The Private Life of Henry VIII – 1932 / 1933
Based on the title, I was actually looking forward to watching this film. I have always had a passing interest in English history. However, about half an hour into the movie, I began to suspect that history and historical fact was not so important to the film makers. By the end of the film, I had come to the conclusion that this was not a film about history, but a film about how to have a happy marriage. It just used the story of Henry VIII as a backdrop. Here’s why.
This was a comedy! It was never intended to be a historical drama. The film starred Charles Laughton as King Henry. Laughton won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. Knowing that, I have to admit to being pretty disappointed. I wanted a historical drama, and I didn’t get what I wanted. But I suppose it was my own fault. I should have done my research before watching the movie.
He played the part of Henry VIII as a bumbling buffoon. He was clumsy and lecherous, and in the end just wanted a good woman to love him. Of course, as we all know, Henry had 6 wives. The first was Catherine of Aragon, but the movie completely skips over her, saying that she was a respectable woman whom he divorced. Second was Anne Boleyn, played by Merle Oberon, and the film starts out at her execution. Immediately upon her beheading, he marries wife number 3, Jane Seymour, played by Wendy Barrie.
After Seymour dies in childbirth, he marries his 4th wife, an arranged marriage to a German Princess, Anne of Cleaves, played by Laughton’s real wife, Elsa Lanchester. She does not want to be his wife, so in an amusing sequence, she makes faces to make herself appear ugly. He rejects her for her looks and gives her a healthy annulment settlement, which she wins by besting him in a game of cards.
Catherine Howard, played by Binnie Barnes is his 5th wife. But she has an affair with a member of Henry’s court and is executed. And finally, wife number 6 is Catherine Parr, played by Everley Gregg. She is portrayed as a nagging shrew who mothers him, smothers him, and finally leaves him alone. And finally we come to the biggest joke of the film. At the last, Laughton turns to the camera and breaks the fourth wall. He speaks directly to the audience saying, “Six wives, and the best of them is the worst.”
Before I knew this was intended to be a comedy, I thought it was a bad movie. Now, I have a different opinion. It was amusing enough, had a funny message, and a fine comedic performance by Laughton. In short, it makes sense as a comedy. Elsa Lanchester was also pretty funny to watch as she made ugly faces in the mirror, trying to get them just right.
That being said, I must acknowledge the historical accuracies that are surprising from a spoof or comedy. I would have expected the writers to take a little more liberty with certain events, but they kept a lot of things remarkably accurate such as the sequence of events and the personalities and motivations of certain characters.
There was only one very minor thing that I didn’t particularly care for: the costumes. They looked very… fake. I mean, Henry’s costumes were incredibly detailed (for that matter, Laughton looked amazingly like the real Henry VIII) but nearly everyone else had a costume that looked like it belonged in a school play… a grade-school play. There was very little detail and very little realism.
Aside from that one minor detail, the film worked as a comedy. I just wish I would have known that going into it. I would have enjoyed the movie much more. Upon reflection, there is one other thing I would have changed. After doing my research, I found that Henry’s first wife was originally his older brother’s wife. When Arthur died at age 15, Catherine of Aragon was expected to become Henry’s wife for political reasons. Henry was only 11 at the time. But this is a historical spoof. They couldn’t find anything funny to do with that? I can think of several things.