Review – The Private Life of Henry VIII

I recorded this because I thought it might be a refreshing change from the Showtime-iness of The Tudors, but it lacked the strength of elements such as script that had to prevail back before the explicitness of made-for-cable series came along. At least the acting is good. Charles Laughton does fine work as Henry, doing his usual craftsmanlike job of laboring through his makeup. However, I was particularly fond of Elsa Lanchester’s brief appearance as Anne of Cleaves, especially her mugging and grimacing act to dissuade the king from consummating the marriage. Overall this wasn’t anyone’s finest hour, but it isn’t a bad handling of the subject particularly for 1933. Mildly amusing