Best History Movies of 1938

The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.

King Louis XI masquerades as a commoner in Paris, seeking out the treachery he is sure lurks in his kingdom. At a local tavern, he overhears the brash poet François Villon extolling why he would be a better king. Annoyed yet intrigued, the King bestows on Villon the title of Grand Constable. Soon Villon begins work and falls for a lovely lady-in-waiting, but then must flee execution when the King turns on him.

French pirate Jean Lafitte rescues a girl and joins the War of 1812.

Colonel Ferris, a wealthy farmer in northern California, is strongly opposed to hydraulic mining, a new method developed during the gold rush of the 1870's, which is flooding the area's prosperous farmlands. Despite Ferris' political stance, Jared Whitney, a mining engineer from the East, becomes friends with the colonel's son Lance and falls in love with his daughter Serena. Family tensions deepen when the colonel's brother Ralph gives up farming to go to San Francisco to work for his wife Rosanna's father, Harrison McCooey, a leader in the mining venture. When Lance follows Ralph, the colonel, focusing his anger on Jared, forbids him to see Serena.

Continuing the story of 'Victoria the Great'.

This dramatized short film describes the historical mystery of France's "man in the iron mask". King Louis XIV imprisoned a man who was never identified, but who was forced to wear an iron mask for the length of his captivity, which ended only in his death. Several candidates for the identity of the man are investigated.

Dramatization of the first climbing of the Matterhorn in 1865.

A fairly accurate historical account of Walter Reed's search for the cause of "Yellow Jack" or Yellow Fever and those who risked their lives in the pursuit.

Ferdinand de Lesseps, disappointed in love, is sent as a junior diplomat to the Isthmus of Suez, and realizes it's just the place for a canal.

This short film tells the true story of the heroic sacrifice of Father Damien, the Belgian priest who suffered a living death in order to bring hope and God's comfort to the lepers confined on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.

This historical featurette focuses on Caesar Rodney of Delaware who in the summer of 1776 cast the deciding vote, at the meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, so that the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

A perpetual dreamer talks his wife into moving with him from their home in Australia to South Africa, where he hopes to discover gold and finally become wealthy.

In this short, a modern-day promoter tries to sell a man the idea of searching for Captain Kidd's buried treasure, claiming he has the original map. A flashback reveals that Kidd was known to be a pirate and also to have had a commission from William III at one time, which instructed him to act as a unit of the British Navy. What became of the fabulous treasure Kidd took from the ship "Kedah Merchant".

During the American Civil War, General Ulysses Grant carries out the 'Tennessee Plan,' which involves stopping the Confederate supply line on the Tennessee River. This proved to be a vital action for the North in its push south...

This short film looks at the life of Michel Ney, who fought at Napoleon's side and was made a Marshall of France.

The story of Dr. George Washington Carver (1864-1943), black educator and horticulturist. He is perhaps most well known for developing over 140 products from all parts of the peanut plant, including the shells and husks. He also developed products based on sweet potatoes and soybeans, and developed a cotton hybrid that was named after him.

An examination of the history of anesthesia, from ancient Egyptian times to contemporary times.

During the 16th century the Cossacks and their Ukraine homeland is ruled by Poland. This is the story of the leader of the Cossacks and how his son was sent to study under the Poles to learn how to defeat them in battle. However, the son falls in love with the daughter of a Polish nobleman.

A young man befriends the last surviving Civil War veteran, intending to rob him of $50,000.

A look at various predictions Nostradamus made, such as the American and French Revolutions.

The Life of St. Paul, including reenactment of the Book of Acts, and St. Paul's Epistles.

The views of Budapest. Estimated to be recorded on the summer of 1938

The love affair between the French Emperor Napoleon and the lady Josephine leads through Napoleon's rise to power and their eventual divorce.