1937 – Charles Boyer
Conquest
This was a somewhat true movie about Napoleon and, at least according to the movie, the love of his life, the Polish Countess, Mari Walewska, played by Greta Garbo. Boyer seemed to be the perfect choice to play the famous French Emperor, and he did a wonderful job. This was really an Oscar-worthy performance
Boyer played Napoleon as confident, arrogant, charismatic, and possessed of a self-importance that bordered on a god complex. All these qualities in such excess actually made him an unlikeable man. They made him seem selfish, demanding, volatile, and petulant. But darn if Boyer didn’t make him somewhat charming at the same time, despite being a jackass most of the film.
The film focused on the romance between Napoleon and the Countess Walewska, not on his brilliance as a military tactician. But as my bit of research revealed, that is really where the real Napoleon’s true charisma shined. He was a great military leader who was not afraid to fight right along-side his men in battle, and they loved him for it. But the film only used Boyer as a romantic lead who happened to be the famous Napoleon. And Boyer was nothing if not charming.
Boyer took the role of Napoleon quite seriously. He changed his appearance to look like the historical figure. He got a matching haircut, and I think, though I cannot confirm, he wore a bit of padding to give the character a slight paunch, especially in his later years. I also think he held himself differently to give himself a smaller stature. He often had hunched shoulders or was leaning slightly forward. While Napoleon was only about five feet tall, which was only slightly shorter than average height for the time, Boyer was five-foot-nine.
So then why didn’t Boyer win the Oscar? First he was up against Spencer Tracy in Captains Courageous. That was a hard one to beat. But second, is that though his performance was fine, the script let him down, making him a little too unlikeable. And as I’ve said before, an Oscar winner needs to be a synthesis of good acting and a good script. Here, the script wasn’t bad, but it was, in my opinion, only average.