Today is the birthday of Marie Antoinette (1755-1793). We of course use the occasion to plug the 1938 blockbuster film starring the beautiful Norma Shearer as the ill-fated French queen. It was her husband/ benefactor Irving Thalberg’s last film (he died in 1936 while it was still on the drawing board). The film also stars Tyrone Power, John Barrymore, Robert Morley, Cora Witherspoon, and Henry Daniell. This lavish costume spectacle proved to be one the biggest hits of the 1930s.
To learn more about the early film industry please check out my new book: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc
To find out more about the history of show business consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.
(Travalanche) 