In 19th-century France, doctor's wife Emma Bovary seeks to escape her dull provincial life through various extramarital affairs and extravagant spending, leading to tragic consequences.
Cinematography
Minnelli's Technicolor dreams that Emma can never quite touch.
Costume
Walter Plunkett's gowns: the real star, honestly.
Acting
Jennifer Jones commits to the unraveling with operatic desperation.
Director
Vincente Minnelli
Jennifer Jones
Emma Bovary
James Mason
Gustave Flaubert
Van Heflin
Charles Bovary
Louis Jourdan
Rodolphe Boulanger
Alf Kjellin
Leon Dupuis
Gene Lockhart
J. Homais
Frank Allenby
Lheureux
Gladys Cooper
Madame Dupuis
John Abbott
Mayor Tuvache
Harry Morgan
Hyppolite
George Zucco
Dubocage
Ellen Corby
Félicité
Eduard Franz
Rouault
Henri Letondal
Guillaumin
Esther Somers
Madame Lefrançois
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Flaubert trial for 'offending public morality' is woven into the film's structure, with James Mason playing the author defending his work in court.
Minnelli designed Emma's final ball gown in deep crimson specifically to clash with the film's otherwise muted palette—she literally cannot fit into the world around her.
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