Vivien Leigh
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| - | '''''That Hamilton Woman''''' (1941), originally titled '''''Lady Hamilton''''', is a black-and-white historical film drama which takes place during the [[Napoleonic wars]], produced and directed by [[Alexander Korda]] for Alexander Korda Films. | + | '''Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier''' (5 November 1913 – 7 July 1967) was an Indian-born English actress. She won two [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] [[Academy Award]]s for playing "[[southern belle]]s": [[Scarlett O'Hara]] in ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' (1939) and [[Blanche DuBois]] in [[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|''A Streetcar Named Desire'']] (1951), a role she had also played on stage in [[London]]'s [[West End Theatre|West End]]. |
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| - | ==Production== | + | |
| - | The film was made during [[World War II]], and defines Britain's struggle against Napoleon in terms of resistance to a dictator who seeks to dominate the world. Korda's brother Vincent designed the sets, creating [[William Hamilton (diplomat)| Sir William Hamilton]]'s palatial home that looked out over the sea of Naples, as well as the interiors of Merton Place: the home Emma and Nelson shared when they returned to England. On a tight budget, Korda completed filming in only five weeks, working from an original screenplay by Walter Reisch and R.C. Sherriff. Originally intended to be named ''The Enchantress'', the film was first released in Britain as ''Lady Hamilton''. | + | |
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| - | The supporting cast includes [[Sara Allgood]] as Emma's mother, [[Gladys Cooper]] as Lady Nelson, and [[Alan Mowbray]] as William Hamilton, Emma's husband——British ambassador to [[Naples]] and collector of objets d'art. | + | |
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| - | ==Plot== | + | |
| - | The film tells the story of the rise and fall of [[Emma, Lady Hamilton|Emma Hamilton]], dance-hall girl and courtesan, who became mistress to Admiral [[Horatio Nelson]], played respectively by [[Vivien Leigh]] and [[Laurence Olivier]]. The story begins with a decrepit, now-alcoholic Lady Hamilton thrown into [[debtor's prison]] in the slums of [[Calais]], and shows her past life by means of a flashback, as she narrates the story to her sceptical fellow inmates. In one of the early scenes that launches the flashback, Emma, well past her prime, looks into a mirror and remembers "the face I knew before," the face of the young, lovely girl who captured the imagination of artists - most notably [[George Romney (painter)|George Romney]] and [[Joshua Reynolds]]. | + | |
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| - | Her early life as the mistress of the charming but unreliable [[Charles Francis Greville]] leads to her meeting with [[William Hamilton (diplomat)|Sir William Hamilton]], British ambassador to Naples. Greville gives Emma to Sir William in exchange for relief on his debts. Despite her shock at his betrayal, Emma comes to respect Sir William, who marries her and explains the reasons for Britain's war against Napoleon. When Horatio Nelson arrives in Naples, Emma is soon deeply attracted to him and is impressed by his passionate insistance on resisting Napoleon's dictatorial rule. She leaves Sir William to live with Nelson. Their idyllic life together is threatened by the continuing war. Nelson leaves to confront Napoleon's navy in the decisive [[Battle of Trafalgar]]. After his death in the battle, she says that nothing remained in her life. | + | |
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| - | ==Context== | + | |
| - | Stars [[Vivien Leigh]] and [[Laurence Olivier]] were newlyweds at the time of filming and were considered a "dream couple". ''That Hamilton Woman'' is one of three films they made together. Their first film, ''[[Fire Over England]]'', was also produced by Korda. In one scene Nelson ([[Laurence Olivier]]) says he has received orders from [[Admiral Hood]]; Olivier played Admiral Hood 43 years later in ''[[The Bounty]]'' (1984). | + | |
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| - | == Cast == | + | |
| - | * [[Vivien Leigh]] as Emma, Lady Hamilton | + | |
| - | * [[Laurence Olivier]] as Admiral Horatio Nelson | + | |
| - | * [[Alan Mowbray]] as [[William_Hamilton_(diplomat)|Sir William Hamilton]] | + | |
| - | * [[Gladys Cooper]] as [[Frances Nisbet|Lady Frances Nelson]] | + | |
| - | * [[Henry Wilcoxon]] as Captain Hardy | + | |
| - | * [[Guy Kingford]] as Captain Troubridge | + | |
| - | * [[Halliwell Hobbes]] as Rev Nelson | + | |
| - | * [[Sara Allgood]] as Mrs Cadogon-Lyon | + | |
| - | * [[Gilbert Emery]] as Lord Spencer | + | |
| - | * [[Miles Mander]] as Lord Keith | + | |
| - | * [[Heather Angel (actress)|Heather Angel]] as a street girl | + | |
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| - | ==Reception== | + | |
| - | [[Bosley Crowther]] said the film is "just a running account of a famous love affair, told with deep sympathy for the participants against a broad historic outline of the times....Perhaps if it had all been condensed and contrived with less manifest awe, the effect would have been more exciting and the [[Romance film|love story]] would have had more poignancy. As it is, the little drama in the picture is dissipated over many expansive scenes; compassion is lost in marble halls." Of the two stars, he said "Vivien Leigh's entire performance as Lady Hamilton is delightful to behold. All of the charm and grace and spirit which Miss Leigh contains is beautifully put to use to capture the subtle spell which Emma most assuredly must have weaved. Laurence Olivier's Nelson is more studied and obviously contrived, and his appearance is very impressive, with the famous dead eye and empty sleeve." | + | |
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| - | ''That Hamilton Woman'' was [[Winston Churchill]]'s favorite film. Flora Fraser's ''Emma, Lady Hamilton'' claims that Churchill watched the movie over a hundred times; Fraser speculates that the fascination was Lady Hamilton's "originality." | + | |
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| - | ===Academy Awards=== | + | |
| - | At the [[14th Academy Awards]] the film won for Best Sound and was nominated for three more. | + | |
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| - | ;Won | + | |
| - | * [[Academy Award for Best Sound|Best Sound, Recording]] (Jack Whitney) | + | |
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| - | ;Nominated | + | |
| - | * [[Academy Award for Best Art Direction|Best Art Direction]] ([[Vincent Korda]], [[Julia Heron]]) | + | |
| - | * [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] (Rudolph Maté) | + | |
| - | * [[Academy Award for Visual Effects|Best Effects, Special Effects]] (Lawrence W. Butler, William A. Wilmarth) | + | |
| + | She was a prolific stage performer, frequently in collaboration with her then-husband, [[Laurence Olivier]], who directed her in several of her roles. During her 30-year stage career, she played roles ranging from the heroines of [[Noël Coward]] and [[George Bernard Shaw]] comedies to classic [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] characters such as [[Ophelia]], [[Cleopatra VII|Cleopatra]], [[Juliet Capulet|Juliet]] and [[Lady Macbeth]]. | ||
| + | Lauded for her beauty, Leigh felt that it sometimes prevented her from being taken seriously as an actress. However, ill health proved to be her greatest obstacle. For much of her adult life Leigh dealt with [[bipolar disorder]]. She earned a reputation for being difficult to work with, and her career suffered periods of inactivity. She also suffered recurrent bouts of chronic [[tuberculosis]], which she was first diagnosed with in the mid-1940s. Leigh and Olivier divorced in 1960, and she worked sporadically in film and theatre until her death from tuberculosis in 1967. | ||
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Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier (5 November 1913 – 7 July 1967) was an Indian-born English actress. She won two Best Actress Academy Awards for playing "southern belles": Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a role she had also played on stage in London's West End.
She was a prolific stage performer, frequently in collaboration with her then-husband, Laurence Olivier, who directed her in several of her roles. During her 30-year stage career, she played roles ranging from the heroines of Noël Coward and George Bernard Shaw comedies to classic Shakespearean characters such as Ophelia, Cleopatra, Juliet and Lady Macbeth.
Lauded for her beauty, Leigh felt that it sometimes prevented her from being taken seriously as an actress. However, ill health proved to be her greatest obstacle. For much of her adult life Leigh dealt with bipolar disorder. She earned a reputation for being difficult to work with, and her career suffered periods of inactivity. She also suffered recurrent bouts of chronic tuberculosis, which she was first diagnosed with in the mid-1940s. Leigh and Olivier divorced in 1960, and she worked sporadically in film and theatre until her death from tuberculosis in 1967.
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