Madame Curie

Hollywood did a lot of biography pictures in the 1940s. Most of them were awfully good, though a little bit too idealized. Almost all were pretty entertaining. Among them, there are some standouts, such as Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet and Madame Curie. This film was reasonably faithful to her real story, though most notably Greer Garson was a tall lady and Ms. Curie was, according to everything I have read, a tiny little woman. And, thankfully, the MGM people didn't change how her husband died (such as having him survive in order to give the movie an upbeat ending). So what we have is a good primer for kids and teens about the accomplishments of this great lady.

Garson and Pigeon did a nice job--give it a try.

What an extraordinary biographical film that is now more than 3/4's of a century old and yet still holds up extremely well when compared to many of today's biographical vanity projects. Greer Garson who plays Madame Curie and the love of her life Pierre Curie (Walter Pidgeon) not only persevere through years and then decades of toil and failure after failure until they stumble upon their breakthrough which leads them to discover the chemical compound of radium and what it can do for science, medicine and mankind.

I would like to propose that all high school students watch this film at least twice and complete a report on what the film meant to them. Maybe it would inspire even a very small percentage of our future scientists to maintain a semblance of perseverance, get rid of their cell phones and social media presence and remember how difficult life and romance was for Marie and Pierre Curie.

This is a romantic and epic documentary film that all teenagers should enjoy sitting through and learning a bit about the hardships that our predecessors and science leaders endured for our benefit and the better future of all mankind.

A deservedly 8 out of 10 rating

Marie Curie was an inspirational, ahead of her time and important figure, a pioneer in her field while having to deal with and overcome a lot of significant adversity. Her story is a fascinating one as well as complex, and was both intrigued as to whether a feature length would be enough to do it and her justice. It was hard to not say no to seeing 'Madame Curie', as Mervyn LeRoy was a very dependable director who did make some truly fine films (i.e. 'Random Harvest') and the cast promises a lot.

On the whole, 'Madame Curie' was very well done, infinitely superior to the recent 'Radioactive' that had a great lead performance but was mostly very disappointing. It is not easy making an interesting and accessible film of this subject, which absolutely fascinated me but may be too complex and dry for others less familiar with Curie and her contribution to science, but 'Madame Curie' does so admirably if imperfectly. Although it is not perfect, there is a lot to admire.

Will start with what 'Madame Curie' does well. It is impeccably made and produced, with sumptuous sets and costumes complemented beautifully by even more elegant and suitably glossy cinematography. The music doesn't get too melodramatic or over-scored, while still excelling in bringing out the story's emotional core without overdoing it. LeRoy directs sympathetically while still being involved, seldom feeling leaden. The script is intelligent and well meaning, if occasionally rambling.

The story is more respectful to the truth than expected, given the general reputation of biopics straying from the facts. Not only is the personal life element emotionally investable and not soapy, everything with Curie's findings more accessible than expected also. One wasn't too favoured over the other, the characters aren't too sketchy (Curie and Pierre are both interesting) and the film does a far better job than 'Radioactive' at how progressive her findings were, their influence in science and how her mind worked. As well as the extent of the adversity that she faced. The first third is especially entertainingly and sensitively done and the more serious middle act is more serious yet fascinating.

Greer Garson may not look like Curie but her performance is still sincere, forceful and deeply committed. She is great at making Curie an interesting character and a real person rather than an icon or caricature, with so much to admire yet with flaws. Walter Pidgeon is a reliably strong presence, superb in his delivery of the speech to the jeweller, and their chemistry is magic. The rest of the acting shows fine talent giving their all.

It's not perfect, with some very sluggish pacing in the final third. Which also felt too thin, predictable and like the film had run out of steam. Pidgeon is the best thing about this section of the film.

Concluding, very well done and interesting. 8/10.

This is the biography of the Curies, who discovered radium. This one gets off to a fine start as the socially awkward scientist Pidgeon finds himself drawn to Garson, a student with great scientific aptitude. Having worked with each other so often, the two stars have terrific chemistry (and physics?) and are quite believable in the roles of the famed scientists. Then comes the experimentation that lead to the discovery of radium and the concept of radioactivity. This is fascinating stuff but does not make for great cinema, causing things to bog down in the latter parts of the film. Still, it's a handsome production that's well worth watching.

Here we have Greer Garson in the kind of role that would later inspire that wonderful sequence from 'Ziegfeld Follies' (the 'Madame Crematon' impersonation by Judy Garland, a rip-off of Greer in her great lady roles). But, surprisingly or not, Garson and Pidgeon are teamed in a very eloquent and moving biography, one of the more tasteful and dignified bios of the 1940s considering it deals with subject matter not conducive to popular taste.

Their long work in the laboratories finally leads to the discovery of radium--and this is the fascinating story of how they met and married and indulged in their lifelong pursuit of discovery. A young and rather miscast Robert Walker plays a fellow lab worker. Van Johnson has a few brief moments toward the end, as does Margaret O'Brien. But the focus is on Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon and they both deliver Oscar nominated performances.

This is one of the better screen biographies and one that has been sorely neglected over the years. Watch for my career article on GREER GARSON to appear in an upcoming issue of FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE.