Désirée

1954 "The life...the women...the conquests of Napoleon!"

Désirée

6.4 | 1h50m | NR | en | Drama

In Marseilles, France in 1794, Desiree Clary, a young millinery clerk, becomes infatuated with Napoleon Bonaparte, but winds up wedding Genaral Jean-Baptiste Berandotte, an aid to Napoleon who later joins the forces that bring about the Emperor's downfall. Josephine Beauharnais, a worldly courtesan marries Napoleon and becomes Empress of France, but is then cast aside by her spouse when she proves unable to produce an heir to the throne.

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6.4 | 1h50m | NR | en | Drama , Romance | More Info

Released: November. 16,1954 | Released Producted By: 20th Century Fox , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

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Cast

Marlon Brando , Jean Simmons , Merle Oberon

Director

Bobby Greene

Producted By

20th Century Fox ,

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Trailers & Images

Cast

Marlon Brando

as Napoleon Bonaparte

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Jean Simmons

as Desiree Clary

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Merle Oberon

as Empress Josephine

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Reviews

alexanderdavies-99382 Marlon Brando and the rest of the cast do their very best with the rather average material with which they were lumbered. In addition, there is nothing much interesting about this film. I was expecting something more dynamic and thrilling and scenes that show Napoleon in battle. Alas, none of this was included in the screenplay. The plot just drags along. Brando and Jean Simmons work well together but their scenes together become few and far between.

MartinHafer This film is about Désirée Clary, a common French woman who was the one-time fiancée of Napolean and who later became queen of Norway and Sweden. She had a very remarkable life and it SHOULD have been an exciting film, though I found the movie to be very mannered and subdued...too subdued. As a result, it is not an especially exciting film...and it should have been. It follows her from her first meeting Napoleon and moves up through he ascending the thrones.Désirée Clary is played by Jean Simmons, Napoleon by Marlon Brando and her husband by Michael Rennie. The film is also sumptuous to look at--with lovely sets and in full Cinemascope color. What it does not talk about at all are the marital infidelities by Napoleon, Josephine as well as Désirée's husband--all which could have made the movie much more interesting. So it's pretty but sanitized...and a bit dull because of this. It also just never sparked my interest at all and much of it is because the film is too episodic. Her life might better be told as a mini-series instead.

aernest I have noticed that several posters have commented on the "anti-feminist" aspects of this movie. I think they have missed the point in this particular movie. The whole point is that history is capricious - anything can happen. Even an admittedly-not-too-bright-with-no-ambitions-above-wife-and-mother woman can suddenly be caught up in world affairs and be loved by two of the great men of her time. And that's basically what happened, historically. Desiree had no ambition or desire to be what she became - a queen, and the founder of a dynasty that still exists today. Hence, her dialog. Feminist criticisms are beside the point.

Martin Bradley At the same time he was making "On the Waterfront" Marlon Brando was appearing in this disaster of an historical epic, (so we know the bad movies didn't just come later). He's Napoleon, fat and camp, and he strides about the way Jay Robinson did in "The Robe". Jean Simmons is Desiree and he's mad about her but she seems to be getting in the way of his being a conqueror.Simmons looks lovely in full colour and her acting is muted and understated, (it always was), but she also looks uncomfortable as if she knows this movie isn't going to do much for her international career. As Josephine, Merle Oberon seems a size too big for her costumes and acts as if she seriously believes in what she's doing. She's terrible but she's probably the best thing about the movie. Still, it's entertaining in the way bad movies sometimes are.