DESIREE: Blu-ray (2oth Century-Fox 1954) Twilight Time
Marlon Brando’s star was
firmly on the ascendance when he was cast as Napoleon Bonaparte in Henry
Koster’s Desiree (1954); a largely
fictionalized, lavishly produced spectacle in color by DeLuxe and Cinemascope.
Brando had made a smashing success of his film debut, playing an
emotionally/physically scarred veteran in The
Men (1950), and had then compounded his appeal at the box office by
recreating Broadway brute, Stanley Kowalski for Elia Kazan’s film version of A Streetcar Named Desire the following
year. Despite being branded ‘the great mumbler’ by the critics, Brando’s
persona – both on stage and on screen - was larger than life and never anything
less than hypnotically compelling. One problem: the actor knew it.
As such Brando’s ego would
increasingly wreak havoc on his subsequent film career. These ‘difficulties’
with reigning Brando in, arguably became obvious first on the set of Desiree – a project the actor
begrudgingly accepted after agreeing to a two picture deal at 20th
Century-Fox; then reneging on his commitment to star in The Egyptian after taking a most immediately dislike to co-star,
Bella Darvi. The Fox lawsuit against Brando was effectively dropped only after
he agreed to Desiree. However, that
did not stop the actor from ‘requesting’ changes to both the script and
production every step of the way.
Desiree is based on a
semi-biographical novel by Annemarie Selinko, revolving around a romantic détente
between Napoleon (Brando) and a young girl, Desiree Clary (Jean Simmons). Set
in 1794 Marseille, Daniel Taradash’s screenplay attempts to boil down the novel’s
rather lengthy romance into 110 minutes of fluff, ably augmented by Milton R.
Krasner’s lush cinematography.
Spirited and headstrong, Desiree
returns home one windswept night to find the rest of her family already at
dinner; mother (Isobel Elsom), brother, Etienne (Richard Deacon) and sister,
Julie (Elizabeth Sellars). She tells them all she has just met a Corsican,
Joseph Bonaparte (Cameron Mitchell) in the street, has told him all about Julie’s
beauty, and furthermore, has invited the young man to visit them the following
night. Naturally, Desiree’s brazenness leaves the family agog. But to refuse an
invitation after it has already been given would be rude, and so the Clary’s
reluctantly agree to entertain Joseph and his brother, Napoleon.
Napoleon is an egotistical
General, full of passionate ideas about military campaigns that will conquer
the Italians and the English. He quickly dispatches with the niceties during
his brief conversation with the Clarys before encouraging Desiree to show him
their gardens. Joseph and Julie become immediately smitten with one another and
Napoleon is frank with Desiree about his romantic interests towards her.
Perhaps they have more to do with her potential dowry, but that does not stop
Desiree her sustained liking of Napoleon, even after some initial
apprehensions.
Regrettably, Napoleon is
arrested by the Army under suspicion for treason. His incarceration does not
last very long, however, and soon he is reinstated as the First Consul of the French
Republic, ordered to pursue royalists in Paris. Desiree pleads for him to
renounce his commission in the army and remain with her in Marseille. But
Napoleon refuses, proposes marriage, and then asks Desiree to loan him money to
go to Paris. He promises he will return to her with all speed. As the weeks turn
into months, Desiree doubts Napoleon’s intensions and with good reason.
Travelling to the city to
investigate his whereabouts for herself, Desiree finagles an invitation to a
house party through her chance meeting with Gen. Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (Michael
Rennie). There, she discovers to her ever-lasting chagrin that Napoleon is
betrothed in marriage to the exceptionally wealthy Josephine de Beauharnais
(Merle Oberon). Jean is captivated by
Desiree’s strange and intoxicating blend of fire and compassion and pursues her
romantically for himself.
The narrative leaps ahead –
ever so briefly - to 1797. Napoleon has conquered Italy where Desiree currently
resides with Julie and her husband, Joseph. She is bored, however, and returns
to France where another chance meeting with Jean results in a proposal of
marriage.
We jump ahead another two
years. Desiree and Jean are happily married with a son, Oskar (Nicholas
Koster). Jean is asked by, and joins, Napoleon’s council of state. Several more
years pass and Napoleon is proclaimed Emperor of France. But during his coronation
he removes the crown from Pope Pius VII’s hands and crowns himself, suggesting
that the future influence of the church on the state will not be a harmonious
one. Curiously, the film never delves into the tenuousness of this relationship
beyond this brief scene; an obvious and very literal recreation of Jacques
Louis-David’s celebrated portrait of the real event.
Now, five more years pass. Napoleon
divorces Josephine after it becomes quite apparent that she is unable to give
him an heir. Foreshadowing the future malaise that will envelope Napoleon’s
kingdom, Josephine calls Desiree to her bedchamber. The exiled queen makes
Desiree promise that she will remain near and faithful to Napoleon. Afterward,
Napoleon and Desiree are reunited in the darkened corridor just beyond, where
he commands her to teach him to waltz – a skill he lacks, but one necessary for
his pending marriage to eighteen year old, Marie Louis of Austria (Violet
Rensing).
The years roll on. Napoleon’s
thirst for conquest goes unquenched. He involves France in one war after the
next – each campaign more successful than its predecessor. Jean is approached
by representatives of the King of Sweden who plans to make him the heir to his
throne. Much to Napoleon’s dismay, Jean renounces his French citizenship and he
and Desiree depart for Stockholm.
Regrettably, the crown is
an ill fit for the pert Desiree, who – after eighteen months of suffering
insults and indignations from the rest of the royals - informs her husband that
she intends to return to France. Once in Paris, Desiree attends a lavish ball
on New Year’s Eve with Julie and Joseph. Napoleon arrives with Marie Louis to
show off their infant son. Later, he
confronts Desiree with veiled threats against her family if Jean persists in
forming an alliance with Russia.
However, this
Swedish/Russian alliance proves lethal for Napoleon’s armies. Crushed in battle
against them, Napoleon asks Desiree to write a letter to Jean, requesting his
help. Instead, Jean destroys the last remnants of the French army and Desiree
returns to Sweden to stand at her husband’s side. Exiled at Elba, Napoleon
briefly resurrects his prospects for a return to the throne before his forces
are utterly decimated at the Battle of Waterloo.
He retreats to the Chateau
de Malmaison where representatives from the Allied Army send Desiree to plead
for his surrender. Despite the years, fates and circumstances that have divided
them, there is still a spark of romance between Desiree and Napoleon, who finally
abdicates, offering Desiree his sword in surrender. The film ends on a sombre
note with Napoleon suggesting to Desiree that her dowry was not the only reason
he professed marriage to her so many years ago.
Desiree is uneven entertainment at
best. Brando is superb as ‘the little General’ – a startling character assimilation,
strangely realized with a clipped British accent and nose piece designed by
makeup artist, Bill Nye. Brando is
Napoleon; his every nuance evoking a flesh and blood impression of the man only
known to our modern world through still images and paintings.
So too, does Jean Simmons
infuse our heroine, Desiree with a soft and appealing patina of womanly grace.
This seems naturally, and believably, to evolve and mature as the film
progresses.
The rest of the cast are
really just window dressing for these two stars. Merle Oberon and Michael
Rennie are elegant mannequins who adorn their scenes convincingly, but are
given precious little to do.
Thanks to Leland Fuller and
Lyle Wheeler’s art direction, and, Rene Hubert and Charles Le Marie’s costume
design, at least visually there is a lot to admire. We get high style plus and
a fairly convincing re-constitution of 16th century France built,
and/or redressed, using free standing sets on the Fox backlot, as well as
clever integrations of matte paintings and stock footage long shots of the real
thing.
Regrettably, Daniel
Taradash’s screenplay is a clumsily convolution, glossing over important
elements – not merely plot points in Selinko’s novel – but also historical
events that are given embarrassingly short shrift in the film. The leap from
Desiree and Napoleon’s initial romance in Marseille to his coronation as
Emperor – a span of some fifteen years - takes about twenty minutes of screen
time to unfurl. That’s barely a minute and a half per year! Linking the story
together through various entries excised from Desiree’s diary results in a meandering
series of vignettes that are loosely strung together. What we have then is not
a narrative film, per say, but a series of coming attractions for a more in-depth
movie that will never come.
Despite these shortcomings,
Desiree was Fox’s biggest money
maker of 1954 after Three Coins in the
Fountain, solidifying – at least in Darryl F. Zanuck’s mind – that the
expansive proportions of the Cinemascope screen could conquer and eclipse even
the flimsiest storytelling. For a while, the public was indeed spellbound by
this elongated screen, and Desiree benefits
greatly from Milton Krasner’s lush cinematography, as well as Alex North’s
vibrant underscoring. The two are a perfect compliment.
Twilight Time’s Limited
Edition Blu-ray is, in a word, sumptuous. The 1080p transfer exhibits bold
colors, vibrant and exceptionally crisp detail, and a very solid rendering of
contrast levels. The image pops with impressive clarity. Transitions between scenes
are briefly grainy, as was a shortcoming of early Cinemascope. But film grain
throughout has been faithfully reproduced for a very film like presentation and
age related artefacts are virtually nonexistent. Better still, the new DTS 5.1
audio captivates with all the sonic bombast of vintage 6 channel,
directionalized stereo. Truly, there is nothing to complain about here!
Extras are limited to an
isolated score and a theatrical that has not worn well. Bottom line: if you’re
a fan of the film, then this 1080p disc comes very highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
3
VIDEO/AUDIO
4
EXTRAS
1
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