1. In search of Marie-Antoinette : the inscrutable life worth scrutinizing. Scholarship to date ; Structure and Method of the argument -- 2. Stefan Zweig's clinical biography, 1930-1932. Western European approaches to illustrated biography in the 1920s ; Zweig's approach to psychological biography ; Zweig's approach to the French Revolution ; Merging dominant interpretations of Marie-Antoinette ; Structure of the argument ; Marie-Antoinette's psychological transformation : cause, mnanifestations, and cure ; Marie-Antoinette's spiritual transformation: awakening, resistance and acceptance ; Writing historical biography as an "interested" undertaking ; Zweig on film adaptations of historical biographies -- 3. Irving Thalberg's film production, 1934-1936. European and American approaches to historical films in the 1920s ; Thalberg's approach to biographical film ; Thalberg's introduction to the Zweig property ; Sorting rival interpretations of Marie-Antoinette ; In conference : establishing character motivations, scenarios, and continuity ; The two earliest "temporary complete screenplays" ; Indicating Louis' phimosis, or how ineffectual lovemaking leads to lackluster leadership ; Indicating the revolutionaries, or how to generate sympathy for monarchs in spite of their ineffectualness ; Producing biographical film as an "interested" undertaking ; Thalberg on playing a historical character -- 4. Norma Shearer's dramatic performance, 1937-1938. Euro-American approaches to historical roles in the 1930s ; Shearer's approach to historical characterizations ; Shearer's recommitment to the Marie-Antoinette role ; The "final okayed screenplay" ; Inter-dependence of screenplay, cast, costumes, and sets ; Before and behind the cameras : Shearer's acting technique and production oversight ; The two faces of Marie-Antoinette, or how to sell sin and atonement ; To make Marie-Antoinette live again : the art of rendering clear and mixed passions ; Acting a historical part as an "interested" undertaking ; Shearer on public response to her performance -- 5. Conclusion. Summary ; "Marie-Antoinette" in myth ; "Objectivity" in biography, "authenticity" in film ; Time travel today; References.
Summary:
In Search of Marie-Antoinette in the 1930s follows Austrian biographer Stefan Zweig, American producer Irving Thalberg, and Canadian-American actress Norma Shearer as they attempt to uncover personal aspects of Marie-Antoinette's life at the French court in the late eighteenth-century and to dramatize them in biography, cinema, and performance for public consumption during the 1930s--back cover.
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