Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalHispanic Heritage MonthIMDb Stars to WatchSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

The Private Life of Don Juan

  • 1934
  • Unrated
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
835
YOUR RATING
Douglas Fairbanks in The Private Life of Don Juan (1934)
AdventureComedyRomance

After having faked his own death and escaped Seville, aging lothario Don Juan returns, only to find that he has been promptly forgotten; perhaps a raven-haired beauty can coax him back into ... Read allAfter having faked his own death and escaped Seville, aging lothario Don Juan returns, only to find that he has been promptly forgotten; perhaps a raven-haired beauty can coax him back into business.After having faked his own death and escaped Seville, aging lothario Don Juan returns, only to find that he has been promptly forgotten; perhaps a raven-haired beauty can coax him back into business.

  • Director
    • Alexander Korda
  • Writers
    • Henry Bataille
    • Frederick Lonsdale
    • Lajos Biró
  • Stars
    • Douglas Fairbanks
    • Merle Oberon
    • Bruce Winston
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    835
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alexander Korda
    • Writers
      • Henry Bataille
      • Frederick Lonsdale
      • Lajos Biró
    • Stars
      • Douglas Fairbanks
      • Merle Oberon
      • Bruce Winston
    • 24User reviews
    • 18Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Photos18

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 11
    View Poster

    Top cast44

    Edit
    Douglas Fairbanks
    Douglas Fairbanks
    • Don Juan
    Merle Oberon
    Merle Oberon
    • Antonita - A Dancer of Passionate Temperament
    Bruce Winston
    • Manager of The Black Cat
    Benita Hume
    Benita Hume
    • Dona Dolores - A Lady of Mystery
    Gina Malo
    Gina Malo
    • Pepita - Another Dancer of Equal Temperament
    Binnie Barnes
    Binnie Barnes
    • Rosita - A Maid Pure and Simple
    Melville Cooper
    Melville Cooper
    • Leporello
    Owen Nares
    Owen Nares
    • Antonio Martinez - An Actor as Actors Go
    Heather Thatcher
    Heather Thatcher
    • Anna Dora - An Actress as Actresses Go
    Diana Napier
    Diana Napier
    • A Lady of Sentiment
    Joan Gardner
    Joan Gardner
    • Carmen - A Young Lady of Romance
    Gibson Gowland
    Gibson Gowland
    • Don Alfredo - Carmen's Poor Husband
    Barry MacKay
    Barry MacKay
    • Rodrigo The Impostor - A Man of Romance
    • (as Barry Mackay)
    Claud Allister
    Claud Allister
    • The Duke - A Dukes Go
    • (as Claude Allister)
    Athene Seyler
    Athene Seyler
    • Theresa the Innkeeper - A Middle Aged Lady of Young Sentiment
    Hindle Edgar
    • A Jealous Husband
    Natalie Paley
    Natalie Paley
    • Jealous Husband's Poor Wife
    Patricia Hilliard
    Patricia Hilliard
    • The Girl at the Castle - A Young Girl in Love
    • Director
      • Alexander Korda
    • Writers
      • Henry Bataille
      • Frederick Lonsdale
      • Lajos Biró
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews24

    6.3835
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    10binapiraeus

    The most wonderful 'goodbye' from a REALLY great star

    In 1934, at age 51, Douglas Fairbanks had already decided to end his magnificent and very prolific acting career. Not because he couldn't cope with sound (he had a very nice, strong voice), or with the kind of movies that were popular at the time - he'd originally started as a comedian before he went into the romantic swashbucklers that made him so hugely famous; and in the 30s, screwball comedies were at their height, so he could still have remained a top star for years if he'd wanted to.

    But he wanted to retire WHILE he was still on top - and while he could still perform some of those marvelous acrobatic tricks that he'd always employed in his swashbucklers as well as in his comedies and that he himself loved so much doing; and so, for his last role, he chose the one famous character that he hadn't impersonated yet among all the classic heroes of romantic fiction, and that suited him so very well: Don Juan - but an aging Don Juan. A Don Juan who had become tired of keeping in shape for balcony climbing and love-making to young ladies, something which required daily training and diet - a kind of self-confession that he conveyed through his role...

    So he shows us here for the last time a display of his famous sword fighting, balcony climbing, and of course romancing - but at the same time, he parodies not only the self-satisfied Don Juan with the myth that surrounds him, but also himself; he wasn't above that.

    He was in NO way obliged to admit to his doctor, who calls him "King of Hearts": - "Well, nowadays, when I sit down to a... quiet game with a lady, I'm - no longer sure of holding the card..." Neither to play that scene with the middle-aged innkeeper who has a go at him in a PRETTY unflattering way: "You've no money, no looks, not very much brain - and you're no chicken! You'd make a nice husband..." Neither to have all the young girls of Seville laugh at him when he, who was believed dead, finally steps in in the middle of a stage play about his own 'private life' and declares that HE is the real Don Juan...

    And yet he DID play all these scenes - because he wanted to. He wanted to say 'goodbye' to acting with a good dose of self-mockery; he was MAN enough not only to admit that time hadn't just passed him by, but to ridicule that fact in such an exaggerated way that again makes us say automatically: "But hey, you're just joking - you ARE the King of Hearts, and you always will be!" So, with this hilariously funny, bright, romantic costume piece full of action and laughter, Doug Fairbanks retired from the acting stage - not in a pathetic, dramatic way, but in a humorous, lovable one that's kept him in the hearts of his fans until this day. So that's the special meaning behind this very enjoyable period comedy-parody that certainly never gets dull or sentimental or boring for one single moment...
    jimjo1216

    When the legend becomes fact... retire.

    Don Juan, the great lover, is now middle-aged and finds he no longer has the same appeal with the ladies. Meanwhile a young impostor keeps the Don Juan legend alive by kissing women all over town. When trying to make a comeback, the real Don Juan can't live up to his own legend.

    This is a very funny movie and an interesting take on the Don Juan character. We see him forced to adhere to a strict diet, as his good looks are "his only asset", and balcony-climbing has become a chore. It's a tale about aging and clutching to one's youth.

    The cast is great for this witty Alexander Korda film. Young Merle Oberon is very beautiful as a dancer whose celebrity profits from being kissed by the great Don Juan. Benita Hume is lovely as the one woman who understands Don Juan - his wife. And it's a rare treat to see Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in a sound film, playing Don Juan in what would be his final role. The movie's a lot of fun, and even the opening credits are full of wit.
    7David-240

    Sadly ironic finale for the great Fairbanks.

    In one scene Melville Cooper says to Douglas Fairbanks: "Leave off while they still think of you as you were ten years ago". It is a sad moment that you feel must have rung true for the two actors. The great Fairbanks, a movie legend, hadn't worked for two years. His famous marriage to Mary Pickford was at an end. And he was ageing, at 51 he could no longer fill the film with his trademark stunts - though he still climbs a mean rope ladder.

    Korda, perhaps cruelly, makes Don Juan a rather pathetic character - living off his legend rather than any real charm or beauty. Once he allows the public to believe he is dead, the real Don Juan can't even seduce a kitchen maid, and the only offer he receives is from an old lady - in a scene beautifully played by Fairbanks. When he stands on a stage and declares that he is Don Juan he is met with gales of laughter. You can't help thinking that Fairbanks might have met the same reaction had he stood before a crowd and declared himself to be Douglas Fairbanks.

    The film itself is actually pretty good - splendidly staged if a little clumsy in pace. And Merle Oberon is ravishingly beautiful. Fairbanks, like Don Juan, seems tired - ready for retirement. The spark re-ignites briefly in some scenes, but the overall feeling is one of defeat. Within five years Fairbanks would be dead having never worked again. As the film concludes, with Don Juan finally succumbing to marriage, and therefore retirement, we get the impression that he won't live much longer either. A god has been brought to earth. A flame extinguished.
    6gregberne11

    Farewell Mr. Fairbanks!

    This was at the twilight of Douglas Fairbanks's career and he gives a great performance both in comedy and adventure as Don Juan. He wasn't at the end of his career because he was too old or no longer popular in fact he just decided to call it a day while he was still very much a huge star and relatively young at barely over 50 years old. It's a great performance and a great way to say goodbye for Douglas Fairbanks. The movie is not the best but he is superb.
    7drjgardner

    Fairbanks Last Film

    "The Private Life of Don Juan" is a 1934 comedy from Alexander Korda and is notable as the swan song of screen legend Douglas Fairbanks. The Don Juan character comes from a 14th Century Spanish play, several books and plays (including works by Byron and Moliere) and the Mozart opera Don Giovanni (1787). The first film was in 1926 starring John Barrymore. Don Juan would be played later by Errol Flynn (1949) and Johnny Depp (1995).

    Douglas Fairbanks Sr. was one of the biggest stars in the early years of Hollywood, referred to as "The King" of Hollywood. Along with Chaplin, DW Griffith, and Fairbank's wife, Mary Pickford, he founded United Artists (1919). He founded the Motion Picture Academy (1927) and was its first President, was the first to put his hands and feet in the cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and hosted the first Oscar ceremony in 1929.

    Fairbanks virtually invented the swashbuckler film and appeared in such classics as "The Three Musketeers" (1921), "Robin Hood" (1922), and "The Thief of Bagdad" (1924). He wasn't really known for his lothario roles, which were more the focus for his contemporaries Valentino and Barrymore.

    Fairbanks was in England along with his son, looking for work, when he came upon Alexander Korda and hence this film. Korda loved film biographies - "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933), "The Private Life of Helen of Troy" (1927), "Rembrandt" (1936), "That Hamilton Woman" (1941), and "Bonnie Prince Charlie" (1948) – and while the character Don Juan is more fiction than fact, he was so well known it does take on an historical tone

    Merle Oberon plays one of Fairbank's love interests. She started in films in 1928 but it was her role as Anne Boleyn opposite Charles Laughton in Korda's "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933) that brought her to stardom. She was nominated for an Oscar for "The Dark Angel" (1935) but is probably best remembered for her role as Cathy in "Wuthering Heights" (1938). Oberon appeared in several Korda films and eventually they married in 1939 and then divorced in 1945 when she married cinematographer Lucien Ballard.

    Binnie Barnes plays a maid. Barnes was a major star of the 30s, appearing in "Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933), "Diamond Jim" (1935), "Last of the Mohicans" (1936) and "3 Musketeers" (1939). Her philosophy was - "I'm no Sarah Bernhardt. One picture is just like another to me as long as I don't have to be a sweet woman."

    French born Georges Perinal (1897-1965) is the photographer. He worked often with Korda (Henry VIII, Rembrandt, Catherine the Great) and won an Oscar for "The Thief of Bagdad" (1940) and was nominated for "Four Feathers" (1939).

    The NY Times called the film "a visually attractive costume comedy" but disliked Fairbanks' performance noting - "the microphone is ruthlessly unkind to him. Neither in voice nor theatrical skill is he gifted to read lines."

    1934 was an OK year for films. The top box office slots went to "Viva Villa", "Cleopatra" and "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" and "It Happened One Night" was the big Oscar winner. That year "The Thin Man" series began, Karloff and Lugosi appeared in "The Black Cat", Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced in "The Gay Divorcée", Laurel and Hardy laughed it up in "Babes in Toyland", and Howard Hawks' "Twentieth Century" came out.

    The aging Fairbanks is marvelous as the aging lothario, and one can't help but make comparisons with John Wayne's "The Shootist" (1976), Edward G Robinson's "Soylent Green"(1973), Errol Flynn's "Too Much too Soon" (1958) or John Barrymore's "The Great Man Votes" (1939). Fairbanks is particularly good when philosophizing about the vagaries of fame and the problems of growing old.

    This isn't the best film, but it is an opportunity to see the famous Douglas Fairbanks in a talkie and in a role that requires acting rather than swashbuckling alone. His voice is a bit disappointing and his acting skills are not terrific, though they are certainly acceptable. He is surprisingly agile as the 52 year old demonstrates throughout the film. Although his contemporaries were disappointed, the passage of time lets us evaluate him more appropriately.

    More like this

    The Private Life of Henry VIII
    7.0
    The Private Life of Henry VIII
    Day-Time Wife
    6.4
    Day-Time Wife
    Rembrandt
    7.0
    Rembrandt
    Faithless
    6.7
    Faithless
    The Man Who Played God
    6.8
    The Man Who Played God
    Magnificent Obsession
    6.8
    Magnificent Obsession
    The Black Room
    6.9
    The Black Room
    Beauty for Sale
    6.7
    Beauty for Sale
    Coquette
    5.5
    Coquette
    Bedside
    6.2
    Bedside
    Pygmalion
    7.7
    Pygmalion
    Bed of Roses
    6.4
    Bed of Roses

    Related interests

    Still frame
    Adventure
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Don Juan was a real person named Miguel de Manara. In this movie, Douglas Fairbanks writes a note and signs it with that name.
    • Quotes

      Don Juan: Marriage is like a beleaguered city. Those that are out want to get in; those that are in want to get out.

    • Crazy credits
      Lengthy, humorous and accurate role descriptions are listed for each character in the opening credits.
    • Connections
      Featured in Broken Flowers (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      The Don Juan Serenade
      (1934)

      (Published in Great Britain with title "Senorita Carmencita")

      Music by Mischa Spoliansky

      Lyrics Arthur Wimperis

      Performed by John Brownlee

      Played as background music often

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ17

    • How long is The Private Life of Don Juan?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 30, 1934 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Privatni zivot Don Žuana
    • Filming locations
      • Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK(Studio)
    • Production company
      • London Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.