''Madame Pompadour'' is a 1927 British silent historical

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

and starring

Dorothy Gish Dorothy Elizabeth Gish (March 11, 1898June 4, 1968) was an American actress of the screen and stage, as well as a director and writer. Dorothy and her older sister Lillian Gish were major movie stars of the silent era. Dorothy also had great s ...

Antonio Moreno Antonio Garrido Monteagudo (September 26, 1887 – February 15, 1967), better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s. Early life and silent fil ...

and

Nelson Keys Nelson Keys (7 April 1886 in London, England – 26 April 1939 in London) was a British stage and film actor, a star in musical comedy and stage revue, including the 1924 ''Ziegfeld Follies''. He was the father of film producer Anthony Nelson Ke ...

. The film depicts the life of

Madame Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...

, mistress of

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

. It was the first film to be shot at the newly christened

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

Plot

In 18th-century France, the King's mistress Madame Pompadour (Dorothy Gish), frees her jailed lover, political prisoner Rene Laval (Antonio Moreno), to make him her bodyguard.

Cast

as Madame Pompadour *

as Rene Laval *

as Duc de Courcelette * Henri Bosc as Louis XV *

Gibb McLaughlin George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor. Early days McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a sale ...

as Comte Maurepas *

Cyril McLaglen Cyril McLaglen (1899–1987) was a British actor who appeared in a variety of films between 1920 and 1951. He was born in London in 1899 and made his film debut in the 1920 film ''The Call of the Road''. He was the younger brother of the acto ...

as Gogo * Marsa Beauplan as Madame Poisson *

Marie Ault Marie Ault (2 September 1870 – 9 May 1951) was a British character actress of stage and film. Biography Born as Mary Cragg, in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester. England. Ault was a star in many British films of the silent era but is ...

as Belotte

Production

Gish and Wilcox had just enjoyed a big hit with ''Nell Gwyn''. British National Pictures and Paramount signed them to make three more movies of which this was the first. Gish was paid £1500 a week for six weeks. Filming was delayed an extra three weeks and this added a large amount to the budget and almost brought the film to a standstill. Wilcox was paid £3000 for a film plus 25% of the profits but there were none.

Critical reception

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

'' wrote, "Dorothy Gish's screen vehicles for British director Herbert Wilcox were usually a treat, but her 1927 film ''Madame Pompadour'' tended to be weighed down by the ponderous stylistic choices of its producer, Germany's E. A. DuPont....''Madame Pompadour'' was an especially lavish and handsome production. Unfortunately, despite its brief 75-minute running time, the film moved at a snail's pace."

References

External links

* 1927 films 1920s historical drama films British silent feature films Films shot at British International Pictures Studios 1920s English-language films Films directed by Herbert Wilcox Films based on operettas Cultural depictions of Louis XV Cultural depictions of Madame de Pompadour British black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Frances Marion British historical drama films Paramount Pictures films Films scored by Leo Fall 1927 drama films 1920s British films Silent drama films {{historic-film-stub