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Run time: 90 min.

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Alexander KordaThe Private Life of Henry VIII. (1933)

The film follows the private life of the infamous 16th century British monarch, King Henry the VIII, and his misadventures in his various marriages.
Henry the VIII is wonderfully portrayed by the highly talented and entertaining Charles Laughton, a masterful one-of-a-kind character actor who managed to land many plum roles despite looking like a bloated fish.
Laughton portrays the King as a rollicking, impetuous, boozing lover of women. A man equal parts charming, childish and dangerous.

The best part of the movie is when he tries to explain how to make babys to his 4th wife Anne of Cleves (Elsa Lanchester, Laughton´s wife)ending up playing cards on the marriage bed.


This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films

Director: Alexander Korda
Producer: Alexander Korda, Ludovico Toeplitz
Production Company: London Film Productions
Audio/Visual: sound, black & white
Keywords: Biography; Drama; History; Charles Laughton; Elsa Lanchester; Merle Oberon
Contact Information: www.k-otic.com

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: WRCedric - - June 13, 2009
Subject: Pure delight
This film may be mostly crap for history, but as entertainment it is a pure delight. Charles Laughton hams it up with relish as an outlandish Henry VIII. His wife, Elsa Lanchester, has similar fun with her role (Anne of Cleves). Strong supporting performances from Merle Oberon (Anne Boleyn), Robert Donat (Thomas Culpeper), and others.

The file appears to have the entire film, although it may be slightly speeded up (it is normally billed as 97 minutes). The film is just a bit out of sync in several places, but no more than normal for an early sound film. Otherwise, quality is very good.