Désirée ** (1954, Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Merle Oberon, Michael Rennie, Cameron Mitchell, Elizabeth Sellars) – Classic Movie Review 7144

Director Henry Koster’s 1954 Désirée is an undesirable, wan, pointlessly fictionalised version of the Napoleon story, with a miscast Marlon Brando looking forlorn and unhappy as young Napoleon Bonaparte.

There are not many sparks either from beautiful Jean Simmons as his seamstress paramour Desirée Clary, the wife of the heir to the Swedish throne, or Merle Oberon as Empress Josephine.

Director Koster does not know what to do with Daniel Taradash’s slapdash script, based on the book by Annemarie Selinko, but the 20th Century Fox studio’s elaborate production in CinemaScope and Deluxe colour, Lyle R Wheeler’s set designs and Alex North’s exciting score provide some compensations. Ultimately, though, Hollywood’s take on Napoleon is pretty silly.

But it was nominated for two Oscars: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color (Lyle R Wheeler, Leland Fuller, Walter M Scott and Paul S Fox) and Best Costume Design, Color (Charles Le Maire, René Hubert), signalling a well-crafted movie.

Also in the cast are Merle Oberon, Michael Rennie, Cameron Mitchell, Elizabeth Sellars, Cathleen Nesbitt, Isobel Elsom, Richard Deacon, Carolyn Jones, Charlotte Austin, Evelyn Varden, John Hoyt, Alan Napier, Louis Borel, Bess Flowers, Richard Garrick, Judy Lester, Jack Maher, Dorothy Neumann, Edith Evanson, Lester Matthews, Nicholas Koster, Gene Roth, Harry Carter, Larry Crane, Peter Bourne and Florence Dublin.

Brando was expecting Noël Coward to direct and wasn’t happy with the more mundane Henry Koster.

Brando and Simmons redeemed themselves when they re-teamed the following year for the thrilling musical Guys and Dolls.

In April 2017 Rita Moreno revealed that she still keeps a photo of Marlon Brando in her bedroom: ‘He was the Lust of My Life’.

Walter M Scott won six Oscars, and was nominated another 14 times.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7144

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