The Pearls of the Crown () 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). 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. It was made at the Billancourt Studios in Paris with location shooting at a variety of sites including the Abbaye de Royaumont, the Château de Louveciennes and aboard the S.S. Normandie. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jean Perrier. 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 Sacha Guitry as Jean Martin/François I/Viscount Barras/Old Napoleon III Jacqueline Delubac as Françoise Martin/Mary, Queen of Scots/Josephine Lyn Harding as John Russell/Henry VIII Renée Saint-Cyr as Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne Enrico Glori as Pope's Chamberlain Ermete Zacconi as Pope Clement VII Barbara Shaw as Anne Boleyn Marguerite Moreno as Catherine de'Medici/Empress Eugenie Arletty as Queen of Abyssinia Marcel Dalio as Abyssinian Minister/Jewel Seller Claude Dauphin as Italian in Abyssinia Robert Seller as Englishman in Abyssinia Ponzio as Singing worker Andrews Engelmann as The Lead Robber Yvette Pienne as Queen Mary I of England (Mary Tudor)/Queen Elizabeth I/Queen Victoria Raimu as Industrialist Lisette Lanvin as Femme du monde/Reine Victoria Pierre Juvenet as The Expert Henri Crémieux as Auctioneer Aimé Simon-Girard as Henri IV Germaine Aussey as Gabrielle d'Estrées Simone Renant as Madame Du Barry Damia as Woman of the People Di Mazzei as Sans-coulotte Jean-Louis Barrault as Lorenzo de Medicia/Young Bonaparte Robert Pizani as Talleyrand Émile Drain as Napoleon I (1815) Huguette Duflos as Queen Hortense Raymonde Allain as Empress Eugenie (1865) Violet Farebrother as An Old Lady Rosine Deréan as Young girl/Catherine d'Aragon Marie Leconte as A Woman in Misery Pierre Magnier as An Old Lord Cécile Sorel as A Courtesan (5th billed in star credit!) Lillie Grandval as Opera Soprano Jean Coquelin as An Old man Gaston Dubosc as A Grand Duke Pauline Carton as Femme du Chambre Anaclara as La négresse Colette