Marie Walewska

Goodness, I can't believe, I'm saying this, but Garbo is good in ''Conquest''...... Here I was, complaining the other day, about Garbo's ''Inspiration'', and saying the only good performance she ever gave was in ''Ninotchka''...... I take that back now, so far, her good performances are given in both ''Ninotchka'' & ''Conquest''...... Garbo & Boyer displays well blend chemistry together...... (a surprise, since this is their only movie together) However, it's Boyer who carries off, and holds the movie together, w/ his charm & wit...... (during some flat spots) You could see, that Garbo is responsive to Boyer's performance/character, unlike her usual ''I want to be alone'' self...... What's more stunning, is Garbo smiles in this movie..... (more than once too!) That's enough good shock for me...... We do see a rare, lighthearted Garbo here, just like in ''Ninotchka''...... I would even say, that Boyer is Garbo's best co-star so far..... Charles Boyer & Melvyn Douglas......

Ever since I first saw "Conquest" back in '38, I've been convinced that the first half of the film is a magnificent production, while the second half is terribly slow,as Clarence Brown's films always tended to be. The magnificent opening, with the cossacks invading the Walewski Palace, is typical of the best Clarence Brown, even if reminds you of Josef von Sternberg's "The Scarlet Empress". The trouble with the picture is that it starts telling the story or Marie Walewska, and in the middle leaves Walewska (and Garbo!) behind to tell us the political and military fall of Napoleon, which it does very badly. It is typical of this Garbo film, that its best scene omits her, and is a verbal duel between Charles Boyer and Maria Ouspenskaya. Garbo is magnificent, but Boyer was a more talented performer, and is the only actor ever to "steal" a picture from her. Magnificent production, a screen play that has no unity, and a direction that drags, conspire to make you admire Garbo, Boyer and Ouspenskaya during the first half, and sleep through the second.

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

Halfway through this film, I started thinking how it almost seemed like the kind of film George Cukor would direct, with fussy attention to detail. Instead, CONQUEST is directed by Clarence Brown, a workmanlike craftsman who also tended to dwell too long on intimate and wordy scenes that lack enough spark.

However, he does elicit fine performances from Garbo and Charles Boyer. Garbo is radiantly photogenic as the married woman, wife of an elder man (Henry Stephenson), who for the sake of her country gives herself to Napoleon (Boyer). And Boyer is every bit as convincing as the man destined for his Waterloo, acting the part with every bit of his abilities and often stealing the show.

But what really steals the show is the lavish production MGM gave this story. The sets are opulent, majestic and large, looming over every frame of the film with no expense spared. The artful B&W cinematography captures every elegant detail of costumes and sets with breathtaking results.

And the supporting cast is a sturdy one, including Dame May Witty, Reginald Owen, Maria Ouspenskaya, Alan Marshal and Leif Erickson.

Garbo is livelier than usual, even smiling more often for her "gayer" moments when enthralled with being in love, and the chemistry between her and Boyer is evident from the start.

It's too bad the film wasn't fully appreciated as one of her best films when it opened, but time has been kind to it. Despite some slow moments amid a longer than necessary running time, it's an historical romance played out in the Golden Age tradition of opulence expected from MGM.

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.