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Désirée

1954

The life...the women...the conquests of Napoleon!

In Marseilles, France in 1794, Desiree Clary, a young millinery clerk, becomes infatuated with Napoleon Bonaparte, but winds up wedding Genaral Jean-Baptiste Berandotte, an aid to Napoleon who later joins the forces that bring about the Emperor's downfall. Josephine Beauharnais, a worldly courtesan marries Napoleon and becomes Empress of France, but is then cast aside by her spouse when she proves unable to produce an heir to the throne.

Marlon Brando Jean Simmons Merle Oberon Michael Rennie Cameron Mitchell Elizabeth Sellars Charlotte Austin Cathleen Nesbitt Evelyn Varden Isobel Elsom John Hoyt Alan Napier Richard Deacon Edith Evanson Dorothy Neumann Carolyn Jones Bess Flowers Gene Roth Nicolas Koster

Alternative Title

Desiree

Genres

Romance Drama

Themes

Epic history and literature Lavish dramas and sumptuous royalty Passion and romance Captivating vision and Shakespearean drama Historical battles and epic heroism Political drama, patriotism, and war Show All…

Theatrical

16 Nov 1954

USA

16 Nov 1954

Theatrical

110 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★★ 2

Had no idea of the existence of this movie or the real person it is based on (I mean Desiree), though its premise was intriguing enough to make me watch it last night.
A period drama from the 1950s, this one has all the hallmarks of both the decade and the genre. While it cannot match the soaring ambitions of The Archers, David Lean, or Wyler, it still has some (Oscar nominated) great costumes and a lavish production design that often gives the impression of the setting and immerses you in the story. They sometimes seem to have a theatrical quality to them as well.
As Napoleon, Marlo Brando does a great job, but this is Jane Simmons' show, and…
Review by noir1946 ★★★½

“Desiree, you must learn a little restraint.”
After watching Meet Marlon Brando, I wanted to see one of Bud’s films and settled on Desiree because I hadn’t seen it in a long time and couldn’t remember my response to his interpretation of the diminutive Corsican. Brando’s Bonaparte is secondary to Jean Simmons’s Desiree Clary, who evolves from impulsive teenager in love with the dashing Napoleon to still-impulsive adult, a strong-willed woman who stands up for what she believes, supporting her husband, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (Michael Rennie), against her former fiancé. Simmons’ spunkiness resembles her performance a year earlier as Elizabeth I in Young Bess, and she sparkles in every scene, as she usually does during this period, even in lesser material,…
Review by sirrah993 ★★

Marlon Brando delivers a great performance as Napoleon. For once in his life, he actually did his research and didn’t cause problems on set, according to his autobiography.
But Desiree is a bore of a film, a period drama all about the romance and not about the action. The film’s focus is on the brief engagement of Desiree and Napoleon, before Napoleon became the self-proclaimed emperor of France. All of Napoleon’s battles are abstracted in scenes where Desiree is writing in her dairy, saying what Napoleon is doing.
🥱
Review by brynn ❤️

A Streetcar Named Désirée
Review by Fanya ★★★½ 1

the fact that jean played a 17 year-old in this and got away with it flawlessly.. the range that she has!
Review by Jeremy Hall 🟠🟢🔵 ★½

A Streetcar Named Désirée.
I can see why we needed a new Napoleon film. Aside from everyone speaking English in this French film, with incredibly American accents, this movie is kind of boring. I mean, the acting was good I guess but... Marlon Brando as Napoleon? I guess it's still not as bad a casting as John Wayne playing Genghis Khan, but it just really didn't do it for me. Also the dialogue in this is pretty bad. Have a gander at this back and forth between Napoleon and Désirée's Father....
"It is me"
"It can't be you. You're in prison."
This movie did receive Oscar nominations, but as you'd imagine they were not for the script. Actually they were…
Review by kylie ★★★★ 5

I absolutely loved the costumes in this, they’re so accurate to the time period! Jean Simmons is wonderful and it took a minute to recognize Marlon Brando as Napoleon 😭 this and the aspiring filmmaker in me made me want to learn more about Désirée
Also I am SO GLAD this app is back up because I was actually going insane and I realize that I need help probably
Review by Calum Iain MacIver ★★★★

First class costume drama that begins in Marseilles in 1794 with Désirée Clary (Jean Simmons) meeting the young, ambitious general Napoleon Bonaparte (Marlon Brando). The story follows the intertwining relationship between the pair as Napoleon rises to become Emperor of France. Along the way Désirée finds herself betrayed when Napoleon marries courtesan Josephine (Merle Oberon) before she herself marries General Jean-Baptiste Berandotte (Michael Rennie), an ally of Napoleon who goes on to become King of Sweden and an enemy of the increasingly despotic Emperor. This is a gorgeous film with director Henry Koster playing out the ever-changing relationships against a widescreen tapestry made beautiful by the sumptuous use of Technicolor. The pace is stately and affected and the costumes and…
Review by Mason ★★½

65
The things I watch for Marlon
Review by Luke Thorne ★★★

Henry Koster’s Oscar-nominated biographical drama about the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France. Starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Merle Oberon.
Adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Annemarie Selinko, which was published three years earlier and her final work, the movie concentrates on a young woman (Jean Simmons) who secures the heart of Napoleon (Marlon Brando), but the two can on no occasion be together.
Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons both give good performances in their respective parts as the French military and political leader Napoleon and the title character Désirée, the Queen of Sweden and Norway, also King XIV John’s wife. Napoleon really wants to wed Désirée, but finds that this is…
Review by Danny JP 🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺🇵🇸🇺🇦🏳️‍⚧️ ★★★½

"You lied. Wine is not strengthening."
A handsome if somewhat underwritten and oddly inconsequential historical biopic of the titular Désirée, once promised to be married to Napoleon Bonaparte. There are a couple of piercing and moving scenes, some fabulous thesping from Marlon Brando (and he has a hot kissing technique it has to be said), and a decent performance from Jean Simmons. It's gorgeous to look at (the Art Direction was Oscar nominated) and doesn't overstay it's welcome. As a relatively newfound Marlon Brando fan (I'm slowly working my way through his filmography and some of the many biographies written about him), it's a fascinating watch.
Review by Christof ★★½

What is it with Napoleon Bonaparte that it is apparently so hard to turn his fairly eventful life into a compelling film?
Henry Koster films ranked

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Where to watch

Désirée

Synopsis

The life...the women...the conquests of Napoleon!

Cast

Director

Writer

Original Writer

Costume Design

Studio

Country

Primary Language

Spoken Languages

Alternative Title

Genres

Themes

Releases by Date

Theatrical

16 Nov 1954

Releases by Country

USA

16 Nov 1954

Popular reviews

Where to watch

Désirée

Synopsis

The life...the women...the conquests of Napoleon!

Cast

Director Director

Writer Writer

Original Writer Original Writer

Costume Design Costume Design

Studio

Country

Primary Language

Spoken Languages

Alternative Title

Genres

Themes

Theatrical

16 Nov 1954

USA

16 Nov 1954

Popular reviews

Similar Films

Director

Writer

Original Writer

Costume Design