gavin6942 King Henry VIII (Charles Laughton) marries five more times after his divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon.I have no idea why some films fall into public domain and others seem to be owned by the studios indefinitely. I am sure there is an easy answer, but it still strikes me as odd sometimes. This is one of those examples -- if this was still owned by a studio, I wouldn't be surprised, as it holds up very well.Historians could probably pick the film apart, but if you want the story of six marriages told within 90 minutes, I doubt you could do any better than this. Laughton is excellent (as always), and the rest of the cast is dynamite.

writers_reign I managed to avoid this for most of my life but in the end I capitulated if only in order to see hambone Laughton actually chewing something else - several chickens - besides the scenery. Okay, it was made back in the day, when punters were still getting used to hearing the actors actually speaking and would accept virtually anything but seen today it's dire personified with Laughton leading a group of actors who appear to mistake Denham for Straftord-upon-Avon and appear to be competing for the Bransby Williams medal for declamatory, with only Elsa Lanchester's Ann of Cleves anchored in Buckinghamshire. Fits where it touches.

Michael Neumann So persuasive was Charles Laughton in his first major role that he defined for all time our image of the famous English monarch with the perennial marriage problems: regal in bearing, arrogant in manner, stuffing himself on roasted fowl and tossing the bones haughtily over each shoulder. The film was a huge success both at home and abroad (it was the first British production ever to win a sizable American audience), most likely because of Laughton's entertaining portrait of the king, ascribing to Henry the petulance and charm of a precocious child. The temperamental actor took the role in his teeth and ran away with it, winning international acclaim and a Best Actor Oscar. And yet for all its flamboyance his performance is also surprisingly sympathetic, revealing the aging king as a lonely man unable to find the simple happiness he desperately craved, and in the end wistfully accepting the nagging, maternal attentions of his sixth and final wife. The elegant settings and costumes were achieved on an amazingly small budget, but the static camera and sometimes primitive dialogue should be forgiven as typical artifacts of the early sound era.

Neil Doyle Highly enjoyable British film from Alexander Korda, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII gives CHARLES LAUGHTON the plum role of his career and he munches on all the scenery with artistic skill and great humor. Even though he has the spotlight, others around him make the film a highly enjoyable one to watch.ROBERT DONAT is handsome and sensitive as Culpepper, a favorite of the Court who has the misfortune to love one of Henry's wives (BINNIE BARNES).MERLE OBERON has a brief role as Ann Boleyn in a sensitive scene where she worries about meeting the executioner's ax. Oberon would later marry Korda and this was a showy but brief role that gave her career a good start.ELSA LANCHESTER provides a lot of chuckles as Anne of Cleves, the woman whose portrait fascinates Henry--until he meets her. Her facial displays are deliberately meant to provoke him--that and her ungainly movements--and she and Laughton play their scenes together with great finesse.TCM is showing a good print of the film which makes it all the more enjoyable, because the sets and costumes are quite opulent and photographed skillfully. The pace is brisk, the humor is ever present, the story never loses interest and Laughton--even at his hammiest--is superb as the king who tried to find happiness but found out that it eluded him at every turn.