First let me say I love watching this movie. Norma Shearer is one of my favorites from old Hollywood. Robert Morley plays the king like a child. Tyrone Power was miscast in a role made for Laurence Olivier. Costumes are great but the dialog and acting is unbelievably hammy. Shearer plays Antoinnette like a heroine instead symbol of the symbol of the 1% of France that she was.
shareThe same can be said be said for most historical or biographical films of that era. Studios weren't terribly interested in accuracy and, arguably, audiences didn't care that much either. Its no surprise that this Marie Antoinette was written as a heroine. There's no way MGM would have allowed Norma Shearer to portray a truly unlikeable character. Irving Thalberg was pretty shrewd when it came to his wife's career and Louis B. Mayer wasn't keen on cash cows doing anything gritty or real.
While I do enjoy the film, I never took it as gospel truth.