In 1456, French King Charles VII recalls the story of how he met the 17-year-old peasant girl Joan of Arc, entrusted her with the command of the French Army, and ultimately burned her at the stake as a heretic.
Acting
Jean Seberg's raw, untrained energy—like watching lightning in a corset.
Production
Stark theatrical sets that scream 'we had a budget and chose THIS.'
Director
Otto Preminger
Jean Seberg
St. Joan of Arc
Richard Widmark
The Dauphin, Charles VII
Richard Todd
Dunois, Bastard of Orleans
Anton Walbrook
Cauchon - Bishop of Beauvais
John Gielgud
Earl of Warwick
Felix Aylmer
Inquisitor
Archie Duncan
Robert de Baudricourt
Harry Andrews
John de Stogumber
Margot Grahame
Duchesse de la Tremouille
Barry Jones
De Courcelles
Francis de Wolff
La Tremouille
Finlay Currie
Archbishop of Rheims
Victor Maddern
English Soldier
Bernard Miles
Master Executioner
David Oxley
'Bluebeard' Gilles de Rais
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jean Seberg won the role from 18,000 applicants in a worldwide Paramount talent search—then Preminger hated her performance and publicly trashed her.
George Bernard Shaw's 1923 play deliberately made Joan unsentimental; the film keeps her stubborn and annoying, which may be historically honest but tanked with audiences.
US
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