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Madame Du Barry  (1934)


After achieving Hollywood stardom with What Price Glory in 1926, Mexican-born Dolores Del Rio sought contractual protections against playing certain types of stereotyped roles. Her freelance contract at Warner Bros., for instance, gave her the right to refuse “any native girl or south seas island” pictures.  A salaciously witty, brocaded period piece in which Del Rio plays the titular French courtesan, Madame Du Barry was the first story she accepted when she arrived at the studio.   

16mm, b/w, 79 min.  Production: Warner Bros.  Distribution: Warner Bros.  Director: William Dieterle.  Screenwriter: Edward Chodorov.  Cinematographer: Sol Polito.  Editor: Herbert Levy.  With: Dolores Del Rio, Reginald Owen, Victor Joy, Osgood Perkins, Verree Teasdale.