Glorious 39 (2009)

The adopted daughter of a privileged British politician uncovers a family secret in the weeks leading up to World War II.

Director:

Stephen Poliakoff

Writer:

Stephen Poliakoff

Stars:

Romola Garai, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romola Garai	...	Anne
Eddie Redmayne	...	Ralph
Juno Temple	...	Celia
Toby Regbo	...	Michael
Christopher Lee	...	Walter
Corin Redgrave	...	Oliver
Charlie Cox	...	Lawrence
David Tennant	...	Hector
Bill Nighy	...	Alexander
Jeremy Northam	...	Balcombe
Katharine Burford	...	Lucy
Jenny Agutter	...	Maud
Julie Christie	...	Aunt Elizabeth
Hugh Bonneville	...	Gilbert
Asier Newman	...	Mick

Storyline

1939 is set between present-day London and the idyllic British countryside in the time before the beginning of the Second World War. At a time of uncertainty and high tension, the story revolves around the formidable Keyes family, who are keen to uphold and preserve their very traditional way of life. The eldest sibling Anne is a budding young actress who is in love with Foreign Office official Lawrence, but her seemingly perfect life begins to dramatically unravel when she stumbles across secret recordings of the pro-appeasement movement. While trying to discover the origin of these recordings, dark secrets are revealed which lead to the death of a great friend. As war breaks out Anne discovers the truth and flees to London to try to confirm her suspicions, but she is caught and imprisoned and only then does she finally begin to discover how badly she has been betrayed.

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Plot Keywords:

adopted daughter | foreign office | actress | hitchcockian | animal cremation | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent images, language and brief sexuality/nudity

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 November 2009 (UK)

Also Known As:

1939

Filming Locations:

Castle Acre Priory, Swaffham, Norfolk, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£3,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£7,654 (United Kingdom), 22 November 2009, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films,UK Film Council,Screen East Content Investment Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Romola Garai and Juno Temple appeared in Atonement (2007).

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Quotes

Elizabeth: This little war makes everything uncertain...

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Connections

Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 12 August 2011 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Walkin' & Swingin'
(Mary Lou Williams)
Performed by Benny Goodman
Courtesy of GRP Records
Licensed by kind permission of Universal Music Operation Ltd.

User Reviews

An interesting movie set in pre-war England about appeasing Hitler. Slow but will keep you entertained and watching. I say B-

After finding secret pro-appeasement (for the Nazis) recordings Anne (Garai) becomes involved in a secret, violent conspiracy, set in England in 1939. After one of her friends who speaks out against Hitler is found dead, Anne begins to dig deeper into the reasons for his death. This is a very interesting movie. It is both compelling and slow moving. It is tense but it drags in spots. It kept me watching but my mind did wander a bit. This is overall a good movie but you need to be in the mood for it. You really feel for Anne and the way her life begins to fall apart. I am a fan of historical movies so I really liked that aspect of it. This movie had the feel of a made-for-TV movie, although it would have been an HBO movie with the quality of it. I recommend this but again, it's not for everyone, and you need to be in the mood to watch a movie like this one. I give it a B-.

Would I watch again? - Probably not