Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years 

The story of Winston Churchill's life between 1929, when he lost his cabinet position, and 1939, when he joined Great Britain's War Cabinet - a period he described as the most difficult in his life.

Stars:

Robert Hardy, Siân Phillips, Nigel Havers

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Robert Hardy	...	Winston Churchill 8 episodes, 1981
Siân Phillips	...	Clementine Churchill 8 episodes, 1981
Nigel Havers	...	Randolph Churchill 8 episodes, 1981
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Brendan Bracken 8 episodes, 1981
Peter Barkworth	...	Stanley Baldwin 8 episodes, 1981
Eric Porter	...	Neville Chamberlain 8 episodes, 1981
Edward Woodward	...	Sir Samuel Hoare 8 episodes, 1981
David Swift	...	Professor Lindemann 6 episodes, 1981
Sherrie Hewson	...	Mrs. Pearman 6 episodes, 1981
Paul McDowell	...	Butler at Chartwell 6 episodes, 1981
Robert James	...	Ramsay McDonald 5 episodes, 1981
Marcella Markham	...	Nancy Astor 5 episodes, 1981
Derek Ensor	...	Speaker of the House 5 episodes, 1981
Chloe Salaman	...	Sarah Churchill 4 episodes, 1981
Katharine Levy	...	Mary Churchill 3 episodes, 1981
Paul Freeman	...	Ralph Wigram 3 episodes, 1981
David Quilter	...	Wing-Commander Torr Anderson 3 episodes, 1981
Tony Mathews	...	Anthony Eden 3 episodes, 1981
Ian Collier	...	Harold Macmillan 3 episodes, 1981
Walter Gotell	...	Lord Swinton 3 episodes, 1981
Tamsin Murray-Leach	...	Mary Churchill, as a child 2 episodes, 1981
Moray Watson	...	Major Desmond Morton 2 episodes, 1981
Peter Vaughan	...	Sir Thomas Inskip 2 episodes, 1981
Richard Murdoch	...	Lord Halifax 2 episodes, 1981
Clive Swift	...	Sir Horace Wilson 2 episodes, 1981
Phil Brown	...	Lord Beaverbrook 2 episodes, 1981
Diane Fletcher	...	Ava Wigram 2 episodes, 1981
David Markham	...	Duke of Marlborough 2 episodes, 1981
Geoffrey Toone	...	Sir Louis Kershaw 2 episodes, 1981
John Woodnutt	...	Harlod Robinson / ... 2 episodes, 1981

Storyline

The story of Winston Churchill's life between 1929, when he lost his cabinet position, and 1939, when he joined Great Britain's War Cabinet - a period he described as the most difficult in his life.

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Plot Keywords:

political leader | prime minister | british politics | cabinet minister | tv mini series | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Churchill w nielasce

Filming Locations:

Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Southern Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (8 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For his performance in this series, Robert Hardy was the only actor to be nominated in the 1982 BAFTA Television Awards "Best Actor" category who was not being nominated for a role in Brideshead Revisited (1981), as the other nominees that year were Anthony Andrews (the winner), John Gielgud and Jeremy Irons.

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Goofs

In the first episode, "Down and Out," Churchill is seen giving a speech in the USA in 1929. A US flag is visible to his right, and the field (with the stars) is visible. The stars are in staggered rows, meaning it is a 50 star US flag. A 48-star flag, as in use in 1929, would have even rows of stars (six rows of eight).

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Connections

Referenced in 28 Up (1984)

User Reviews

Wonderful Story Regrettably Cut Short

Robert Hardy is the most convincing imitator of Churchill I've seen. He is wisely depicted here with his foibles - his rashness and ineptitude in areas beyond his ken, such as the stock market and raising offspring - as well as strengths. And it's a treat to see Siân Phillips and Tim Pigott-Smith supporting.

Here's a story well-told, with interesting locations, too, from Churchill's home at Chartwell, in UK, to the Arizona desert. For anyone with an appreciation of the titanic events that shaped World War II, "The Wilderness Years" provides invaluable background, not only for Churchill as a major player, but for the others - Baldwin, Beaverbrook, Chamberlain, as well as movers and shakers with unfamiliar names, like the oily Sir Samuel Hoare, who manipulated and connived on behalf of appeasement.

Despite the mediocre print I highly recommend "The Wilderness Years" as an enriching docudrama that deserves repeated viewing. My only regret is, that Robert Hardy did not continue the Churchill saga through the war years. What a smashing tale that would have been!