Conquest

(Clarence Brown, US 1937, 113 min., 35mm)

Napoleon Bonaparte (Charles Boyer) unsuccessfully attempts to seduce Countess Marie Walewska (Greta Garbo), who is married to a much older man (Henry Stephenson). After some time, and only after learning it will save Poland, Walewska reluctantly accepts Napoleon’s offer. After her husband annuls their marriage and Napoleon divorces Empress Josephine, they are finally able to formalize their marriage. In a turn of events, Napoleon changes his mind and announces that he will instead be marrying the Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria for political reasons. Marie decides to leave under the cover of night once the announcement is made but does not share that she is hiding a secret: she is pregnant with their child.