The tragic figure of Marie Antoinette, an Austrian princess who married Louis XVI of France, has been the subject of many books and two films. This 1938 version was the brain child of Irving Thalberg, a man who was well connected in Hollywood. This project which took a while to go into production, was a vehicle for his wife, the reigning queen of MGM, Norma Shearer. <br /><br />Marie Antoinette was the daughter of Maria Theresa, the empress of Austria, a woman who understood the role of power. The empress married her daughters in what she believed would be advantageous as she forged strategic alliances with other royal houses in Europe. Her daughter Marie Antoinette, like some of her sisters, married men that were not compatible with them, as proved by her union with the inept Louis XVI, a man that was childish and inefficient. A few years after the marriage both Louis and Marie Antoinette would be taken care by the popular justice of the French Revolution.<br /><br />Before her horrible end, Marie Antoinette was the object of envy and disdain by the sophisticates of the French courtiers who saw in her a naive girl. Marie Antoinette became the object of gossip. Her attraction for Count Axel DeFersen was natural since she had no love for her own husband. Her notorious rivalry with her father in law's mistress, the calculating Madame DuBarry, didn't help things either. In spite of all that she found a kindred soul in the Duc D'Orleans, who saw in her a girl lost among the wolves of Versailles.<br /><br />Norma Shearer, who returned to MGM after her husband's death, made a good impression as Marie Antoinette. Her take on the doomed queen seemed to be what was expected of her. Tyrone Power, as Count Axel projects his handsome presence; it's clear to see what the tragic queen saw in him. Robert Morley, who plays Louis XVI made quite an excellent contribution to the film. John Barrymore as Louis XV, is a welcome presence. Joseph Schildkraut appears as the Duc D'Orleans, and Gladys George plays Mme. DuBarry. Others in the talented cast include Henry Stephenson, Alma Kruger, Albert Dekker, and many others that were uncredited for their efforts.<br /><br />The production owes big to Cedric Gibbons, the art director. His interiors of Versailles are stunning. For a black and white film, Mr. Gibbons' interiors look and feel like the real thing. The cinematography of William Daniels, a man with a great eye for what worked in the cinema, captures the action in his unrivaled style. The background music of Gluck plays well with what one sees. Donald Ogden Stewart's screen play does justice to his subject. W. S. Van Dyke directed with an eye for the spectacle he delivers in this picture.