The Private Life of Henry VIII

Charles Laughton gulps beer and chomps on mutton, in his first of many iconic screen roles, as King Henry VIII, the ultimate anti-husband. Alexander Korda’s first major international success is a raucous, entertaining, even poignant peek into the boudoirs of the infamous king and his six wives.

United Kingdom
1933
96 minutes
Black & White
1.33:1
English

Available In

Collector's Set

Alexander Korda’s Private Lives

DVD Box Set

4 Discs

$47.96

Out Of Print

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Cast & Credits

Cast

Charles Laughton: Henry VIII
Robert Donat: Thomas Culpeper
Franklin Dyall: Thomas Cromwell
Merle Oberon: Anne Boleyn, the second wife
Wendy Barrie: Jane Seymour, the third wife
Elsa Lanchester: Anne of Cleves, the fourth wife
Binnie Barnes: Katherine Howard, the fifth wife
Everley Gregg: Katherine Parr, the sixth wife
Lady Tree: The King’s Nurse

Credits

Director: Alexander Korda
Story and dialogue: Lajos Biro
Story and dialogue: Arthur Wimperis
Scenario: Arthur Wimperis
Cinematography: Georges Périnal
Editing: Stephen Harrison
Settings designed by: Vincent Korda
Music: Kurt Schroeder
Costumes: John Armstrong

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The Kordas

Producer, Director, Production Designer

During sound cinema’s first full decade, the Hungarian-born Korda brothers—Alexander, Zoltán, and Vincent—built a British empire. The mastermind behind their legendary company, London Films Productions, was producer, director, writer, and eventual mega-mogul Alex; born Sándor Kellner, he became interested in the art of silent cinema as a teenager in his home country, writing criticism and even founding a movie magazine before finding success making his own films all over Europe. In the late twenties, following a short stint in Hollywood, Alex was sent to England to head up Paramount’s British Production Unit; in 1932, he established London Films and brought aboard his younger siblings, Zoltán as a writer/director and Vincent as a production designer. Their first big hit was The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), which earned Charles Laughton an Oscar and the Kordas international attention. The rest of the thirties held highs (The Rise of Catherine the Great, Elephant Boy) and lows (The Private Life of Don Juan) for the company. But its films—often about historical personalities (Rembrandt) or the exploits of the British Empire abroad (Sanders of the River, The Four Feathers)—remain exemplars of a grand period of British cinema. In the forties, the Kordas only grew in stature—due not only to such immensely popular titles as The Thief of Bagdad and That Hamilton Woman but also to the selection of Alexander, the first film director to be so honored, for knighthood.