CONQUEST (1937 FILM)

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'''Conquest''' (also called '''Marie Walewska''') is a 1937 film which tells the story of a Polish countess who becomes the mistress of Napoleon in order to influence his actions towards her homeland. It stars Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, Reginald Owen, Alan Marshal, Henry Stephenson, Leif Erickson, Dame May Whitty and Maria Ouspenskaya.
The movie was adapted by S. N. Behrman, Samuel Hoffenstein, Helen Jerome and Salka Viertel from the novel ''Pani Walewska'' by Waclaw Gasiorowski. It was directed by Clarence Brown and Gustav Machaty´ (uncredited).
It was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Charles Boyer) and Best Art Direction.
This movie was MGM's biggest money losing movie prior to 1949.

Contents

Plot

Plot

After a brief informal meeting two months earlier when they were impressed with each other, Countess Marie Walewska (Greta Garbo) formally meets Napoleon Bonaparte (Charles Boyer) at a ball in Warsaw. When Napoleon notes her husband, Count Walewski (Henry Stephenson), is three times her age, and as he is taken with her charms, he unsuccessfully tries to seduce her. She ignores his frequent letters and flowers until a few grim Polish leaders led by Senator Malachowski (George Zucco) urge her to give into his desires as a personal sacrifice in order to save Poland. She goes to him despite the humiliation of her husband, who leaves for Rome to annul their marriage. They are extremely happy for a while; Napoleon divorces childless Empress Josephine and Marie eventually becomes pregnant. She is about to tell Napoleon about her baby when he tells her he decided to marry Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria. He explains it will be a political marriage to insure his future son could rule securely with Hapsburg blood in him. It will not affect their relationship, he says, but Marie Walewska leaves to have her baby alone without telling Napoleon she is expecting his child.
The part of Marie's child was played in the movie by my Mother, She was playing the part of Napoleon's son.
Her name was never added to the credits of the movie, but she was paid a $50.00 savings bond for appearing in the movie, her name was
Shirley Vanna Fuller: born July 16, 1937 in Los Angeles, California, USA, and died Feb 12, 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Shirley Vanna Hignett (nee Fuller's) Social Security Records show her mother Mary Dicie Fuller signed as she was under 1 year of age and Shirley Vanna Fuller's employer at the time was MGM studio's
Shirley Vanna Fuller's parents Were Van Arnold Fuller and Mary Dicie Shirley both her parents were born in Atlanta Georgia, and Shirley's father Van Arnold Fuller was employeed to paint movie props at MGM when his daughter was born. MGM needed a baby to play the part of Napoleon's son in the movie.
their is a news paper clipping on this in the Los Angeles news paper July 1937 which notes this fact as well as the information listed on the childs social security records.