That Hamilton Woman (1941)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Alexander Korda

Writers:

Walter Reisch (original screenplay) &
R.C. Sherriff (original screenplay)

Release Date:

30 April 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War

Tagline:

The Year's Most Exciting Team of Screen Lovers !

Plot:

Sir William Hamilton, a widower of mature years, is British ambassador to the Court of Naples. Emma...

Plot Keywords:

Ambassador | British Ambassador | Passion | Infidelity | Napoleonic Wars

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Vivien Leigh	...	Emma Lady Hamilton
Laurence Olivier	...	Lord Horatio Nelson
Alan Mowbray	...	Sir William Hamilton
Sara Allgood	...	Mrs. Cadogan-Lyon
Gladys Cooper	...	Lady Frances Nelson
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Captain Hardy
Heather Angel	...	A Streetgirl
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Rev. Nelson
Gilbert Emery	...	Lord Spencer
Miles Mander	...	Lord Keith
Ronald Sinclair	...	Josiah
Luis Alberni	...	King of Naples
Norma Drury Boleslavsky	...	Queen of Naples (as Norma Drury)
Olaf Hytten	...	Gavin
Juliette Compton	...	Lady Spencer

Also Known As:

Lady Hamilton (UK)

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #6915) | West Germany:12 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:Atp | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) | UK:A (original rating) | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Alexander Korda Films

Trivia:

One of Winston Churchill's hobbies was writing for movies as ghost writer. He wrote two of Nelson's speeches, as propaganda pieces against Germany, which was invading Europe at the time the movie was filmed and released.

Goofs:

Factual errors: There would have been no formal registration of the birth as prior to 1837 there were none in the UK. The only records were those of baptisms at parish churches.

Quotes:

Emma: [shocked after seeing Lord Nelson's wounds] They told us of your victories but not of the price you paid!

Movie Connections:

Featured in War Stories (2006) (TV)

Viven Leigh shines in historical romance.

Screen biography of Emma, Lady Hamilton, whose love for Lord Nelson (the British naval hero of the Napoleonic wars) scandalized the Regency world.

Vivien Leigh is in almost every frame, and completely dominates the film. The story is all about Lady Hamilton and her unhappy marriage, her love for Nelson, and the consequences of leaving her stodgy husband to live adulterously and with the man she loved. (He was already famous before Trafalger, this was the "Monicagate" of its day) It's a fine soap opera, centered around a performance that can only be called luminous.

The camera doesn't just love Leigh, it gets down on its knees and worships her. Even in GWTW she never looked so unbelievably beautiful, and she's also completely charming and sensitive. The great Sir Laurence Olivier doesn't have a chance, he barely registers. He's handicapped by a serious lack of screen time and a dreadful red pony-tail wig, but the director seems to have decided to give him short shrift so he can squeeze in a few more exquisite close-ups of Leigh being enchanting. And she is, oh is she ever...