Churchill's Secret (2016)

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill suffers from a stroke in the summer of 1953, which is consequently kept a secret from the rest of the world.

Director:

Charles Sturridge

Writers:

Jonathan Smith (based on the novel "The Churchill Secret - KBO" by), Stewart Harcourt (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Gambon, Romola Garai, Lindsay Duncan

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Gambon	...	Winston Churchill
Romola Garai	...	Nurse Appleyard
Lindsay Duncan	...	Clemmie Churchill
Daisy Lewis	...	Mary
Matilda Sturridge	...	Rosie
Peter Agnelli	...	De Gasperi (as Peter Brown)
Patrick Kennedy	...	Jock Colville
Christian McKay	...	Christopher Soames
Chris Larkin	...	Rab Butler
Bill Paterson	...	Lord Moran
Ian Mercer	...	Sgt Murray
Matthew Marsh	...	Lord Beaverbrook
John Standing	...	Lord Camrose
James Wilby	...	Brendan Bracken
Tara Fitzgerald	...	Diana

Storyline

In June 1953, two years after he was re-elected as Prime Minister Winston Churchill collapses following a dinner party at Downing Street. Diagnosed by his doctor Lord Moran as having a stroke there are fears that he may not survive and he is taken to his country home Chartwell. Publicly he is said to be suffering from exhaustion and the newspaper owners consent to printing the deception. As his children arrive to watch over him they feud over son Randolph's drinking and daughter Sarah's less than illustrious film career whilst Winston's wife Clemmie reflects on the loss of another daughter who died in infancy. The Cabinet is informed of events as Moran brings in plain-spoken Yorkshire nurse Millie Appleyard to look after the great man. With her help and his wife's devotion Churchill survives to address the Conservative party conference later in the year, before retiring as premier two years later, the country as a whole being unaware all along of Churchill's secret.

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Plot Keywords:

political leader | winston churchill | secret | stroke | british prime minister | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 September 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Churchill's Secret

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Masterpiece, Daybreak Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Gambon previously appeared in The King's Speech (2010), which also featured Churchill as a character. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), he appears with four other Churchills: Robert Hardy, Brendan Gleeson, Timothy Spall, and Gary Oldman.

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Goofs

Nurse Appleyard has a sailing ticket for the "Rangitoto", a liner of the New Zealand Shipping Company which sailed from London to New Zealand via Panama. The company's ships did not serve Australia and so would hardly be a choice for somebody who was emigrating there.

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Quotes

[Clemmie wants Winston to retire from being PM, and to spend his time at Chartwell. He is determined to continue, despite his stroke. His immediate aim is to attend the Conservative Party conference in Margate. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden has just visited, expecting Winston to announce his resignation]
Clemmie Churchill: I thought Anthony was looking well... if a bit thin.
Winston Churchill: Clemmie, if I'm wrong and I can't get through Margate, then I'm all yours. That's my promise. If I fall, there's nowhere I want to fall ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Too Much TV: Episode #1.1 (2016)

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Soundtracks

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
(uncredited)
Written by James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent
Performed by Michael Gambon

User Reviews

Easily forgettable

I looked forward to this production with anticipation of something great, particularly with the wealth of acting talent on hand. But oh dear! What a disappointment!

Michael Gambon/Churchill took to his bed and seemed to want to stay there and forget about the whole thing.

The rest of the cast looked equally bored and I'm not surprised. Even their combined talent couldn't rescue this tedious and utterly pointless badly-constructed and ill-scripted piece of alleged 'factual' drama in which one of the central characters...the nurse...was actually fictitious. As for the plot...what plot? There's very little plot in it to discuss.

No doubt there will be those who will drool over it and call it 'art', but it's already gone to the back-burner of my mind as easily forgettable, and never to be watched again.

In short it was a waste of time and effort for both cast and viewer.