Nostradamus and the Queen

With the Germans occupying 2/3 of France and a puppet regime running the rest of it, in 1942 there was a lot of interest in the fate of that troubled country. MGM did this short subject about the great seer Michelle Nostradamus who gave a prophecy to Catherine deMedici, Queen consort of France, married to Henry II.

In 1558 her husband was killed in a freak accident during a tournament while showing his jousting skills. One right after the other, Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III ascended the throne of France and all had tragedy and early death associated with them.

Indeed the woman survived all of her sons. She had hoped to make good marriages for them and that her husband would surely have about 20 more years on the throne.

What was that which that Scot Bobby Burns said about the best laid plans?

Nice and factual history lesson.

Nostradamus and the Queen (1942)

*** (out of 4)

Another entry in Carey Wilson's Nostradamus series with this one looking at his relationship with Catherine de Medici. The film focuses on the Queen, who had hoped to take over all of Europe, and how Nostradamus ended up predicting the fate of her husband and well as her three sons. This series is certainly hit and miss but I feel this one here works because of how nice some of the predictions were (even though I'm not sure how truthful they're told here). Maria Palmer didn't have a big career but she's pretty good here playing the Queen. Wilson's narration is good as usual and there's some nice scenery, which makes this one worth watching.

...Nostradamus was a mystic who certainly dabbled in astrology and likely necromancy (attempting to contact the dead), but during the production code era this short is just hunky dory with the censors, because there is no sex in it??? Those stalwarts of the Christian church that oversaw every film exhibited in this land were okay with witchcraft on screen even though the Bible condemns it? Well enough about hypocrisy and on to the rewards of vague predictions.

In this little MGM short, Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, summons Nostradamus, celebrated for his almanacs, to talk about his predictions for her. All of the written predictions are very vague. Nobody is called out by name. Funny though, how all of the predictions are flattering, her three sons all become kings and she lives to old age. In fact, Catherine was a fan of Nostradamus' and did actually ask him to come to court and cast horoscopes for her sons. Nostradamus was at first afraid of being beheaded. Hey, if he can tell the future so well, didn't he KNOW whether or not he'd be beheaded??? I scratched my head over the purpose of this thing until the end. The short tries to prove that Nostradamus was right about everything, and even if he hadn't been he'd be long dead anyways. Nice work if you can get it. Then the purpose comes out. The year is 1942 and the narrator turns his attentions to predictions that he says are about the United States - how we will be a land built on freedom but will struggle to keep it alive and will ultimately prevail. Ah ha! This is all about WWII morale building after all! Clever way to work that into a one reeler about a dubious 16th century mystic.

At any rate, this short has good production values and is not boring. And I give it points for burying the lead. I'd recommend it if it comes your way.

An MGM PROPHECIES OF NOSTRADAMUS Short Subject.

The strange story of Michel de NOSTRADAMUS AND THE QUEEN of France is herein related.

This short film tells the intriguing tale of the prophecies of the famous seer (1503-1566) and how they reinforced the ambitions of the rapacious Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) and the fates of her three sons, each of whom would rule France: Francis II (1559-1560), Charles IX (1560-1574) and Henry III (1574-1589).

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Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.

..........AH YES, THESE are all famous legendary bits of the college football lore that come out of South Bend, Indiana; continuing to grow in stature with each passing year and generation! Love 'em or hate 'em, it's the "Fighting Irish" who've carved out an eternal niche in American sporting lore.

OH, WAIT JUST a minute. We thought you said "Notre Dame", not "Nostradamus", sorry!

THIS FILM PROVIDES some very interesting and highly esoteric info about the famous and very unusual man of the 16th century, who made so many incredibly accurate predictions about future occurrences; even some cryptically written that would seem to be referencing the 20th Century. (remember that, anyone?)

AS WE'VE ALREADY stated, the predictions were not straightforward. The author, old Nostradamus, himself, used many an allegory and either metaphor or other egghead types of writing composition in order to make his final draft more crowd-pleasing and seemingly high brow.

BEING THAT THE main character of good buddy Nostra was in fact a real, historical figure, it makes the short and those like it a sort of cinematic primer for the masses. Who knows just how many young minds were opened up to history and stimulated to seek further knowledge following screening this kind of short film along with the Saturday Matinée or the weekly double feature. (How's about seeing an ANDY HARDY along with a TARZAN pic?)

THE MOVIE EVEN has a sub title. It's NOSTRADAMUS AND THE QUEEN (Prophecies of Nostradamus # 3). This proves that even then, sequels were a big deal!

THE STUDIO'S INTEREST in producing such short subjects may well have been a double edged sword. First of all, projects like this were good for providing training and experience for any up and coming, rookie directors. After all, guys like Capra, Ford and Curtiz didn't come out of nowhere.

SECONDLY THE SUBJECT matter was history and therefore educational educational in nature. Ergo, it was a fine example of MGM Studio's selfless concern about the bottom line of profit and of its desire to both uplift and edify the public. Why this might have even made such productions eligible for some tax exemptions. Who knows? It was worth a shot!

BUT NOW GETTING back to our original blunder in confusing this 16th Century, "modern" soothsayer and oracle with our modern day collegiate gridiron Autumn spectacle is unforgivable! But there is a reason for this blunder. although no excuse.

YOU SEE, UNTIL about the age of ten, we had thought that THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME was a football movie!