Main Cast: Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, Reginald Owen, Alan Marshal, Henry Stephenson
Release Year: 1937
Country: US
Run Time: 113 minutes
Plot
Conquest was released in England as Marie Waleska, the name of the real-life historical personage portrayed by Greta Garbo. The film begins in 1807, when Marie, a Polish countess, is dispatched by her country to meet with Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (Charles Boyer). Marie has been encouraged to press for Polish independence by whatever means possible--and though no one comes out and says as much, it is understood that she will offer herself sexually to the promiscuous Napoleon. She dutifully becomes Bonaparte's mistress, bears his child, and--almost as an afterthought--falls in love with him. Thanks to the political chicanery of Talleyrand (Reginald Owen), Napoleon is obliged to marry Hapsburg princess Marie Louise, and Marie is cast aside, her usefulness at an end. Only after Napoleon has been exiled to Elba in 1815 is he reunited with Marie and their son (Scotty Beckett). Though it stands up pretty well today, Conquest was a flop in 1937, and the beginning of the end of Garbo's screen career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
It's rare that the male lead in a Greta Garbo film is able to hold his own against the screen legend, but that is the case with Conquest; indeed, many would say that Charles Boyer not only held his own but stole the film right out from under her. That is perhaps overstating the case, especially when one considers the size of Garbo's role and her character's importance to the script compared to Boyer's, but it is true that Boyer at the time received the lion's share of the attention from critics. Conquest has a reputation as a white elephant, a box office failure (due to its for-the-time extreme cost) that marked the decline of Garbo as a star. But when viewed objectively, Conquest is a moderately entertaining, if often quite slow, costume drama. Clarence Brown's direction is quite tired, and this has an unfortunate affect on the film as a whole. But it is beautifully mounted, with lavish sets and costumes and keen attention to detail that will impress many viewers. The screenplay is so much nonsense, with at times appalling dialogue, but it does given Garbo and Boyer the chance to strut their stuff, and neither disappoints in the least. Despite its flaws, it offers the rare chemistry of Garbo and a male lead that matches her in intensity, and is worth seeing for this alone. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
This movie was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's biggest money losing movie prior to 1949. Its worldwide gross amounted to $2,141,000. But its massive budget led to a loss of $1,397,000.
After a brief informal meeting two months earlier when they were impressed with each other, Countess Marie Walewska (Garbo) formally meets Napoleon Bonaparte (Boyer) at a ball in Warsaw. When Napoleon notes her husband, Count Walewski (Stephenson), is three times her age, and as he is taken with her charms, he unsuccessfully tries to seduce her. She ignores his frequent letters and flowers until a few grim Polish leaders led by Senator Malachowski (Zucco) urge her to give into his desires as a personal sacrifice in order to save Poland. She goes to him despite the humiliation of her husband, who leaves for Rome to annul their marriage. They are extremely happy for a while; Napoleon divorces childless Empress Josephine and Marie eventually becomes pregnant. She is about to tell Napoleon about her baby when he tells her he decided to marry Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria. He explains it will be a political marriage to insure his future son could rule securely with Habsburg blood in him. It will not affect their relationship, he says, but Marie Walewska leaves to have her baby alone without telling Napoleon she is expecting his child.
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