Pearls of the Crown

The Pearls of the Crown (French: Les Perles de la couronne) is a 1937 French comedy film of historically-based fiction by Sacha Guitry who plays four roles in it (many of the other performers play multiple roles, as well).[1] Guitry's Jean Martin investigates the history of seven pearls, four of which end up on the crown of England, while the other three initially go missing.[2]

The Pearls of the Crown
Directed bySacha Guitry
Christian-Jaque
Produced bySerge Sandberg
Written bySacha Guitry
Christian-Jaque
Music byJean Françaix
CinematographyJules Kruger
Edited byMyriam
William Barache
Distributed byGaumont
Release date
  • 1937 (1937)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
English
Italian

Plot

Tracing the history of seven valuable pearls of the English Crown from the time of Henry VIII of England to the present day (1937). Writer Jean Martin (Sacha Guitry) attempts to track down three of the missing pearls by tracing their previous owners, with events seen in flashback, involving Napoleon, King Henry VIII and Elizabeth I of England amongst others.

Cast

Critical reception

Writing for Night and Day in 1937, Graham Greene gave the film a good review claiming that it "entertained me even more than it irritated me". Admitting some degree of distaste in director Guitry's general style and demeanor, Greene found admiration in Guitry's "ingenious[] attempts to give a wider circulation to a French picture by working the story out in three languages" and described his use of language in certain scenes as "cunningly and quite naturally arranged". Greene praised the story and the acting of Guitry and Delubac.[3]

TV Guide gave the film three out of four stars, writing, "Although Guitry chose to push the audience's patience a bit by filming the story in three languages, PEARLS OF THE CROWN is one of his finest works, and perhaps his least theatrical. (In French, Italian, and English; English subtitles)."[4]

References
  1. "Les PERLES DE LA COURONNE (1937)". Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  2. "Les Perles De La Couronne (1937) - Christian-Jaque,Sacha Guitry - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  3. Greene, Graham (21 October 1937). "Les Perles de la Couronne/Exclusive". Night and Day. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. Oxford University Press. p. 175. ISBN 0192812866.)
  4. "Pearls Of The Crown". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
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