THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII

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.