Favorite

In the wake of Alexander Korda's worldwide hit with 'The Private Life of Henry VIII', the hunt was on for rollicking stories about monarchs' love affairs. Herbert Wilcox had filmed King Charles II's dalliance with the orange seller and actress Nell Gwyn ten years before, as a silent starring Dorothy Gish. The tale was an old dramatic chestnut, partly because it was set in London's theatreland, Covent Garden: for instance, Claude Rains's debut as a boy actor had been in 'Nell of Old Drury'. Wilcox rushed his protege Anna Neagle into their fifth collaboration as Ms Gwynn, daughter of a jailbird father and drunken mother who was one of the first women to win fame on the stage-- when such ladies were seen as little better than prostitutes. (The new release 'Stage Beauty' gives the background.)

The future Dame Anna was still gamine and skittish, not yet the stately heroine of Wilcox's post-war 'London' movies. Born into poverty in the East End, she had been a chorine, and Wilcox gives her two long dance sequences. When she sings the song that first attracts the King, she is more like a music hall billtopper such as Marie Lloyd than a Restoration beauty. Nell's 'merry monarch', Cedric Hardwicke, who had won renown as an interpreter of Bernard Shaw, is accordingly stronger on cynical wit than passionate captivation; but he gives as good as he gets in their rollicking exchanges. Newly knighted, barely 40, Hardwicke gives the modest but not tatty production its touch of class.

The core of the narrative is Nell's rivalry with his French mistress, who accuses her of treachery. It unfolds between the Drury Lane Theatre, where Nell is in her performing element, and at the Court, where she is snubbed by disdainful aristos until Charles II ostentatiously bestows his favour on her. They remain together for almost 20 years and we do not see the downbeat end of the story: her slide into poverty, despite the King's deathbed injunction to his brother and successor: 'Let not poor Nelly starve'.

There is no sense of greater events beyond the intrigues, but the film is fairly true to the spirit if not the letter of history. Charles was unique among English kings in having lived an outlaw's and exile's life after his father's execution. He mingled with poor folk and sometimes had to disguise himself as one. None ever betrayed him for a reward. That may well have left him with a jaded view of the upper crust and a taste for rougher company.

Like most early-1930s talkies, the sound is tinny, with a lack of bass resonance in the music and dead spots between dialogue where the director could not be bothered to dub on background noises. Performances seem framed by an invisible proscenium arch-- Wilcox's camera-work was never as fluid as Korda's-- but the theatrical style of the West End cast works better than in most films of the period. After all, half the film is set backstage, and the other half is at a royal court never so ritual and artificial (or as licentious) as in the Restoration period. Charles II was contemporary with Louis XIV of Versailles and had to live life like a play.

Alas, Wilcox could not get wide distribution in the States. America had just set up the Hays Office to purge impurities from movies. 'Nell Gwynn' was suspect because she was not married to her Charles: an ahistorical scene showing a secret wedding had to be inserted. Anna's cleavage caused more trouble, ten years before Margaret Lockwood's in 'The Wicked Lady'. And the dialogue was too bawdy for the censors. Words such as 'trollop' and 'strumpet' and sexual innuendos flow freely. A maid calls the French rival a 'dirty, wicked, shameless, scheming foreign whore' and Nell answers: 'We must be fair to her. She can't help being foreign.'

All this was twenty years before Preminger was forbidden to use the word 'virgin' in 'The Moon is Blue'. It would be 1939 before Wilcox and Neagle got the call to Hollywood.

The first time Charles II meets Nell Gwyn is during a performance at the Drury Lane theatre where Nell catches his eye with a bawdry and enjoyable song and dance number. Getting to know her after her shows, the King becomes quite Nell, preferring her honesty and irreverent manner to the stiffer and 'proper' Duchess of Portsmouth. Despite their fun relationship, Nell knows that the polite social circle will never accept a music hall player as one of their own.

Having greatly enjoyed Henry VIII, I decided to dip my toes back into the waters of historical dramas with a rather irreverent sense of humour – there are quite a few of them from the period. I do not know enough about the true history behind this story to know if it is true or not but the sheer comic tone of it and the way a working class girl gets on with the King would suggest that at least it takes liberties with the truth. This rather overblown humour does tend to take away from the actual story and characters and makes it more of a general story rather than one with specific interest.

Happily this doesn't infect the whole film and the conclusion does avoid the 'happy' ending that would be demanded if test audiences got their hands on it today.

The cast are good but they are also responsible for producing the irreverent tone. The main failing in this regard is in Anna Neagle herself; she plays it wide and bawdry but has nothing else in her arsenal to give, she tries to shed a tear in close up at the end but even that is unconvincing. She is not terrible but it is hard to see anything in her character other than loud irreverence. Hardwicke is a bit better but he still struggles to break through the noise and make his king a person. The support cast largely follow suit and are loud and bawdry or as the script requires – again there is nothing actually wrong with this per se but it does make the film a rather one note affair, albeit an enjoyable note in its own way.

Overall this is a lively, bawdry film that shuns detail and character depth in favour of noise, good-humour and entertainment. On one hand I had a real problem with this because I felt I was being served a rather short shift by it and wanted to know more about the people and the facts. However on the other hand I did get into the humour of it and, as a sort of music hall history, I suppose it has enough crowd-pleasing energy to make for an entertaining hour or so.

This is one of my favorite movies. Sir Cedric Hardwicke is brilliant as the lonely King Charles II. Mostly forgotten today, Hardwicke, in my humble opinion, was the greatest actor of the twentieth century. This is one of his most important screen roles and ranks right beside his portrayals of the bishop in "Les Miserables" and Claude Frollo in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" as his best. Hardwicke brings dignity to the role of the womanizing king and portrays him in a kind and sympathetic light rather than the debauched and dissipated image in which Charles is presented today. If only we had Hardwicke's great stage performances preserved on film... Highly recommended for its script, music, and acting (especially Sir Cedric). Don't miss this film!

As kids we were taught about Nell Gwynn at school albeit skirting around the true nature of her relationship with Charles II It s hard to belive that this film was made almost a century ago with the kind of cheeky postcard humour that could be described as the seed of "carry on"

Anna Neagle is as much a british treasure as the monarchy itself or at least she was. Sadly only viewers of a certain vintage will be aware of just how influential she was to British cinema and her versatility is as wide ranging as the characters she plays.

Ive just rewatched this at 6am and it's put a smile on my face to start what is going to be a long hard day.

Sadly as it's black and white and 90 + years old most people will dismiss it out of hand however, if they give it a chance it may well surprise them.

This film tweaked my interest. A long time ago, I read English history, but I don't recall much about Charles II, or the name Nell Gwyn. So, I did some research. Outside of Anglophiles and history buffs or scholars, I doubt that many today would know about Nell Gwyn. But she was real and became famous – and apparently beloved by the English public, as the last and enduring mistress of Charles II, king of England and Ireland. Most of us today can be excused for not having her name at the tip of our tongues. The time period was 1669-1685.

Charles II was born in 1630 but lived in exile until Oliver Cromwell's death in 1658. In 1660 Charles was restored to the throne and his 25-year reign became known as the Restoration. Charles was not a strong ruler, but the Restoration saw a period of colonial expansion and revival of literature and drama. In that revival, Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn rose to be the leading performer and star of the King's Company.

Charles married Princess Catherine of Portugal in 1662, but she remained childless all her life. Charles was known for his dalliances by which he had at least 14 illegitimate offspring. Of all his amorous wanderings, Nell Gwyn was his longest, enduring 16 years until his death. "Nell Gwyn" gives a peek at the king's amorous life, with only one other female consort – the Duchess of Portsmouth, played by Jeanne De Casalis. There is no mention of the two sons that Nell bore Charles. Charles Beauclerk was born in 1670 when Nell was 20. Charles made him the Earl of Burford and later Duke of St. Albans. A second son, James Beauclerk, was born in 1671 and died nine years later. Although illiterate, Gwyn was a very talented singer, dancer and actress. She was loved by royalty and public alike, and she never forgot her friends. The film shows that as well. And, it has an account of Charles on his deathbed asking his brother, James, not to let Nell starve. James II was faithful to his brother's behest and provided for Nell for the rest of her life. That was not long though. Nell was struck by apoplexy in 1687 and died after several months. She was 19 years old and 20 years younger than the king when their affair began in 1669. But she lived less than three years beyond his death, and died at the age of 37.

This movie is an imaginable account of Nell Gwyn and her relationship with Charles II. It is probably a good account of the famous actress and her royal lover, based on written records of the period. One such source is the Samuel Pepys book, "Diary," that gives an account of the upper class of London from 1660 to 1669. It is written in diary form, and the movie opening scene is the opening of a book with that title and author. An Encyclopedia Britannica article on Nell Gwyn said that her last stage appearance was in 1670 after the birth of her first son. After that, she was put up in a fine house and admitted to the inner circles of the court. "Nell spent the rest of her life entertaining the king and his friends, living extravagantly, and intriguing against her rivals." The Britannica article says of Nell, "whose frank recklessness, generosity, invariable good temper, ready wit, infectious high spirits, and amazing indiscretions appealed irresistibly to a generation that welcomed in her the living antithesis of Puritanism."

So, "Nell Gwyn" is a fine showcase for showing the talents of Anna Neagle. The 20th century British star of stage and screen also captured the hearts of the public and royalty alike in modern times. Although, it should be pointed out, that was without any amorous wanderings with royalty. The film has a clever and witty script, with some obvious scenes of hammy expressions by Nell and others. Neagle plays her role to the hilt, and Cedric Hardwicke gives a very good treatment to Charles II. The one standout among the supporting cast is Muriel George as Meg. She's Nell's dresser, mother hen, and all around helper, booster and confidant.

This is an entertaining film and look at a distant period in English history. Although it involves adultery and much sexual liberty, as a pre-modern film it treats these with discretion. Most references are by innuendo. Instead, we get a taste of history with some enjoyable performances from "naughty Nell" and the "merry monarch."