The Divine Lady (1929)

The story of the romance between Emma, Lady Hamilton, and British war hero Admiral Horatio Nelson.

Director:

Frank Lloyd

Writers:

E. Barrington (story), Forrest Halsey (adaptation)

Stars:

Corinne Griffith, Victor Varconi, H.B. Warner

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Corinne Griffith	...	Emma Hart
Victor Varconi	...	Horatio Nelson
H.B. Warner	...	Sir William Hamilton
Ian Keith	...	Honorable Charles Greville
Marie Dressler	...	Mrs. Hart
Montagu Love	...	Capt. Hardy
William Conklin	...	Romney
Dorothy Cumming	...	Queen Maria Carolina
Michael Vavitch	...	King Ferdinand
Evelyn Hall	...	Duchess of Devonshire
Helen Jerome Eddy	...	Lady Nelson

Storyline

A partly fictionalized account of history begins with the arrival of slatternly Emma Hart, a cook's daughter, at the home of Charles Greville. Greville takes her as his lover and grooms her until their relationship becomes an inconvenience. Greville then dupes Emma into traveling to Naples to live with his uncle, Lord Hamilton, ambassador to the court at Naples. Realizing that Greville has abandoned her, Emma agrees to marry Lord Hamilton. Soon, however, she meets Admiral Horatio Nelson of the British Navy. Emma plays a crucial role in convincing Naples to open its ports to Nelson during his campaign against Napoleon's French fleet. Soon, Emma and the married Nelson become romantically involved -- a relationship which will have consequences for them both.

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Plot Keywords:

horatio nelson | uncle | cook | admiral | marriage | 

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Taglines:

So mighty a love story it swayed the fate of nations. (Print Ad- Union-Democrat, ((Sonora, Calif.)) 28 September 1929)

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1929 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

Trafalgar

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 98 min (1994 UCLA/MOMA restoration)

Sound Mix:

Silent Mono (musical score and sound effects) (Western Electric Apparatus)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed silently, but with all sound recorded separately and added in post-production-- the music, singing and sound effects, but no spoken dialog. Filmed in 1928, most studios and theaters were still in transition to the new sound-on-film technology.

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Goofs

During the naval battle sequence a modern bridge can be seen in the far distance.

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Quotes

Romney: Greville, you don't know it, but you've hired a goddess - I must paint her.

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Connections

Spoofed in Blackadder the Third: Ink and Incapability (1987)

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Soundtracks

Loch Lomand
Traditional Scottish folk song
Lyrics by Andrew Lang
Played on a harp and sung by Corinne Griffith (but probably dubbed)
Reprised by her before Nelson leaves Naples

User Reviews

Best Director Oscar Winner

Divine Lady, The (1929)

*** (out of 4)

Director Lloyd picked up the Best Director Oscar for this film, which is the main reason why anyone remembers or talks about it today. While that might be the reason the film is remembered today, the film itself is still pretty good and holds up fairly well. The film tells the story of the doomed love affair of Lady Emma Hamilton (Corinne Griffith) who married Sir William (H.B. Warner) only to cheat on him with Captain Horatio Nelson (Victor Varconi). I'm not overly familiar with the true events but I've been told this movie isn't too close to the truth but that's to be expected. Whereas Hamilton is shown as a rather cheerful and charming person here, apparently in real life she could be twisted and cruel and those sides aren't on display here. With that said, I found the movie to old up fairly well in certain fields but the melodrama has dated quite badly. The entire love story really isn't all that interesting even though the performances carry it for the most part. I found the love triangle to be rather forced as I never really bought into why Hamilton would marry Sir William in the first place. The money might be obvious but I felt that the film really rushed their relationship and that William's entire motivation and feelings are overlooked. The ending is pretty tacky and unemotional, although I'm sure many fell for it back in 1929. The entire look of the film from the cinematography to the amazing sets are a reason to watch the film as are the performances. I found Griffith to be quite charming and she certainly carries the film on her own. The two men turn in fine performances as well. Marie Dressler is pretty much wasted in a thankless role. What really makes this film worth watching is a battle sequence out at sea that happens towards the middle of the picture. The action sequences are very exciting and the stuff dealing with the ships being torn apart look very realistic.