Renowned for his excess, King Henry VIII (Charles Laughton) goes through a series of wives during his rule. With Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon), his second wife, executed on charges of treason, King Henry weds maid Jane Seymour (Wendy Barrie), but that marriage also ends in tragedy. Not one to be single for long, the king picks German-born Anne of Cleves (Elsa Lanchester) as his bride, but their union lasts only months before an annulment is granted, and King Henry continues his string of spouses.
Charles Laughton gulps beer and chomps on mutton, in his first of many iconic screen roles, as King Henry VIII, the ultimate anti-husband. Alexander Korda’s first major international success is a raucous, entertaining, even poignant peek into the boudoirs of the infamous king and his six wives. Laughton won an Oscar for his portrayal of the 16th-century English monarch in this biographical account of the king and his many wives.
… an illusion of grand production values and produced and released… with a mix of high culture and popular showmanship. – Turner Classic Movies Online
It is a remarkably well-produced film, both in the matter of direction and in the settings and selection of exterior scenes. There are several lovely glimpses of old structures, including the Tower of London. No knives and forks were used in that day and therefore the always scrupulously dressed monarch thinks nothing of devouring a chicken in his hands and tossing the bones to the floor. – NYT
Starring Charles Laughton, Merle Oberon, Elsa Lanchester, Binnie Barnes, Robert Donat.