Vivien Leigh
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
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.
Contents |
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 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.
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.
Plot
The film tells the story of the rise and fall of 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 and Joshua Reynolds.
Her early life as the mistress of the charming but unreliable Charles Francis Greville leads to her meeting with 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.
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).
Cast
- Vivien Leigh as Emma, Lady Hamilton
- Laurence Olivier as Admiral Horatio Nelson
- Alan Mowbray as Sir William Hamilton
- Gladys Cooper as 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 as a street girl
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 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."
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."
Academy Awards
At the 14th Academy Awards the film won for Best Sound and was nominated for three more.
- Won
- Best Sound, Recording (Jack Whitney)
- Nominated
- Best Art Direction (Vincent Korda, Julia Heron)
- Best Cinematography (Rudolph Maté)
- Best Effects, Special Effects (Lawrence W. Butler, William A. Wilmarth)
