The Gathering Storm (1974)

The story of British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, focusing on his place in British life just prior to World War II.

Director:

Herbert Wise

Writers:

Winston Churchill (book), Colin Morris (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Burton, Virginia McKenna, Angharad Rees

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Burton	...	Winston Churchill
Virginia McKenna	...	Clementine Churchill
Angharad Rees	...	Sarah Churchill
Lesley Dunlop	...	Mary Churchill
Clive Francis	...	Randolph Churchill
Thorley Walters	...	Stanley Baldwin
Robin Bailey	...	Neville Chamberlain
Robert Beatty	...	Lord Beaverbrook
Michael Elwyn	...	Anthony Eden
Ian Bannen	...	Adolf Hitler
Robert Hardy	...	Joachim von Ribbentrop
John Phillips	...	Von Brondorff
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Kurt von Schuschnigg
Steve Plytas	...	Maisky
Ian Ogilvy	...	Edward VIII

Storyline

The story of British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, focusing on his place in British life just prior to World War II.

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Plot Keywords:

winston churchill | 1930s | based on book | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Burton wrote in an article: "In the course of preparing myself to act the part of Winston Churchill in the television drama based on the first volume of his war memoirs, I realized afresh that I hate Churchill and all of his kind. I hate them virulently. They have stalked down the corridors of endless power all through history. Lord Acton's observations that "power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely" and that "great men are almost always bad men" apply to Churchill as to all of history's other indirectly great men ... What man of sanity would say on hearing of the atrocities committed by the Japanese against British and Anzac prisoners of war, "We shall wipe them out, every one of them, men, women, and children. There shall not be a Japanese left on the face of the earth."? Such simple-minded cravings for revenge leave me with a horrified but reluctant awe for such single-minded and merciless ferocity - but then so am I awed by Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane the Great, Lenin, Hitler and Stalin. Yet so terrible a personification of evil cannot fail to raise every long-gone atavistic hair down the length of my spine. "That morbid creature, Hitler, of ferocious genius, that repository of human crime," Churchill said of the Austrian corporal. He might quite easily have been talking about himself when he had total authority over the British."

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Quotes

Adolf Hitler: You'll tell them that your visit alone has saved an invasion.
Neville Chamberlain: I can see in your face that you're a man I can trust.

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Connections

Edited into Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 3
(uncredited)
Music by Camille Saint-Saëns

User Reviews

Pedestrian Burton

Burton gets the speeches but it is another case of him going through the motions for the most part and collecting the fee. By 1974 he had been warned to stop drinking but failed to follow doctor's orders. Alcohol rules all his performances after 1974. If you want to see an actor play Churchill watch Albert Finney in 'The Gathering Storm.' He takes the role seriously. Virginia McKenna is the saving grace of this film and the other supporting actors play their parts well. Burton could have given a defining performance here but as usual in his final years all ambition had long gone. Compare this with his performances in his earlier work and it makes for depressing viewing. Robert Hardy who has played the most Churchill roles on TV has a supporting part here. How he must have cringed during the recording!

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 November 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Gathering Storm (#24.2)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Clarion Productions, Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1