Madame Pompadour (1927 film)

Madame Pompadour is a 1927 British silent historical drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Dorothy Gish, Antonio Moreno and Nelson Keys.[2] The film depicts the life of Madame Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV of France. It was the first film to be shot at the newly christened Elstree Studios.[3]

For the German film, see Madame Pompadour (1931 film).

Madame Pompadour
Directed byHerbert Wilcox
Written byEwald André Dupont
Frances Marion
Rudolph Schanzer (operetta)
Ernst Welisch (operetta)
Produced byEwald André Dupont
StarringDorothy Gish
Antonio Moreno
Henri Bosc
Nelson Keys
Music byLeo Fall
Production
company
Distributed byParamount British Pictures
Release date
1 August 1927 (US)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£80,000[1]

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

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.[4]

Wilcox was paid £3000 for a film plus 25% of the profits but there were none.[1]

Critical reception

Allmovie 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."[5]

References
  1. "Dorothy Gish Made £41,000 from Three British Films". The Sun. No. 5408. Sydney. 8 March 1928. p. 1 (FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 19 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "Madame Pompadour (1927)". Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  3. Studios, Elstree. "History of Studio". Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  4. "Bittiard-Marker Who Became Famous Film Producer". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 2374. Western Australia. 8 August 1943. p. 7 (THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE). Retrieved 17 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Madame Pompadour (1927) - Herbert Wilcox - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie".


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