Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Actress 1938

The Contenders:

Bette Davis: Jezebel (winner)
Norma Shearer: Marie Antoinette
Wendy Hiller: Pygmalion
Margaret Sullavan: Three Comrades
Fay Bainter: White Banners

Let Them Eat Cake

Film: Marie Antoinette (1938)
Format: DVD from Mokena Public Library through interlibrary loan on rockin’ flatscreen.

One of the most interesting figures of history is that of Marie Antoinette. The film Marie Antoinette from 1938 suggests that she may also be one of the most misunderstood. Of course this is coming from a time and place where history was often bent conveniently to fit the desired narrative. There are other considerations here, after all. This is a film about a haughty, rich, royal-blooded woman who was legendary for her disdain of the poor. The film is from the end of the Great Depression, in a time when public sentiment toward the rich couldn’t have been that positive. Despite this and a massive (for the time) budget, Marie Antoinette was quite the success and garnered Oscar nominations for two of its main stars.

Young Marie Antoinette, Austrian princess of the Hapsburgs (Norma Shearer) is told that she is being sent to Paris to marry Louis, the dauphin and future king of France (Robert Morley). She is overjoyed until she actually gets to Paris and meets her future husband. Louis is blubbery, emotionally weak, and hates being in public. The marriage happens anyway, with Louis telling Marie that night that the only reason the two are married is to produce an heir at the insistence of Louis XV (John Barrymore), his grandfather. But, says Louis, such a thing will never happen. He essentially abandons Marie to a life in court where she gambles and socializes to prevent her from becoming bored.