Madame Bovary (1949)
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69% of users liked it
(583 ratings)
MGM circumvented the censorship that would otherwise have prevented a film version of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary by adding a prologue and epilogue that assured any and all bluenoses that the story was strictly a work of fiction. James Mason appears as Flaubert, defending his inflammatory… More MGM circumvented the censorship that would otherwise have prevented a film version of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary by adding a prologue and epilogue that assured any and all bluenoses that the story was strictly a work of fiction. James Mason appears as Flaubert, defending his inflammatory novel before a French jury. Thus, the tragedy of Emma Bovary (Jennifer Jones) is offered as a product of Flaubert's imagination, rather than a real-life story. The body of the film concerns Emma's attempt to escape the boredom of her bourgeois existence by marrying a doctor (Van Heflin). She finds life with the physician even more tiresome than her previous experiences, thus begins taking a series of wealthy lovers-all of whom prove to be two-dimensional cads. Unable to tolerate a lifetime of dead-end affairs, Emma eventually commits suicide. The best sequence-indeed, one of the finest set pieces ever directed by Vincente Minnelli-is the "Emma Bovary Waltz" sequence, a dazzling experience in dizzying camera movements. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Vincente Minnelli
- Written By
- Gustave Flaubert, Robert Ardrey
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Aug 25, 1949 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Grim melodrama, about the horrors of debt and living beyond your means.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
One of Minnelli's most personal works, a film that embodies the glossy look of MGM and yet offers subversive interpretation of the classic novel, its modern heroine and the notion of romantic love.
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Cast
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Jennifer Jones
as Emma Bovary
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James Mason
as Gustave Flaubert
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Van Heflin
as Charles Bovary
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Louis Jourdan
as Rodolphe Boulanger
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Christopher [Alf] Kent
as Leon Dupuis [Kjellin]
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Gene Lockhart
as J. Homais
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Frank Allenby
as Lhereux
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Gladys Cooper
as Mme. Dupuis
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John Abbott
as Mayor Tuvache
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Henry Morgan
as Hyppolite
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George Zucco
as Dubocage
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Ellen Corby
as Felicite
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Eduard Franz
as Roualt
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Henri Letondal
as Guillaumin
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Esther Somers
as Mme. Lefrancois
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Frederic Tozere
as Pinard
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Paul Cavanagh
as Marquis D'Andervilliers
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Larry Simms
as Justin
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Vernon Steele
as Priest
- Richard Alexander
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Florence Auer
as Mme. Petree
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Paul Bryar
as Bailiff
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Edith Evanson
as Mother Superior
- Stuart Holmes
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Teddy Infur
as Boy
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Karl Johnson
as Drunken Guest
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Edward Keane
as Presiding Judge
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Victor Kilian
as Mons. Canivet
- Eula Morgan
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Constance Purdy
as Mme. Foulard
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Helen St. Rayner
as Opera Singer
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John Ardizoni
as Lagandy
- Lon Poff
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David Cavendish
as Man
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Andre Charisse
as Young Man
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Fred Cordova
as Guest
- Anne Kunde
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Bert LeBaron
as Young Man
- Mayo Newhall
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Manuel Paris
as Servant
- Jack Stoney
- Sailor Vincent
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Charles De Ravenne
as Pimply-faced Youth
- Ed Agresti
- Charles Bancroft
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Gracille LaVinder
as Woman
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Angi O. Poulos
as Porter
- Phil Schumacher
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George Davis
as Innkeeper
- Alf Kjellin
