O Romance de Madame Walewska

CONQUEST (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1937), directed by Clarence Brown, is not a full-fledged biography nor grand scale remake of the four hour silent epic of director Abel Gance's French masterpiece, NAPOLEON (1927), though any attempt might have been interesting. Instead, this historical mini 112 minute epic indicates: "This is a story of an historic love. The imaginary detail supplied by the dramatist has not violated the spirit of this immortal romance." Starring the fine combination of Greta Garbo and Charles Boyer for the first and only time, CONQUEST, like NAPOLEON, falls into a lavish scale style, fortunately not at four hours. It does, however, equally balance these leading performers to the best capacity in screen entertainment. Reportedly a box office disappointment upon release, it was Boyer, not Garbo, who garnered enough attention to earn an Academy Award nomination, indicating Boyer was not just an ordinary Garbo co-star, but a logical choice to play Napoleon.

Told in detailed title format, the first chapter reads, "January 1808, Eastern Poland" followed by rebellious horseback riding Cossacks invading and destroying personal property of the luxurious home of 75-year-old Count Wakenski (Henry Stephenson) and his attractive, younger third wife, Marie (Greta Garbo). Shortly after the intruders depart comes Marie's brother, Lieutenant Paul Pachinski (Leif Erickson) of the French Army, with news of the Emperor Napoleon and his Army arriving in Poland. Later that night, Marie leaves home just long enough to see and capture the attention of Napoleon (Charles Boyer) while standing outside a church. Chapter Two: "Two months later, at the Poniatowski Palace, Warsaw" - The Count and Marie attend a ball where Napoleon, after meeting with the Countess once more, attracts attention from surprising guests by being together on the dance floor. Though Marie consoles her husband of Napoleon's love letters to her, it is Senator Malachowski (George Zucco) who encourages her to accept Napoleon's invitation so he can free Poland. Having gone against her husband's wishes, Wakewski leaves Marie and annuls their marriage. Chapter 3: "The Castle of Finckenstein, East Prussia" - With Napoleon and his personal staff seeking shelter in the Wakenski home, Marie acts coldly towards the aggressive guest. Things eventually change as Napoleon's loneliness falls into Marie's own personal pattern. After Marie's brother learns of their affair, he loses all respect for them. Chapter 4: "Two years later, July, 1809, The Rue De La Houssaie, Paris" - Bonaparte's mother, Laetitia (Dame May Witty) confronts Marie of her son's intention on divorcing his wife, Josephine; Chapter 5: "Three Weeks Later, Schoebrunn Castle - Vienna" - Napoleon encounters an assassin; Talleyrand (Reginald Owen) encourages Napoleon to marry the Duchess Marie Louise of Hapsburg in order to have an heir of royal blood. The news proves disappointing for Marie; Chapter 6: "Two years later, December 1812, The Retreat of the Grand Army from Moscow through Poland," Napoleon and Army march through a stormy blizzard and encounter a half frozen soldier; Chapter 7: "Two years later, August 18, 1814, The Island of Elba" - After a defeat at Waterloo, Marie arrives with a surprise for Napoleon; Chapter 8: "One month after Waterloo, July 1815, The Port of Rochefemas, France." Napoleon goes into exile.

In the supporting cast are Claude Gillingwater Sr. (Stefan, Marie's loyal servant); Alan Marshal (O'Ornano); C. Henry Gordon (Prince Poniatowski); and Scotty Beckett (Alexander). Maria Ouspenskaya should not go unmentioned as the Countess Pelagia, Wakewski's sister with memory loss. Her card playing encounter with Napoleon is as noteworthy as Napoleon telling Marie that, "You are the only woman whose favor I ever begged for." Aside from a smooth underscoring by Herbert Stothart, and impressive sets, CONQUEST, which often cries for Technicolor as well as extensive war battle scenes, the camera shows Garbo to great advantage on numerous occasions of her now mature, yet stunning beauty.

No stranger to broadcast television prior to the 1980s, CONQUEST, with availability after-wards on video and DVD formats, remains a much underrated Garbo product. Interestingly, in the 1990 documentary, "The Divine Garbo," as hosted by Glenn Close, of all the Garbo films, CONQUEST did not get a single mention, almost as the movie itself never existed, which is quite unfortunate. CONQUEST may not be accurate in its historic account nor will it ever become a sort-after Garbo conquest in cinema history, but it's certainly worth exploring the next time it broadcasts on Turner Classic Movies. (****)

I've often thought that those first twenty minutes of Conquest are the most important of the film. When those Cossacks invade the civilized home of Count Walewska, their actions there establish the reason for all that follows in the film. They are one greasy, slovenly, disreputable lot, set against the urbane Henry Stephenson as the Count and his young wife Maria, played by Greta Garbo.

After what we see of the Cossacks, no wonder the Poles welcome the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte as liberators, restorers of their country which had been carved up about 40 years earlier by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. And when it seems that Greta Garbo is the best thing the Poles have to offer Charles Boyer, it becomes her patriotic duty, even Stephenson unwillingly goes along with the liaison.

But she really loves the Little Corporal as it turns out. They even have a son together. But unfortunately Boyer is about himself first last and always.

Maria Walewska was not the first or last of Napoleon's amours. In fact this film ought to be seen back to back with Desiree, a lost love of Bonaparte's from an earlier time. Both of his marriages were for political reasons, Garbo should have known about the first one going in.

Conquest is one of the few Garbo films where she is not number one, what holds the film together is Charles Boyer as Napoleon. Boyer captures perfectly both the idealism and ambition that was Bonaparte, he got an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, but lost to Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous. Not that Garbo's bad, but I can't recall any other film where her leading man overshadowed her.

Although Conquest takes quite a few liberties with the historical record, it's still a fine costume drama, one of the best that MGM put out back in its height.

Some scenes in this film drag on too long and others are too wordy, but I thoroughly enjoyed Charles Boyer's performance as Napoleon Bonaparte. His slight accent accentuates believability. The same can be said about Greta Garbo's slight accent, but she is so stunningly beautiful I hardly noticed. She is also excellent in her last dramatic performance. There are two great scenes to watch for: the opening attack of the cossacks, riding their horses inside the stately home of Garbo and Henry Stephenson and wrecking it; and the ball at the palace in Warsaw, filled with noblemen and noblewomen adorned in gorgeous period clothing. (The gowns were designed by Adrian). Both crowd scenes are handled very well by director Clarence Brown. I was a little disappointed in the limited screenplay. Somehow, when I think of Napoleon I think of a grand epic such as "War and Peace," and not just his personal life. The only part of his war life you see is a brief scene of his retreat from Moscow in the harsh Russian winter. I was impressed by Napoleon's vision of a United States of Europe. He would have been delighted at the introduction of the Eurodollar this year.

This movie has two halves to evaluate. The first half is brilliant, among the best scenes ever put on film. Boyer gives the performance of his life as the "Little Corporal" trying to woo an obscure (and obscurely beautiful) Polish Countess. Sadly, once she is wooed the movie is lost in a muddle of syrupy sentiment and questionable history lessons.

Boyer is outstanding all the way through the movie. This is the role he was born to play. He is funny, abrupt, insane, and believeable. He puts his whole body into this role. But Garbo - *sigh* - she's better at portraying melancholy than happiness. When she's in love in this movie, it's irritating. Excepting her scene with Dame May Whitty as Napoleon's mother, I just can't stand it.

The second half is just mush. It's plodding, for the most part uninteresting, and sheds no light on Napoleon as a historical figure. Maybe the first half of the movie had so much energy that it was impossible to sustain. In any case, I recommend this movie, if only for Boyer's performance and the opening sequence.

CONQUEST (1937) directed by one of Garbo's favorite directors, Clarence Brown, is a movie that appears to have multiple levels of analysis. It is a historical epic, it is a romance, it is a Garbo movie and a Charles Boyer movie at the same time. Moreover, it is a Hollywood classic production from the days when art meant something more than automatic computerized techniques.

I had usually wondered why many modern movie buffs turn to old films until I myself came across one or two true silver screen classics and fell in love with them. Now, for me, the most obvious answer to that question is that these films had a soul, they were made for beauty and passed this beauty to the world. In other words, they really had something to offer. However, they were also vehicles for stars. Among the actresses that still stands as a symbol of that cinema is Greta Garbo.

Garbo, however, does not appear to be so good here as in her other films. She has a difficult role that, logically, occurs quite vague for the Swede. She portrays a very specific patriot, a Polish patriot, Marie Walewska whose love to her nation is psychologically torn by the love to a great conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte (Charles Boyer). He was, historically speaking, a great hope for the Poles since Poland did not exist at the map at the time and patriots hoped that by gaining Europe, he will help Poland rise again from the oppression of three neighboring empires. And that is mentioned clearly in the movie; yet Garbo turns out to be better in the romantic side of the role than in the historical one.

Charles Boyer as Napoleon is perfect. He truly portrays an ambitious unstable character: proud, inconsistent, emotional, sometimes furious, strong yet easily broken conqueror whose psyche is built upon power and madness, upon courage and fear. He is the one who shakes the very fundamentals of Europe and, to the contrary, the one who is shaken within. His performance is truly one among the very best in the history of cinema and, as a result, his character is usually dominant in CONQUEST even though the film is not solely on Napoleon. There are roles everlasting, like Peter Ustinov's in QUO VADIS (1951), Garbo's in QUEEN Christina (1933), Bergman's in CASABLANCA (1942). So is it with underrated Charles Boyer's in CONQUEST (1937).

Except for the aforementioned advantage of the movie, the historical events appear to be shadowed in the movie, directed towards background, like in many Hollywood movies of the time. Therefore, history is not a strong point of the film. Yet, the two other strengths about CONQUEST that should still be appreciated and cherished are stunning visuals and memorable moments. Clarence Brown was very good at directing elegant sequences in royal courts. He proved that in ANNA KARENINA a few years earlier as well as in other of his productions and that is exactly what we have here in CONQUEST: exceptionally beautiful picture of a "luxurious life" with lavish sets. Consider, for instance, the Schonnbrunn scenes or a visually symbolic pearl when the map of Europe is shadowed by the figure of Napoleon.

As far as memorable moments are concerned, I most admired the romantic short scene when Napoleon tells Walewska "I love you" - such a well known sentence in cinema, yet presented in a beautiful way: snow falls as if it sealed their words. Among funny moments, the one worth considering is the hilarious conversation between Napoleon and Countess Pelagia Walewska: when she asks him who he is and he tells her "Napoleon", that does not make sense to her at all. I also laughed at the scene when Napoleon learns to dance with Walewska. Among the supporting cast, the performance that I find worthy attention is Dame May Witty's as Laetitia Bonaparte, Napoleon's mother.

CONQUEST is a very beautiful film, a classic like many other movies of the time. However, as I have already mentioned, do not treat it as Garbo vehicle or your first Garbo movie for it is not. CONQUEST is the last film Garbo made with Clarence Brown, her last great love story but it is not at all similar to ANNA KARENINA or QUEEN Christina. CONQUEST is foremost an epic, a romance, a picture of sentimental patriotism and a Charles Boyer splendid manifestation of talent. 9/10