Shadow of the Guillotine (1956)

This is an interesting film, and worth comparing to "Marie Antoinette" with Norma Shearer. Both films broadly cover the queen's life, with particular emphasis on her romance with Count Axel von Fersen. But while the American film treats the romance as more of a platonic relationship, the French film is more open and accepting of it as an extramarital affair. The film changes in tone from comic (in depicting Marie fending off the advances of her amorous, though inept husband) to tragic (Marie's execution, symbolically suggesting religious martyrdom), but I suppose this is to be expected.This film shows more of Marie's pastoral amusements at Versailles (e.g, dancing shepherdesses bring Marie and Axel pitchers milk in porcelain pitchers). The depiction of the infamous "Affair of the Necklace" is somewhat sketchily presented, and may confuse some American viewers who are unfamiliar with the event. The film is very lush, and Michele Morgan and Richard Todd make very attractive leads. If you are not fluent in French, some familiarity with the life of Marie Antoinette or the events of the period will help you follow the film. While it is not a perfect film, it is appealing and worth your time.