Désirée Reviews

A lavish but disappointing period piece whose most significant element is the appearance of Marlon Brando in the role of Napoleon Bonaparte, this Jean Simmons vehicle presents historical soap opera on a grand scale. Desiree Clary (Simmons) is the daughter of a wealthy Marseilles silk merchant who meets the young Corsican general Napoleon and falls in love with him. He leaves for Paris, where he hopes to be placed in charge of the Italian campaign. Months later, Desiree follows. The increasingly powerful and famous Napoleon has announced his plans to marry the influential Josephine (Merle Oberon); a crushed Desiree eventually weds Gen. Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (Michael Rennie) and moves with him to Stockholm, where he is named as an heir to the throne. Napoleon's invasion of Russia fails, his plan to conquer England never materializes, and he is exiled (through the efforts of Bernadotte, among others) to Elba. Later, when he makes plans to form a new army and a new empire, the United States of Europe, it is Desiree who persuades him to lay down his sword. Though not even remotely factual (Napoleon did wed one woman named Josephine and love another named Desiree, but that's about as close as this film gets to accuracy), DESIREE is an entertaining romance. Simmons is completely convincing in the title role, realistically transforming from merchant's daughter to influential woman behind the scenes of history, and Brando is exciting, as always, in a part he took reluctantly. Nominated for two Oscars: Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.