Martin Bradley I don't suppose "The Private Life of Henry VIII" is anymore historically accurate than any of the films that followed it but it's almost certainly the most entertaining. It's played for comedy and it works beautifully thanks to the direction of Alexander Korda, the terrifically witty script of Lajos Biro and Arthur Wimperis and above all to the magnificent performance of Charles Laughton as Henry, (he won the Oscar for it and deservedly so). For starters he looks the part, dressed to the nines to resemble Holbein's famous portrait and visually, though shot in black and white by Georges Perinal, it remains a splendid looking picture. The wives aren't around long enough to make much of an impression but Elsa Lanchester gives her real-life husband a run for his money (literally) as Anne of Cleves. Their wedding night scene is a masterclass in comic acting. It also fairly zips along at just over ninety minutes and over eighty years after it first appeared it remains something of a treat.

TheLittleSongbird Anybody expecting a history lesson on Henry VIII are better off reading a book about the Tudors instead. However, it is not about the historical accuracy/inaccuracy that I am going to judge The Private Life of Henry VIII. In all honesty, having studied the Tudors and read countless books and seen various documentaries on the subject I was not expecting a history lesson in the first place, just an entertaining, sumptuous and well acted film, and that is exactly what The Private Life of Henry VIII is. If there was anything that I would've preferred to have been done better was for the first part of the film to be less rushed through. Other than that it was great, while occasionally creaky the production values do look splendid with sumptuous costumes and gorgeous-looking decor. Kurt Schroder's lush score and the witty script are also things to like, as well as how compelling the comedy of the Anne of Cleves' scenes and the moving tragedy of Catherine Howard's were. Alexander Korda directs solidly, never allowing the pace to lag and making effort to make the characters interesting. And interesting they are, helped enormously by the performances. I completely agree with those who praise Charles Laughton's performance, alongside Quasimodo and Captain Bligh his funny, subtle and very clever turn as this complex monarch is one of the best performances of his career, underneath the flamboyancy there is a tinge of poignancy too which enables us to sympathise for him. He has a fine supporting cast, most notably the hilariously good Anne of Cleves of Elsa Lanchester and the dashing Culpepper of Robert Donat. All in all, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Gloede_The_Saint This was god damn bleeding great. Both hilarious and sad. With a sarcastic and somewhat sarcastic tone, we see the life of the notorious king and the relationships to his five last wives, the first is left out since she according to the film's opening titles were not interesting enough. : ) What to say about this. Executioners who bicker over who has the right to cut off the head of the Queen (opening scenes), and spectators who wants the best possible view of the execution is the beginning of this wonderful genre mix from Alexander Korda.Charles Laughton plays the crazed Henry, whom despite many ugly acts you just have to love. The rest of the cast is quite good as well, especially Elsa Lanchester, but Laughton is indeed the star. Not a boring, empty, or uninteresting moment.If you have not seen this you most definitely have to! Delicious black humor and some great drama is what awaits you.Rating: 9.5/10

Irie212 Camera on the crowd. Peasant couple watching as Anne Boleyn gets the ax. "She died like a queen," says he. "Yes– and that frock! Wasn't it too divine!" says she.Anne Boleyn (a luminous Merle Oberon, age 22) loses her head courtesy of one of two executioners-- headsmen used as comic relief because they bicker about who is better at beheadings, the British or the French. Not that this movie needs comic relief. I never thought of the Tudor years as droll, but Alexander Korda, Lajos Biro (writer), and Charles Laughton successfully make light of divorce, death in childbirth, annulment, widowhood, and of course, the axe. Those are the five fates of Henry's six wives, and I'd have suffered almost any of them if Henry VIII actually had been the amusing, vigorous royal scoundrel of Charles Laughton's brilliant portrayal.A hefty man, Laughton becomes larger than life in the extravagant Tudor costumes. And he fully occupies the role, from leg garters to puffed sleeves to tousled hair (which he smooths into place with licked fingers as he courts No. 5).No wonder he got the Oscar against stiff competition (Paul Muni and Leslie Howard). At no point are you in doubt about what his Henry is feeling or thinking, so expressive is Laughton's face, so finely and quickly articulated are his movements. That is no small feat, as Henry runs a full gamut of moods as well as actions— from cuddling a baby to strangling an adviser, from seducing one wife to doing anything to avoid having sex with another (Elsa Lanchester as Ann of Cleves), from challenging a wrestler to delivering a lecture on the death of manners as he tosses half-chewed fowl bones over his shoulder at dinner. It's hard to respect a man like that, but it's impossible not to.