theme projected on the titular character. Throughout the first half of the film, Marie Antoinette is a bit of a harlot and completely irresponsible with the country’s dwindling finances. While the latter was true, the former has been proven false by historians time and time again. However, the filmmakers use the Jezebel trope to “justify” the Queen’s demise for American audiences. Even though Marie Antoinette eventually becomes a responsible wife and mother, the plot frames this shift as happening “too late.” The Revolution inevitably punishes the French Queen for her wicked deeds, and this way, we don’t have to feel so bad about her beheading.

While there might have been some historical truths in the narrative, Marie Antoinette 1938 fails to capture any sense of French culture. As far as I could tell, there were no French actors involved. All of the key players and filmmakers were American. A wide variety of big names contributed to the script, from famed author F. Scott Fitzgerald to celebrated screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart. Still, it seems that none of them spent much time in France. Even if they were familiar with France and its people, they were far more interested in creating something that would appeal to the most base interests of American filmgoers at the time.

The final scenes of Marie Antoinette 1938, in which we see the stoic monarch’s attempt to hide the truth of her fate from the children, reflects the final stab of American sentimentality into the already beleaguered script. The brutality and bloodshed of the Revolution are almost completely kept out. Instead, we’re left with a melancholic family drama where a more political moment should have been. The King and Queen’s young son laments his broken toy and pleads to the King, in the most American little boy voice possible, “mend it, papa.” Sadly, as it turned out, the toy could not be mended; nor could the film.

The Bottom Line

If you love old-school costume dramas, Marie Antoinette 1938 might just be watchable enough to scratch that itch for you. However, if you love history, acting, or reality in general — it’s probably not for you. Watching some of the most famous figures in French history speak with obnoxiously American accents and colloquialisms may not bother some viewers, but for me, it was more than enough to make this film a disaster. Even if you place it within the time and context of its making, Marie Antoinette 1938 is a mistake from start to finish. 

Marie Antoinette 1938 Movie Rating: ★ out of 5

If you’d like to watch Marie Antoinette (1938), it is currently available to rent, stream, or purchase via Amazon here. For more film reviews like this one, be sure to visit the Philosophy in Film homepage!