''Cardinal Richelieu'' is a 1935 American

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as ...

directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring George Arliss,

Maureen O'Sullivan Maureen Paula O'Sullivan (May 17, 1911 – June 23, 1998) was an Irish actress who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She starred in dozens of feature films across a span of more than half a ...

, Edward Arnold and Cesar Romero. It was based on the 1839 play '' Richelieu'' by

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (; 25 May 1803 – 18 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secr ...

depicting the life of the great seventeenth century French statesman

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

and his dealings with

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

Plot

In 1630, a group representing the feudal lords of France ask the pope for help in their fight against King Louis XIII's minister, the Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, who has prepared an edict to strip them of their lands. The lords claim that Richelieu is mad with lust for power and fear that the edict will lead to civil war. Before the pope decides what to do, the king signs the edict. Count Baradas, the leader of the group, convinces the queen mother to visit the king at his palace in the Louvre to demand Richelieu's dismissal. After the queen mother and Baradas convince the king that Richelieu took 10,000,000 francs as a bribe from the Duke of Normandy and used the money for his own palace, Richelieu enters through a secret doorway and explains that he took the bribe to build up the king's army so that they could then take over the duke's domain. Richelieu vows that his one ambition is to make France a great power, rather than a conglomeration of petty kingdoms. When asked about his palace, Richelieu says that he plans to give it to the king when the work on it is finished, and he convinces the king of his loyalty. Back at his palace, Richelieu learns that his ward Lenore, who has recently left a nearby convent, has fallen in love with Andre de Pons, whom she has met only once. Realizing that he has just signed a death warrant against Andre, a Huguenot, for conspiring to incite the lords to resist the edict, Richelieu agrees to see him. The king, inspecting Richelieu's palace, meets Lenore, and his interest aroused, demands that Richelieu bring her to court so that she can be married. Richelieu realizes that the marriage will be only an excuse for Lenore to be at the palace so that the lustful Louis can seduce her, and he refuses vehemently. When Andre is arrested, Richelieu convinces him that France must be unified to defeat England, Austria and Spain, who are arming against her, and Andre, unaware that Richelieu is Lenore's guardian, agrees to serve him. Richelieu then demands that Andre get married, and Andre protests that he cannot because he already is in love. Even when Richelieu threatens him with death, Andre refuses to comply. Just then, Lenore enters, and Andre, upon learning her relationship to Richelieu, realizes that Richelieu was testing him. After they marry, the king laments that he would have Richelieu's head if he could rule without him. The group of lords next meet with representatives of England, Austria and Spain and pledge their support against Louis. In compliance with the demand of the representatives that the king's army not be allowed to leave Paris, the lords provoke the people of Paris to insist that the army remain to protect them. As the commander, Le Moyne, will not take the troops to meet the Spanish forces because of an order forbidding him to do so, Richelieu, himself, leads the troops out of Paris, so that Le Moyne can take charge from there. Baradas then convinces Andre, whom the king has had arrested, that Richelieu arranged his marriage as a peace offering to the king and planned Andre's arrest so that the king could have Lenore. Baradas reveals that the queen mother is taking a secret treaty to the Spanish forces, and Andre agrees to assassinate Richelieu. However, he finds Lenore with Richelieu, rather than at the palace, and realizes he has been tricked. After Andre makes Baradas believe that he strangled Richelieu, Richelieu locates the queen mother and seizes the treaty. He takes it to Louis as proof of the conspirators' treachery, but before he can present it at court, the king's troops move to seize him. He then raises a cross and proclaims, as a priest, a circle of sanctuary through which he may approach the king. After he presents the king with the treaty, Richelieu declares that France is now united into a great kingdom with all its power in one absolute ruler, Louis, and that he, Richelieu, is Louis' shadow.

Cast

* George Arliss as

as Lenore * Edward Arnold as

* Cesar Romero as Andre de Pons * Douglass Dumbrille as Baradas * Francis Lister as Gaston * Halliwell Hobbes as Father Joseph * Violet Kemble Cooper as Queen Marie * Katharine Alexander as

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...

* Lumsden Hare as

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 t ...

Russell Hicks Edward Russell Hicks (June 4, 1895 – June 1, 1957) was an American film character actor. Hicks was born in 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the ...

as Le Moyne * Murray Kinnell as

Duke of Lorraine The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were ...

* Herbert Bunston as

Duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 and again in 933, N ...

* Guy Bellis as Duke of Buckingham * Boyd Irwin as Austrian Prime Minister * Leonard Mudie as Olivares * Reginald Sheffield as Richelieu's Outrider * William Worthington as King's Chamberlain *

Gilbert Emery Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle (June 11, 1875 – October 28, 1945), known professionally as Gilbert Emery, was an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945. He was also a playwright, author of seven Broadway pla ...

as Noble *

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later J ...

as Agitator

References

External links

* 1935 films 1930s historical drama films American historical drama films Films based on works by Edward Bulwer-Lytton Films set in the 1620s Films set in the 1630s Films set in France Films set in Paris Biographical films about politicians Films directed by Rowland V. Lee Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck Films scored by Alfred Newman Twentieth Century Pictures films American black-and-white films United Artists films Cultural depictions of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham Cultural depictions of Cardinal Richelieu Cultural depictions of Louis XIII Cultural depictions of Marie de' Medici Cultural depictions of Gustavus Adolphus 1935 drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Cultural depictions of Anne of Austria English-language historical drama films {{historic-film-stub