OriginallytitledLesPerlesdeCouronne,thisSachaGuitryhistoricalextravaganzastarsbothGuitryandhiswifeJacquelineDelubac.Theplotlinehingesonfourvaluablepearls,whichpassfromhandtohandoveraperiodofseveralcenturies,fromthetimeofBritain'sHenryVIIItothepresent.Allofthisisofferedinflashbackform,asagroupofmodern-daytreasurehunterstrytolocatethreeofthemissingpearlsbytracingthembacktotheirpreviousowners.GuitryshowsupasKingFrancisI,BarrasandNapoleonIII,inadditiontohiscontemporarypersonaofJeanMartin;DebulacisseenasMaryQueenofScotsandEmpressJosephine.Thereisn'tascintillaofhistoricalaccuracyinthefilm,nordidGuitryhavetheslightestintentionofincludingany;hissolepurposewastoentertaintheaudienceandserveupasuperblyironicdenoument.ThesupportingcastisapolyglotofFrench,EnglishandItalianactors,eachspeakinginhisorherownlanguage.ThescreenplayforPearlsoftheCrownwascowrittenbyGuitryandanotherimmenselytalentedfilmmaker,Christian-Jaque.~HalErickson,Rovi
