User Reviews

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.

What a pity that many people's defining image of Henry the Eighth,founder of The Church of England and probably the last all-powerful king of the realm should be that of a fat greedy badly-behaved overgrown baby with appalling table manners.The truth was very different.Henry was a disciple of the "New Learning",a man with impeccable manners,a linguist,fluent in French and Latin,a poet,a musician,keenly interested in all aspects of science and aware of his position as head of the most elegant and sophisticated Court in Europe. In common with aristocratic beliefs of his time Henry considered sex within marriage was principally for the purposes of procreation.For sexual pleasure he took mistresses. His main purpose in contracting marriages was to secure the male line of the monarchy.If Katherine of Aragon had given him a son the history of Europe would have been significantly different. "The private life of Henry V111th" is Hollywood history at its most absurd.It makes "The black shield of Falworth" seem like a prestige BBC2 documentary.It's history for people who don't care about it . Mr Charles Laughton -the scenery chewer's scenery chewer - is allowed to run riot and the rest of the cast overact like mad in a vain attempt to keep up with him.Important events in English history ,complex motives and multi - layered characters are trivialised.The whole look and feel of the movie is pure 1933,nothing even remotely suggests Tudor England. As a respite from the grimness of the height of the Depression this may have been worth a punt.73 years down the line I submit it has no value whatsoever.

When The Private Life of Henry VIII was released it was both a box office and critical success. Maybe its success could be attributed to the idea that it was not the historical type of film people we're expecting to see, especially when it was released in 1933. You could say it was "different"-I felt like I was almost watching a companion piece to the Marx Brother's Duck Soup which came out around the same time. Indeed one might go as far as classifying it as "black comedy."

So in that respect it's refreshing. But one still must inquire "is it historically accurate?" And after doing a bit of research on the subject, I would have to respond in the negative.

Charles Laughton (who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Henry VIII) plays the King as a self-centered, gluttonous narcissist. But some historians challenge that view by arguing that he was actually a man of fastidious manners and was quite learned for his day-demonstrating talents as a poet, musician and linguist.

Laughton's over the top performance is certainly entertaining and there are moments where we actually feel some sympathy for the spoiled man-child depicted here (Laughton for example has Henry emoting well upon receiving the news that wife #3 has died during childbirth).

Depicting Henry as uncouth might have been far from historically accurate but he had to be somewhat narcissistic and Laughton ably conveys the right tone in his portrayal of an over the top monarch.

But there's something about director Alexander Korda's characterization of Henry that is blatantly disingenuous. And that revolves around what I would argue is the diminishment of the depiction of the man's blatant cruelty, especially in regards to the treatment of his wives, which constitutes the main storyline.

Henry's first wife Catherine of Aragon, who was married to the King for over twenty years, is skipped over in the narrative-titles inform us that her story was not covered because she was a "respectable woman." In fact, Henry's divorce from Catherine was the major reason for the schism with the Catholic church and England embracing Anglicanism.

Extremely popular with the people, Catherine however was discarded by Henry due to her inability to produce a male heir. Covering her story might have jeopardized Korda's intent to depict Henry as a wronged man, vis-à-vis his wives.

Henry's second wife, Ann Boleyn (an excellent Merle Oberon) also receives short shrift-in this case we only see her on the eve of her execution. As with Catherine, there is little discussion as to why she fell out of favor with the King. Henry's obvious cruelty is completely ignored with no mention of the fact that Ann was executed on baseless, trumped up charges that she had an incestuous relationship with her brother. Again, she too was unable to produce a male heir to the throne.

Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour (Wendy Barrie) managed to produce a male heir but died in childbirth. Again Henry is depicted as a victim with Seymour shown as child-like and unsophisticated. History tells us otherwise-that she indeed was intelligent.

The depiction of Henry's fourth wife Anne of Cleves (excellently played by Laughton's real life wife, Elsa Lancaster) is perhaps the most entertaining depiction of any of the relationships Henry had with all his wives. But again the reason for their quick divorce is historically inaccurate and designed to show Henry as a victim of conniving women.

Anne is shown to be in love with another man which never happened and the reason why she wants out of the marriage right away. In reality they were simply incompatible-that incompatibility is nicely shown in the card game where Henry loses and accedes to Anne's requests to remain in England, bequeathed an estate by a King eager to move on to his next union.

The fifth wife, Catherine Howard (Binnie Barnes) is perhaps the most egregious depiction here. She was executed shortly after marrying Henry after it was discovered she was having an affair with the King's courtier, Thomas Culpeper (Robert Donat). The problem is she was only 19 years old when this occurred. The film implies Catherine was an adult and had full knowledge of the ramifications of her adulterous affair (which she did not as she was a naïve, immature teenager).

Henry's final wife, Catherine Parr (Everley Gregg) is characterized as an overbearing tyrant who made Henry's life miserable. The final line in the film has Henry quipping about Parr: "Six wives, and the best of them's the worst." History informs that Parr was both gentle and intellectual.

It also should be noted that the little political discussion that crops up during the film is purely anachronistic. Germany is wrongly mentioned as a unified country with Henry bemoaning the conflict between that country and France. The main conflict between nations in the earlier part of the 16th century was between France and Spain. The anachronistic lines emanating from Laughton reflect Britain's view during the early 30s that the conflict between France and Germany was equally the fault of both countries.

Maybe the Henry of history was not the boorish lout depicted here but certainly Laughton does a good job of capturing his narcissism-- along with the rest of the cast who depict the obsequiousness of the Royal Court. Nonetheless the film falls flat for the most part with its sexist treatment of Henry's wives, who were the victims of the King's cruel whims, not the cause of his unhappiness in life.

I knew it was black-and-white, and that the leading actor won the Oscar, it was the first time a British actor in a British film won the Academy Award. So, you could say, it is the British movie that finally cracked America, produced and directed by Alexander Korda. Basically, it tells the story of King Henry VIII (Oscar winning Charles Laughton), through his five marriages, after the divorce from his first (and least interesting) wife, Catherine of Aragon. It begins in the immediate aftermath of the execution of his second wife, Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon), beheaded for high treason. Henry goes om to marry Jane Seymour (Wendy Barrie), who dies giving birth to their son Edward eighteen months later. He then weds a German princess, Anne of Cleves (Bride of Frankenstein's Elsa Lanchester, Laughton's real-life wife). This marriage ends in divorce when Anne deliberately makes herself unattractive so she can be free to marry her sweetheart. (An imagined scene sees Anne "wins her freedom" from Henry in a game of cards.) After this divorce, Henry marries the beautiful and ambitious Lady Katherine Howard (Binnie Barnes). But this marriage also ends when Henry discovers her affair with his handsome courtier Thomas Culpeper (Robert Donat), their liaison leads to them both being beheaded. Henry is weak and aging, but he allows himself one last chance of happiness, when he marries sixth wife Catherine Parr (Everley Gregg). She proves domineering, he breaks the fourth wall, saying "Six wives, and the best of them's the worst." Also starring Franklin Dyall as Thomas Cromwell, and Lady Tree as The King's Nurse. Laughton definitely deserved his Academy Award, he essentially created the humorous roaring glutton monarch we've come to expect in most adaptations, and there are good supporting performances, especially a funny turn from Lancaster being the eccentric German fourth wife. It is a very simple story, thankfully there is hardly any political stuff going on, it concentrates solely on Henry VIII's relationships with women, and it's fair to say that the British film industry flourished, especially across the pond, with this movie, an enjoyable historical biographical drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Picture. Laughton was number 10 on Britain's Finest Actors, he was number 45 on The 50 Greatest British Actors, and he was number 37 on The World's Greatest Actor, and the film was number 87 on The Ultimate Film. Good!

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!

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.