THE BONAPARTE/WALEWSKA FLING (THE FLICK, NOT REAL LIFE)

IT’S GENERALLY ACCEPTED THAT NAPOLEON BONAPARTE fooled around. Wikipedia notes in an extensively documented entry, “Napoleon acknowledged one illegitimate son: Charles Léon (1806–1881) by Eléonore Denuelle de La Plaigne. Alexandre Colonna-Walewski (1810–1868), the son of his Polish mistress Marie Walewska, was also widely known to be his child,^[488] as DNA evidence has confirmed.^[494] He may have had further illegitimate offspring.”

Conquest, aka Marie Walewska, 1937 MGM bioflick starring Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, Dame May Whitty (as his mother), and Maria Ouspenskaya (as hers). 

Being a fan of Greta Garbo, I enjoyed the Bonaparte/Walewska flick Conquest recently broadcast on Turner Classic Movies.

But little did I know that gleaning tidbits about the movie was to leave me with a mystery every bit as puzzling as real life. Not that I expected utter verisimilitude in Conquest; it’s cinema, after all. The mystery is in my perception of the movie versus descriptions in various film websites—particularly about its ending.

Conquest Factoids. Wikipedia recounts, “MGM initially advertised the upcoming release of the film under the title Marie Walewska, but at the last moment changed the title to the more marketable Conquest when the movie arrived in theaters.” 

Fat lot of good it did: The flick was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Charles Boyer) and Best Art Direction (Cedric Gibbons and William A. Horning), but lost out to Spencer Tracy in Captains Courageous and Stephen Goosson’s work in Lost Horizon.

A Financial Bath Too. “Its worldwide gross,” Wikipedia notes, “amounted to $2,141,000, but its massive budget led to a loss of $1,397,000.” This, despite an example given by IMDb: “The lavish ballroom set where Napoleon dances with Marie Walewska is actually identical to that used in Maytime, the Jeanette McDonald /Nelson Eddy operetta. It has simply been redressed and given a different floor covering and shot from a different angle.”

This and other images from IMBd.

IMBd also notes, “This film lost more money for MGM than any other of its films during the period 1920 to 1949.” Quite a record, given some turkeys that come to mind.

The Plot, Briefly. Turner Classic Movies condenses Conquest into one succinct sentence: “A Polish countess sacrifices her virtue to Napoleon to save her homeland.” Wikipedia agrees quoting from her own memoir: “The sacrifice was complete. It was all about harvesting fruit now, achieving this one single equivalence [convincing Napoleon to support the Polish independence movement], which could excuse my debased position. This was the thought that possessed me. Ruling over my will it did not allow me to fall under the weight of my bad consciousness and sadness.”

Biographical Sources: Wikipedia’s Marie Walewska entry recounts, “In 1809 Walewska followed Napoleon during his journey to Vienna, where [accurately portrayed in the movie] she lived in a house near Schönbrunn Palace, Napoleon’s residence. During her sojourn in Vienna she became pregnant and returned to Walewice in order to give birth to her second son, Alexandre Joseph [her first was with husband Count Colonna-Walewski].”

Wikipedia continues, “In 1810 Napoleon returned to Paris, where he was soon joined by Walewska…. The Emperor planned to divorce Josephine and instead arrange a strategic marriage to Marie Louise, daughter of the Austrian Emperor. Maintaining his relationship with Walewska seemed inappropriate to gain that goal. Walewska’s future and that of her son were nevertheless assured by the grant of large land estates in the Kingdom of Naples.”

Somehow not a tear-jerking finish.  

 The Flick’s Puzzling Endgame. However, my quandary comes in the film’s last few moments and various reviews thereof.

Wikipedia says of the Conquest ending, “After her husband annuls their marriage and Napoleon divorces the Empress Josephine, the pair are free to formalize their happy relationship, but Napoleon shocks her by announcing his decision to wed the Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria for political reasons. While he doesn’t expect it to impact his relationship with Marie, she leaves him, without ever telling him that she is expecting his child.”

Hmm….

Turner Classic Movies writes, “Though she is shattered, Marie accepts Napoleon’s marriage [to Princess Marie Louise of Austria] and leaves him to have her child alone. During the course of the next few years, Napoleon suffers many defeats. His army is forced to retreat from their position in Moscow and, despite a last attempt to recapture his former empire, he eventually loses everything at the Battle of Waterloo. In his final exile on the island of Elba, he sends for Marie. She and her son Alexandre go to him and stay with him until he dies.” TCM cites this synopsis as “Powered by AFI,” the American Film Institute. 

Certainly not powered by film nor fact:  Napoleon’s “final exile” wasn’t to Elba. It came later in the utter isolation of St. Helena. What’s more, Marie doesn’t “stay with him until he dies.”

The Cinematic Clincher—As I Saw It. Napoleon is conveyed to the British ship taking him to St. Helena. Marie waves goodbye (kinda flimsily to my eye) and says to their son Alexandre, “He has a star to follow. Let us pray it will find him peace.” THE END.

Could this have been MGM’s alternative ending prompted by a Pomona Saturday-night double-feature preview?? ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024