Der Fall Winslow

"The Winslow Boy" has an interesting pedigree. The story is based on a real case involving a young cadet who was dismissed from his school without any sort of trial or due process. It seems in the early part of the twentieth century in Britain, there was a petty theft and the boy was punished even though it was not clear he'd committed the crime. Not surprisingly, the boy's father insisted there was a miscarriage of justice...but what makes it interesting is that the case didn't drop there but made its way all the way up to sessions of Parliament....where the case was championed by an MP. Some time later, the playwright and screenwriter, Terrence Rattigan, resurrected the story and wrote a play about it...and changed the names in the process. Now, some time after the play, the story finally made its way to film and Rattigan teamed up with one of his favorite directors for this well made movie.

It certainly helps the story that two very distinguished English actors appeared in two of the leading roles, Robert Donat and Sir Cedric Hardwicke. Oddly, Donat was given top billing...even though he doesn't appear in the film until about the 40 minute mark! But both are mesmerizingly good...and the well crafted story really makes an impact on the viewer, as they, too, are outraged by the school's high-handed and unfair handling of the case...especially when the accused was a mere boy. Well worth your time.

I hadn't seen this but was aware of its starry remake some fifty years on; having now seen both, this is the better movie for several reasons. Firstly, three brilliant actors in the cast: Cedric Hardwicke, who still fools me every time and it is a surprise and joy to discover it was him after all when the credits roll; Robert Donat, who had another definitive role in this to add to Mr Chips; and the lovely Margaret Leighton, as the suffragette Winslow daughter who isn't at all militant. Secondly, the plot, which manages to weave quite a few threads along with the central story of little Ronnie Winslow and the stolen postal order. And lastly, because of the sparkle and energy of the script and the detail put into every frame. It's a wonderful film which keeps the attention from wandering, and I highly recommend it.

After watching the Terence Rattigan DVD collection (with most of the adaptations being from the 70s and 80s) when staying with family friends last year, Rattigan very quickly became one of my favourite playwrights and he still is. His dialogue is so intelligent, witty and meaty, his characterisation so dynamic, complex and real and the storytelling so beautifully constructed.

'The Winslow Boy' is along with 'The Browning Version' and 'Separate Tables' one of Rattigan's best, containing all of the above and also showing his gift of giving his principal characters an emotional and psychological complexity in a real life situation (if not quite as much as 'The Browning Version'). Was even more blown away by this 1948 film than with the wonderful 1951 adaptation of 'The Browning Version', only because it doesn't have anything that rings false compared with 'The Browning Version's' contrived optimism at the end.

Not only is, again from personal opinion, this 1948 film is the definitive version of 'The Winslow Boy', though it also has the excellent 1976 BBC adaptation with Alan Badel and Eric Porter and the version with Jeremy Northam (which needs to be re-watched but remember it having a lot of good merits) to compete with, but it is also one of the best adaptations of any of Rattigan's plays.

Rattigan's involvement himself with the screenplay has a lot to do with it. It is an incredibly faithful adaptation to the play, practically unscarred and largely untouched, remarkable for a work so text-bound. Fidelity doesn't always come as a good thing when adapted, if too faithful the essence of the work can be lost, here it's the fidelity that makes 'The Winslow Boy' so impressive. Is it talky? Yes it is. That is not the fault of the film. The play is talky. Rattigan in general is talky, but the dialogue itself and the themes that Rattigan touches upon are so amazing that to me this is a rare case of talky not being a bad thing. Rattigan manages to maintain the essence exactly of his own work while also opening up the action and extending it, which immediately gives a more cinematic feel and immediately avoids the potential issue of being too stagy.

Anthony Asquith directs as assuredly as ever, never undermining the intricacies of the events and the complex character dynamic and sharpening up the legal and social dramas and Rattigan's class and hypocrisy insights. 'The Winslow Boy' is a beautiful looking film, lovingly shot with sumptuous settings and costuming.

From start to finish, even when dialogue heavy, the story is riveting, with a much tighter pace than the BBC version, and so much is told and done and in a way where one doesn't miss any of it. The highlight in the play has always been the interrogation scene between Morton and Ronnie, that's the case here in this film as well, some of the cleverest dialogue delivered with nail-biting tension and wit. The characterisation and character dynamic is spot on, where one feels sorry for the right people, amused by the right people, inspired by the right people and grow to hate the right people. The main conflict is so easy to root for (done with real intelligence and meat and one really wants justice done as much as the characters do), and Catherine sums up Morton perfectly in describing him as a cold fish that you grow to admire.

You need good acting to complement all this. The acting is more than good all round, especially Robert Donat whose Morton is even more unforgettable than Alan Badel's and a brilliant performance in its own right (one of his best). More than up to his level are a moving Cedric Hardwicke, a charming and witty Margaret Leighton and Neil North's relatable Ronnie. It was easy to sympathise too with Basil Radford and learn to dislike Frank Lawton in John's eventual treatment of Catherine later on. Wilfred Hyde White makes a distinguished appearance as well.

One expecting a climactic courtroom scene without knowing the play will be disappointed that one finds out the verdict a different way, but that's also how the play ends and it rings just as true this way.

In summary, fantastic film and just as great an example of Rattigan at his best. 10/10 Bethany Cox

By comparison with today's more pacey films, Anthony Asquith's version of the Terence Rattigan classic might seem somewhat slow, with long shots focused on the protagonists' faces and frequent use of the shot/reverse shot technique. As a piece of character-focused drama, however, the film could not be bettered. Set just before the outbreak of World War I, the film concentrates on the trial of a thirteen-year- old boy (Neil North), wrongly accused of stealing a postal order. His father (Cedric Hardwicke) is determined to fight the case, and engages top prosecuting counsel Sir Robert Morton (Robert Donat) to plead the case. While the film works as a courtroom drama, its main focus is on characterization; those small facial gestures that appear to say so little but actually say a whole lot about the protagonists' preoccupations. The Winslow family are concerned to maintain their English sang-froid, but that becomes very difficult as the case wears on. Hardwicke is quite brilliant at showing how the case affects Mr. Winslow; his tired expression as the film unfolds is rapidly superseded by a small smile as he discovers the result and staggers outside to talk to the press. Initially Donat appears as something of a cold fish, but he admits to Winslow's daughter Kate (Margaret Leighton) by the end that this is a facade constructed purely for public consumption. The ending is quite unexpected for both of them. For lovers of British variety of the mid-twentieth century, the film contains the added bonus of two performances by Cyril Ritchard and Stanley Holloway.

Arthur Winslow is the head of a respectable London family; however this threatens to change when his young son is expelled from military school for stealing a postal order worth 5 shillings. Winslow risks his wealth and his family to pursue justice for his son. However when the military court of appeal rejects him he has to appeal to the highest court in the land through MP Sir Morton.

Having seen a recent version of this play I was curious to see another and was glad when I spotted it coming onto television. The play itself is pretty stagy and because of this it doesn't suffer from being dated – the 1948 production values are easily the equal of the 1998 version. The film here differs from the recent version in that it has much more of the legal wrangling onscreen and not off. This makes the film much better as it encompasses both the social battle of the Winslow's and the legal one.

Both are involving and gripping but I must admit that I wasn't as caught up in the social drama as much as I wanted to be, because I felt that any family who's main worry in life was that there son had been excluded from school needn't worry about much! The fact that the Winslow's were able to get the ear of an MP just made it more difficult for me to get into – few people live in such high circles (even if they work in a bank!).

The cast are good. Hardwicke is good as Winslow but the real star of the piece is Donat as Sir Morton. He is very stiff but also has layers that he reveals as he goes – as well as carrying the weight of the legal thrills. The majority of the cast are good in roles of varying sizes and no-one does a noticeably bad job. Some are slight stereotypes but not to the film's detriment.

Overall this is a very good film and is better than the modern version. It mixes drama with wit and romance to good effect and puts the legal drama and the social drama on the same level rather than letting one suffer to the other. It had the potential to feel slow but the drama keeps it interesting throughout.