#and Desiree (1954)

[napoleonic-confessions]

[costumeloverz71]

Désirée Clary (Jean Simmons) Pink print dress.. Désirée (1954).. Costume by René Hubert.

[tonymarias]

Rita Moreno and Marlon Brando behind the scenes of 1954’s Désirée

[illustraction]

DESIREE (1954) - NAPOLEON IN MOVIES (Part 5/10)

The stories of Napoleon's conquests have been told as much as his romances in movies. The 1954 epic staring Marlon Brando is focused on exactly that as Napoleon is subjugated by the beauty of Desiree who after being rejected will eventually marry Bernadotte, one the empire's most infamous generals.

While Simmons exudes sass and energy, Brando's performance is a rare miss a she fails to bring the power and sensibility of the Emperor

Above is the rare original Japanese Press movie poster (Click on the image for details).

Director: Henry Koster Actors: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons

ALL OUR NAPOLEON MOVIE POSTERS ARE HERE

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The poster above courtesy of ILLUSTRACTION GALLERY

[payidaresque]

JEAN SIMMONS in a publicity portrait issued for the film, 'Desiree', 1954

[gatabella]

Marilyn Monroe visiting Marlon Brando on the set of Desiree, 1954

[justforbooks]

In the childhood memories of more than one generation, Glynis Johns, who has died aged 100, will be best remembered as the Edwardian materfamilias of the hugely popular Walt Disney musical Mary Poppins (1964). Winifred Banks, married to David Tomlinson’s George W Banks, is the mother of Jane and Michael, the children in the care of the magical nanny played by Julie Andrews. A protester for the right to vote, Winifred delivers a spirited rendition of the song Sister Suffragette – “Our daughters’ daughters will adore us. And they’ll sing in grateful chorus: ‘Well done, Sister Suffragette!’” – as the children’s previous nanny tries to quit.

But the husky-voiced actor had other claims to fame from her more than 60 films and 30 stage productions. In 1973, Stephen Sondheim composed the song Send in the Clowns for Johns when she was cast in the leading role of the premiere production of his musical A Little Night Music, on Broadway. And she had won initial stardom in the British cinema as a mermaid.

In the title role of the film comedy Miranda (1948), she travels from Cornwall to London and causes romantic complications among the Chelsea set. Although the film’s whimsy may now seem strained, it was a great commercial success in its day, making Johns a top-liner in British movies. Miranda returned in a rather belated sequel, Mad About Men (1954).

By that time, Johns had moved almost completely from stage to films, where she was associated chiefly with lightweight roles, alternately fluffy and feisty. One of her most appealing opportunities came in the thriller State Secret (1950, released as The Great Manhunt in the US), playing a cabaret artiste in a fictitious Balkan country, and gamely singing Paper Doll in a wholly invented language.

It says something for her properties of youthfulness that at the age of 30 she could play a teenage schoolgirl in the melodrama Personal Affair (1953). The same year she played in two fanciful Walt Disney British productions, as Mary Tudor in The Sword and the Rose, and as the heroine wife of Rob Roy, and she went on to make her first Hollywood picture, the Danny Kaye comedy The Court Jester, in 1955. The following year she played a cameo role in the star-studded Around the World in 80 Days.

At the time Johns alternated between American and British films, generally in subordinate roles, but a rewarding one came in The Sundowners (1960), set in Australia, as a jolly barmaid who takes a shine to a visiting Englishman played by Peter Ustinov. It brought her an Oscar nomination as best supporting actress. Top billing came in a stylish horror movie, The Cabinet of Caligari (1962). She was well enough known to American audiences by this time to star in 1963 in Glynis, a TV sitcom series that ran for just one season.

In 1966 Johns returned to the London stage in The King’s Mare, as Anne of Cleves to Keith Michell’s Henry VIII. Her Welsh heritage came into play when she took the role of Myfanwy Price in a screen version of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood (1971) starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O’Toole, and two years later came her great Broadway success as Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music, which brought her a Tony award.

Glynis came from a show business background: her mother, Alice Steele (nee Wareham), was a concert pianist who performed under the name Alys Steele-Payne, and her father was the prolific character actor Mervyn Johns. He was a stalwart in particular of Ealing Studios films: father and daughter appeared together in an Ealing drama, The Halfway House (1944).

Though her vocal intonations pointed to her Welshness, Glynis was born in Pretoria, South Africa, where her parents were on tour. She was reportedly carried on to the stage at the age of three weeks, and it was not too much longer before she was appearing there in a professional capacity, making her performing debut at the Garrick theatre, London, as a dancer in a revue called Buckie’s Bears (1935).

Educated at Clifton high school, Bristol, and South Hampstead high school and the Cone School of Dancing in London, she rapidly graduated to juvenile acting roles in both theatre and cinema. Her first screen appearance came at the age of 14, as politician Ralph Richardson’s troublesome daughter in South Riding (1938), and on stage she was the young sister, another Miranda, in Esther McCracken’s comedies Quiet Wedding (1938) and Quiet Weekend (1941).

That year brought the opportunity to appear in the film 49th Parallel, starring Leslie Howard and Laurence Olivier in a spy thriller intended to bolster second world war support in the US. When the prospect of playing a mermaid came after the war, she was able to draw on her theatrical versatility: “I was quite an athlete, my muscles were strong from dancing, so the tail was just fine. I swam like a porpoise.”

Johns returned to the London stage in 1977, as Terence Rattigan’s choice to play the murderer Alma Rattenbury in his well-received dramatisation of the Rattenbury case, Cause Célèbre. Her acting appearances became sporadic, though in 1989 she starred with Rex Harrison and Stewart Granger on Broadway in Somerset Maugham’s The Circle.

She was occasionally a guest star in US television series such as Murder She Wrote and The Love Boat, and played Diane’s rich mother, Helen Chambers, in the first series of Cheers (1983) and Trudie Pepper in the sitcom Coming of Age (1988-89). By the time of her final films, While You Were Sleeping (1995) and Superstar (1999), she was a characterful grandmother.

Johns was married and divorced four times. Her first husband, from 1942 to 1948, was the actor Anthony Forwood. Their son, Gareth, also an actor, died in 2007. Marriages to two businessmen followed: David Foster, from 1952 to 1956, and Cecil Henderson, from 1960 to 1962. She was married to Elliott Arnold, a novelist, from 1964 to 1973, and is survived by a grandson and three great-grandchildren.

🔔 Glynis Margaret Payne Johns, actor, born 5 October 1923; died 4 January 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[gone2soon-rip]

GLYNIS JOHNS (1923-Died January 4th 2024,at 100).British actress, dancer, musician and singer. In a career spanning eight decades on stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. She received various accolades throughout her career, including a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award. She is widely considered to have been one of the last surviving major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood and classical years of British cinema.

Johns was born in Pretoria, South Africa, the daughter of Welsh actor Mervyn Johns. She appeared on stage from a young age and was typecast as a stage dancer from early adolescence, making her screen debut in South Riding (1938). She rose to prominence in the 1940s following her role as Anna in the war drama film 49th Parallel (1941), for which she won a National Board of Review Award for Best Acting, and starring roles in Miranda (1948) and Third Time Lucky (1949). Following No Highway in the Sky (1951), a joint British-American production, Johns took on increasingly more roles in the United States and elsewhere. She made her television and Broadway debuts in 1952 and took on starring roles in such films as The Sword and the Rose (1953), The Weak and the Wicked (1954), Mad About Men (1954), The Court Jester (1955), The Sundowners (1960), The Cabinet of Caligari (1962), The Chapman Report (1962), and Under Milk Wood (1972). On television, she starred in her own sitcom Glynis (1963).

Renowned for the breathy quality of her husky voice,Johns sang songs written specifically for her both on screen and stage, including "Sister Suffragette", written by the Sherman Brothers for Disney's Mary Poppins (1964), in which she played Winifred Banks and for which she received a Laurel Award, and "Send In the Clowns", composed by Stephen Sondheim for Broadway's A Little Night Music (1973), in which she originated the role of Desiree Armfeldt and for which she received a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award.Glynis Johns - Wikipedia

[graceandfamily]

Grace Kelly and Oleg Cassini at "Desiree" premier (1954)

[napoleondidthat]

Which costume worn by Desiree in the 1954 film is your favorite?

She has a nice wardrobe for most of the film. I like her white gown when she returns from Sweden

[lascenizas]

The Last Movie I Watched...

Desiree (1954, Dir.: Henry Koster)

[costumeloverz71]

Désirée Clary (Jean Simmons) Black top, white lace collar & skirt, purple sash.. Desiree (1954).. Costume by René Hubert & Charles Le Maire.

[thecinamonroe]

Marilyn Monroe on the set of “Désirée” in 1954. Photo by Dennis Stock.

[usergreenpixel]

JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 18: DÉSIRÉE (1954)

1. The Introduction

Hello, Citizens and Neighbors! Happy New Year and welcome to the festivities here at the Jacobin Fiction Convention.

As you can see, today is a special day so I chose a topic that both our communities might be interested in so that nobody is left out. I stumbled across this movie while searching for media that tackles Frev and the Napoleonic era at the same time but can also be easily obtained. “Désirée” is available on YouTube in English, so there shouldn’t be an issue with searching it.

Consider this a gift to all of you, as in Russia we give presents for the New Year, not for Christmas.

Before we continue, I would like to dedicate this review to @tairin , @jefflion , @joachimnapoleon , @josefavomjaaga , @saintjustitude , @stalinistqueens , @idieonthishill , @theravenclawrevolutionary , @michel-feuilly , @fountain-ring , @spunkyjacobin , @donpishya , @maggiec70 , @janellefeng , @revolutionary-catboy , @revolution-and-football , @quercusfloreal , @robespapier , @suburbanbeatnik , @aminoscribbles , @edgysaintjust , @taleonne and @elisabeth515 ! Happy New Year!

Anyway, on with the review! Grab some snacks and drinks and enjoy!

2. The Summary

This movie, based on a novel by Annemarie Selinko (I haven’t read it so can’t make any judgements here), tells the story of Désirée Clary from her engagement to Napoleon Bonaparte to her becoming the wife of Marshal Bernadotte to both of them becoming rulers of Sweden.

It starts in 1794 and ends in 1815, so we do indeed have both eras tackled (technically, the Directory counts as Frev, even though our community usually begs to differ), and I find the concept of talking about Désirée Clary’s story interesting.

Let’s take a look at how this idea was executed though, shall we?

3. The Story

Unfortunately, as is the case with many movies that take place over a long time, the pacing issues are apparent and can really make things confusing due to multiple time skips, especially for those who don’t dabble in our respective eras at all and don’t know most of the people involved.

However, I do like the fact that, for an Anglophone movie, it doesn’t really have that much propaganda related to Frev.

No blood on the streets and no evil Robespierre. Désirée’s brother does say in the beginning that these days even generals are suspects, but this can be brushed off as his personal bias and isn’t that serious when it comes to propaganda.

Napoleon isn’t glorified too much either but, thank goodness, there’s no “England swoops in to save the day from devil!Napoleon” narrative either, so there’s that. Probably because the movie is American...

I also kind of like the complicated relationship between Désirée and Napoleon, although I usually hated the dynamics between exes in movies. Here the awkwardness and some possible lingering feelings, at least in my opinion, are shown in a bit more of a realistic way, so that’s good. It can be cheesy, but not too much.

4. The Characters

What isn’t good, however, is Désirée as a character. She whines, complains and slams doors like a stereotypical teenage brat when things don’t go her way and she can be really petty. For example, she deliberately stains Josephine’s dress by throwing a glass of champagne at her! I get that she is jealous and upset but to me that was not an excuse. Josephine could’ve gotten hurt! They do reconcile and Désirée does have some sympathetic moments, but I still hated her character.

As for Josephine de Beauharnais herself, for once she isn’t portrayed in a negative light. She doesn’t hold grudges against Désirée, is genuinely upset that she can’t have a child with Napoleon and heartbroken that he is divorcing her. She reconciled with Désirée and apologized to her, even though she isn’t really at fault that Napoleon called off his engagement with Désirée, at least not in this movie.

I didn’t like Napoleon. He is cold, aloof, too ambitious from the get go and thinks he is never at fault. Not a good impression, especially considering the fact that I really dislike the real Napoleon too, so maybe my personal bias played into this. I don’t know... That said, he is shown to have good intentions and wishing for peace via his conquest of Europe, so he isn’t all bad.

Bernadotte starts out a bit too pushy with his affection but later he tones that down. He readily accepts that, by becoming the heir to the Swedish throne, he will become a Lutheran and change his nationality. He is also concerned about his adopted country and his subjects first and foremost, even when Napoleon calls him a traitor for this.

Talleyrand, Theresia Tallien, F**ché and Napoleon’s sisters make cameos and, not surprisingly, the sisters are portrayed as complete bitches. Apparently that’s typical.

Oscar, Désirée’s son, only has a minor role but he is pretty adorable here.

Queen Hedwig is stern with Désirée, but she is fair and is simply trying to teach the future queen how to behave herself at court.

Julie Clary is a bit strict, but I find her dynamic with Désirée to be pretty realistic and sweet.

Okay, moving on!

5. The Acting

I think Marlon Brando as Napoleon isn’t the best casting choice. I’m not particularly familiar with his works as an actor but something just feels...off. I don’t know how to describe it, perhaps it’s just the fact that his (very particular) voice sounds too jarring for Napoleon.

Jean Simmons (Désirée) is much better, but she has a tendency to overact in her character’s hysterical scenes, which only added to my dislike of Désirée as a character.

The other actors are awesome though, especially Merle Oberon (Josephine). She just had that grace and wisdom to her in the movie.

7. The Setting

Overall, pretty good, although the hairstyles aren’t always historically accurate, but that’s a minor complaint.

The backgrounds and the costumes are much better.

8. The Conclusion

All in all, while I respect the attempt made, I don’t think it’s that good of a movie. Definitely not bad for me as I enjoyed some aspects of it but more like the kind of movie to watch once when you really need to kill time.

I can’t pass judgment on accuracy but, regardless, I suggest you watch it with your brains turned on. Maybe some of you will like it more than I did.

With that, let us conclude the last (only for this year) meeting of the Jacobin Fiction Convention. Other reviews are coming your way in the new year and I really hope you enjoy the holidays.

To my fellow Revolutionaries, may the next year being us all Liberty, Equality and Fraternity!

To the Neighbors, here’s to a fruitful collaboration between our communities as I believe that we can learn a lot from each other. I certainly have learned a lot!

Cheers and Happy New Year!🥂

- Citizen Green Pixel

[romangoldendreams]

Marlon Brando- Desirée (1954)

[gracie-bird]

Grace Kelly and Oleg Cassini at the premiere of film "Desirée” starred by Jean Simmons and Marlon Brando at the Roxy Theatre in NYC on November 18, 1954.