Les Miserables (1935)
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Les Miserables Movie Review
Les Miserables is a 1935 historical film directed by Richard Boleslawski and starring Fredric March and Charles Laughton. It’s a very good adaptation.
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“You know what is going to happen, don’t you?
I will take you in the end!“
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Yes, this is a surprisingly strong movie on most counts, and a very timeless peace for the most part. I say that because most book adaptations from the thirties are very dated now, but this one holds up pretty well even today.
That’s because it’s a commendable movie technically speaking. I watched a poorer version on the Internet, but even then I could see that the film was technically superb with in particular very strong cinematography, and at times even admirably artistic imagery.
I also found the score grandiose, classical and fitting in the best way possible for such a story. The structure of being split into parts also worked well, and I found the direction from Boleslawski pretty solid overall. What I found odd was the runtime as around two hours was not enough for such an epic in length novel in my opinion.
The reason why this movie works so well lies mostly in the acting performances. Yes, the movie truly has some heavy-hitters when it comes to the actors as both Fredric March and especially Charles Laughton were at the height of their powers during this particular period.
I found March a bit overacting at first, but overall his Jean Valjean is great and very sympathetic which was hugely important from the start. But Laughton absolutely shines in the role of Emile Javert. He’s so menacing, but also so conflicting in nature that I found him to be an absolutely fascinating persona. He stole the show from everyone and demanded the screen. Why he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar is beyond me. And he truly had the banner year in 1935.
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Les Miserables definitely is flawed with some parts working less than others and most of the supporting characters, especially women aren’t as interesting as the men are. But still, for such an early adaption, it worked splendidly for the most part and I was rather surprised by its quality. Its Oscar nominations were thus mostly deserved.
The 1935 adaptation of Les Miserables is flawed in some parts and less memorable in the supporting characters, but Fredric March is great in the main role and Charles Laughton commands the screen with an expectedly confident performance in a fascinating role. The cinematography and score are also great, and the movie’s quite epic. It thus belongs among the less dated and still enjoyable 30s book adaptations.
