The 1919 German silent historical drama about a French courtesan is Madame DuBarry, directed by Ernst Lubitsch.
The film dramatizes the rise and fall of Jeanne Bécu, who became Madame du Barry and the influential mistress of France’s King Louis XV. Pola Negri plays the title role, while Emil Jannings portrays Louis XV. The story moves from Jeanne’s modest origins to the royal court and finally to her execution during the French Revolution.
Madame DuBarry was written by Norbert Falk and Hanns Kräly and produced by Paul Davidson for the German studio PAGU. It premiered in Berlin on September 18, 1919, helping establish Lubitsch’s reputation for lavish historical spectacles and sophisticated crowd scenes.
A common mix-up is the film’s American release title: in the United States it was distributed as Passion. The alternatives listed here are also Lubitsch films, but none is the historical drama centered on Jeanne du Barry.