Alexander Korda's portrait of Henry VIII and his several wives is as irreverent and rollicking as its hero, played by Charles Laughton, who gained international fame and an Oscar for his witty penetration into the lascivious soul of the British monarch. A landmark film of the Thirties, The Private Life of Henry VIII has the distinction of being the first British production to make a major dent in the U.S. market, a success all the more impressive as Korda made the spectacular on a glaringly unspectacular budget (the cast all agreed to work without salary, on a profit-loss sharing basis), and managed sets, designed by Vincent Korda, that provide an appropriately luxurious lap for the royal glutton. Henry VIII's spouses include Elsa Lanchester as Anne of Cleves, Merle Oberon as Anne Boleyn, and Wendy Barrie as Jane Seymour, all of whom made names for themselves abroad in this film which, for all its historicity, was condemned by the U.S. Legion of Decency (precursor to the Hays Office).