History Film / ThePrivateLifeOfHenryVIII

''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' is a 1933 film directed by Creator/AlexanderKorda, starring Creator/CharlesLaughton, Binnie Barnes, Wendy Barrie, and Creator/MerleOberon.

The film opens with a title card describing UsefulNotes/CatherineOfAragon as being an honorable woman whose life was of no particular interest. It thus omits Catherine entirely, and picks up the life of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII (Laughton) on the day his second wife, UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn, is being executed. While Boleyn is going to the block, everyone is having a good time at court, preparing for the marriage of the king and UsefulNotes/JaneSeymourRoyalty, who replaced Anne in his affections. After Jane dies in childbirth, Henry somewhat reluctantly agrees to marry German princess Anne of Cleves, but takes an instant dislike to her when she comes to England, and swiftly gets a divorce. Meanwhile, scheming social climber Katherine Howard finagles her way into the king's bed and becomes his fifth wife--with tragic consequences for her and her lover Thomas Culpeper.

''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' was a milestone in the history of British film. It was the first British film to do well overseas (it made a mint in America) and was the first film produced outside of the United States to receive an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Picture. It made stars of Laughton, Oberon (Anne Boleyn), and Creator/RobertDonat (Thomas Culpeper). It is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, ignoring the Protestant Reformation and the political turmoil of Henry's reign and focusing solely on his love life. The tone is satirical bedroom farce. The portrait of Henry as a fat, gross libertine with disgusting table manners was tremendously influential with regards to modern public perception of what Henry was like.

''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' is a 1933 film directed by Creator/AlexanderKorda, starring Creator/CharlesLaughton, Creator/BinnieBarnes, Creator/WendyBarrie, and Creator/MerleOberon.

** When Laughton is first seen in the film, he is standing in a doorway in [[http://immortalephemera.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/03/charles-laughton-1.jpg the exact same pose]] that Henry VIII struck for [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Workshop_of_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger_-_Portrait_of_Henry_VIII_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg the famous Hans Holbein portait]].

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Much suggestive dialogue about Henry bedding the ladies at court. Also, there's the scene where the ladies are talking about how much Prince Edward's features resemble the king's. One lady says "And the same--", only for Henry to interrupt with "Dear madam, not before the child!"

''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' is a 1933 film directed by Alexander Korda, starring Creator/CharlesLaughton, Binnie Barnes, Wendy Barrie, and Merle Oberon.

The film opens with a title card describing Catherine of Aragon as being an honorable woman whose life was of no particular interest. It thus omits Catherine entirely, and picks up the life of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII (Laughton) on the day his second wife, UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn, is being executed. While Boleyn is going to the block, everyone is having a good time at court, preparing for the marriage of the king and UsefulNotes/JaneSeymourRoyalty, who replaced Anne in his affections. After Jane dies in childbirth, Henry somewhat reluctantly agrees to marry German princess Anne of Cleves, but takes an instant dislike to her when she comes to England, and swiftly gets a divorce. Meanwhile, scheming social climber Katherine Howard finagles her way into the king's bed and becomes his fifth wife--with tragic consequences for her and her lover Thomas Culpeper.

!!Tropes:

* ArtImitatesArt: When Laughton is first seen in the film, he is standing in a doorway in [[http://immortalephemera.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/03/charles-laughton-1.jpg the exact same pose]] that Henry VIII struck for [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Workshop_of_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger_-_Portrait_of_Henry_VIII_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg the famous Hans Holbein portait]].
* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Among other things, there's the DawsonCasting of Binnie Barnes as Katherine Howard, and the fact that Jane Seymour is depicted as dying the night that Prince Edward was born when in fact she died 12 days later.

* BlatantLies: After a comic sequence in which Henry tries to sneak into Katherine's room, only for guard after guard after guard to shout "The king passes!", he finally gets there and says "No one saw me, Katherine, I swear!".
* BreakingTheFourthWall: The film ends with Henry married to Katherine Parr, who, as in real life, is more a nurse than a wife. In the last scene she nags him about overeating before covering him with a blanket and telling him to take a nap. After she leaves, Henry gets up and gets a chicken leg from the table. As he's digging in, he looks straight at the camera and says "Six wives, and the best of them's the worst!"
* ContrastMontage: The opening sequence cuts back and forth between the grim scene of Anne Boleyn's execution and the happy, flirtatious fun of life at court as Henry's getting ready to marry Jane. It even has Anne say "What a beautiful day" as she stands on the block, only for Jane to say the exact same thing much more cheerfully back at court.

** As Henry makes a pig of himself at dinner (see JabbaTableManners below), to everyone's disgust, he says "There's no delicacy nowadays. No consideration for others. Refinement's a thing of the past! Manners are dead!"

--> "Poor Anne Boleyn, I feel so sorry for her. Excuse me, madam do you mind taking off your hat? We can't see the block."

--> '''Henry''': [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary]] may grow to wisdom but [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Elizabeth]] will never learn to rule so much as a kitchen.

* RightBehindMe: Henry makes his first entrance in the film just as one of the ladies-in-waiting is making some very critical comments about him throwing Anne Boleyn over for Jane Seymour. Henry is amused.

* YesMan: The whole court, as seen when Henry makes an unfunny joke at table and everyone in the room howls with laughter.

The film opens with a title card describing Catherine of Aragon as being an honorable woman whose life was of no particular interest. It thus omits Catherine entirely, and picks up the life of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII (Laughton) on the day his second wife, UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn, is being executed. While Boleyn is going to the block, everyone is having a good time at court, preparing for the marriage of the king and UsefulNotes/JaneSeymour, who replaced Anne in his affections. After Jane dies in childbirth, Henry somewhat reluctantly agrees to marry German princess Anne of Cleves, but takes an instant dislike to her when she comes to England, and swiftly gets a divorce. Meanwhile, scheming social climber Katherine Howard finagles her way into the king's bed and becomes his fifth wife--with tragic consequences for her and her lover Thomas Culpeper.

The film opens with a title card proclaiming that Catherine of Aragon as being an honorable woman whose life was of no particular interest. It thus omits Catherine entirely, and picks up the life of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII (Laughton) on the day his second wife, UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn, is being executed. While Boleyn is going to the block, everyone is having a good time at court, preparing for the marriage of the king and UsefulNotes/JaneSeymour, who replaced Anne in his affections. After Jane dies in childbirth, Henry somewhat reluctantly agrees to marry German princess Anne of Cleves, but takes an instant dislike to her when she comes to England, and swiftly gets a divorce. Meanwhile, scheming social climber Katherine Howard finagles her way into the king's bed and becomes his fifth wife--with tragic consequences for her and her lover Thomas Culpeper.

''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' was a milestone in the history of British film. It was the first British film to do well overseas (it made a mint in America) and was the first film produced outside of the United States to receive an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Picture. It made stars of Laughton, Oberon (Anne Boleyn), and Robert Donat (Thomas Culpeper). It is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, ignoring the Protestant Reformation and the political turmoil of Henry's reign and focusing solely on his love life. The tone is satirical bedroom farce. The portrait of Henry as a fat, gross libertine with disgusting table manners was tremendously influential with regards to modern public perception of what Henry was like.

The film opens with a title card proclaiming that Catherine of Aragon as being an honorable woman whose life was of no particular interest. It thus omits Catherine entirely, and picks up the life of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII (Laughton) on the day his second wife, UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn, is being executed. While Boleyn is going to the block, everyone is having a good time at court, preparing for the marriage of the king and JaneSeymour, who replaced Anne in his affections. After Jane dies in childbirth, Henry somewhat reluctantly agrees to marry German princess Anne of Cleves, but takes an instant dislike to her when she comes to England, and swiftly gets a divorce. Meanwhile, scheming social climber Katherine Howard finagles her way into the king's bed and becomes his fifth wife--with tragic consequences for her and her lover Thomas Culpeper.

-> "Thomas, if you want to be happy, marry a girl like my sweet little Jane! Marry a stupid woman! Ha ha ha!"

''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' was a milestone in the history of British film. It was the first British film to do well overseas (it made a mint in America) and was the first film produced outside of the United States to receive an AcademyAward nomination for Best Picture. It made stars of Laughton, Oberon (Anne Boleyn), and Robert Donat (Thomas Culpeper). It is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, ignoring the Protestant Reformation and the political turmoil of Henry's reign and focusing solely on his love life. The tone is satirical bedroom farce. The portrait of Henry as a fat, gross libertine with disgusting table manners was tremendously influential with regards to modern public perception of what Henry was like.

* LargeHam: Laughton really goes to town in this movie. Practically every line is bellowed.

-->-- '''UsefulNotes/KingHenryVIII'''

The film opens with a title card proclaiming that Catherine of Aragon as being an honorable woman whose life was of no particular interest. It thus omits Catherine entirely, and picks up the life of UsefulNotes/KingHenryVIII (Laughton) on the day his second wife, UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn, is being executed. While Boleyn is going to the block, everyone is having a good time at court, preparing for the marriage of the king and JaneSeymour, who replaced Anne in his affections. After Jane dies in childbirth, Henry somewhat reluctantly agrees to marry German princess Anne of Cleves, but takes an instant dislike to her when she comes to England, and swiftly gets a divorce. Meanwhile, scheming social climber Katherine Howard finagles her way into the king's bed and becomes his fifth wife--with tragic consequences for her and her lover Thomas Culpeper.

* FancyPeriodDress: It's the English court in the 16th century, fancy period dress is required.