Cromwell (1970)

Oliver Cromwell can no longer tolerate King Charles' policies, and the self-interest of the ruling class, and leads a civil war to install Parliament as the ultimate ruler of England.

Director:

Ken Hughes

Writer:

Ken Hughes (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Harris, Alec Guinness, Robert Morley

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Harris	...	Oliver Cromwell
Alec Guinness	...	King Charles 'Stuart' I
Robert Morley	...	The Earl of Manchester
Dorothy Tutin	...	Queen Henrietta Maria
Frank Finlay	...	John Carter
Timothy Dalton	...	Prince Rupert
Patrick Wymark	...	The Earl of Strafford
Patrick Magee	...	Hugh Peters
Nigel Stock	...	Sir Edward Hyde
Charles Gray	...	The Earl of Essex
Michael Jayston	...	Henry Ireton
Richard Cornish	...	Oliver Cromwell II
Anna Cropper	...	Ruth Carter
Michael Goodliffe	...	Solicitor General
Jack Gwillim	...	General Byron

Storyline

Disgusted with the policies of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell plans to take his family to the New World. But on the eve of their departure, Cromwell is drawn into the tangled web of religion and politics that will result in the English Civil War.

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Plot Keywords:

king | parliament | tyranny | roundhead | religion | 

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Taglines:

In his raised fist, the power of the people !

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 July 1970 (UK)

Also Known As:

Cromwell, hombre de hierro

Filming Locations:

Hatfield House, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£3,750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Irving Allen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final version of this movie, at one stage, was three hours long, but it was cut down to two hours and nineteen minutes, deleting several featured roles in the process including: Felix Aylmer (in his final movie) as an archbishop, and Bryan Pringle, Peter Bennett, Tony Caunter, and George A. Cooper.

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Goofs

Cromwell is present at the King's execution. In fact he did not attend, but went to a prayer meeting instead.

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Quotes

Thomas Fairfax: I seem to remember we cut off the head of a king for such as this.

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Connections

Referenced in The South Bank Show: Sir Alec Guinness (1985)

User Reviews

Oliver's army is here to stay.

The movie is some kind of misnomer ,cause Cromwell's reign is reduced to a short laudatory comment at the end of the movie.However,the film is good with a splendid cast.Richard Harris is every inch a puritan,never cracking a smile during the 2hours+ film.Harris's performance unlayers every nuance of his strength and his weakness (perhaps his best moment is when he discovers the man he's just executed was right).

Alec Guiness's king is impressive and his relationship with the catholic queen should have been more developed .Dame Dorothy Tutin's rendering is subtle and she makes all her scenes count.There is also Robert Morley and Timothy Dalton who give strong support.

Queen Henrietta took refuge in France and her daughter Henriette married the king Louis XIV 's brother ,"Monsieur" .Sadly she was to pass away at a very early age probably of peritonitis(few historians still speak of poisoning).

"Cromwell" ,which I saw when it was released ,has stood the test of time quite well,thanks to all these wonderful actors.In his own way,Cromwell was an incorruptible person ,ahead of his time,who predates Robespierre .The fact that he substituted a dictatorship for another one does not ruin his main revolutionary idea:a king is not infallible, the absolute monarchy means tyranny.A century and a half later ,minister Turgot told Louis XVI :"do not forget Charles the first,Sire!"