Plot Synopsis
After a brief informal meeting two months earlier when they were impressed with each other, Countess Marie Walewska (Garbo) formally meets Napoleon Bonaparte (Boyer) at a ball in Warsaw. When Napoleon notes her husband, Count Walewski (Stephenson), is three times her age, and as he is taken with her charms, he unsuccessfully tries to seduce her. She ignores his frequent letters and flowers until a few grim Polish leaders led by Senator Malachowski (Zucco) urge her to give into his desires as a personal sacrifice in order to save Poland. She goes to him despite the humiliation of her husband, who leaves for Rome to annul their marriage. They are extremely happy for a while; Napoleon divorces childless Empress Josephine and Marie eventually becomes pregnant. She is about to tell Napoleon about her baby when he tells her he decided to marry Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria. He explains it will be a political marriage to insure his future son could rule securely with Habsburg blood in him. It will not affect their relationship, he says, but Marie Walewska leaves to have her baby alone without telling Napoleon she is expecting his child.
The movie was adapted by S. N. Behrman, Samuel Hoffenstein, Helen Jerome and Salka Viertel from the novel Pani Walewska by Waclaw Gasiorowski. It was directed by Clarence Brown and Gustav Machatý
It was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Charles Boyer) and Best Art Direction
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This movie was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's biggest money losing movie prior to 1949. Its worldwide gross amounted to $2,141,000. But its massive budget led to a loss of $1,397,000.
Cast;
- Greta Garbo as Countess Marie Walewska
- Charles Boyer as Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
- Reginald Owen as Tallyrand
- Alan Marshal as Captain d'Ornano
- Henry Stephenson as Count Anastas Walewski
- Leif Erickson as Paul Lachinski (as Leif Erikson)
- Dame May Whitty as Laetitia Bonaparte
- Maria Ouspenskaya as Countess Pelagia Walewska
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