Royal Affairs in Versailles (Si Versailles m'était conté...)

Royal Affairs in Versailles is a 1954 French-Italian historical drama written and directed by Sacha Guitry. The film traces the Palace of Versailles from its origins to the present through episodes built around the personalities who once lived within its walls. It is remembered for gathering an extraordinary number of celebrated French performers, many of them in brief appearances, among them Jean Marais, Édith Piaf and Claudette Colbert. One striking piece of casting involved Gilbert Bokanowski, actually the production manager, who was chosen to play Louis XVI because of his remarkable resemblance to the king. Counted among the first major French productions shot in colour, it is also one of Guitry's last and most ambitious works. The film opened a loose trilogy of similar historical pageants, followed by Napoléon in 1955 and Si Paris nous était conté in 1956. Although a French production, it became best known abroad under its English title.