That Hamilton Woman

This movie was Winston Churchill's favorite and for me, has always held a charm. Laurence Olivier is fine as Horatio Nelson but he doesn't hold a candle to his co-star and wife, Vivien Leigh. Vivien Leigh is simply superb as Emma Hamilton and dominates the entire film with her beauty and impressive acting skills. There is no doubt that she is one of the greatest beauties of the twenty-first century.

In 1941,only England was still resisting Hitler.So the parallel was obvious and "that Lady Hamilton" is a propaganda work,which does not prevent if from being highly commendable,thanks to the two leads,mainly Leigh-this must have been her third best performance,in the movies,far behind "gone with the wind" and "a streetcar named desire",but her beauty shines in every scene.

The movie is a long flashback,sandwiched between two "present scenes " in a jail in France.Hamilton tells her story to her prison mate,an English good-time gal:the rise,decline and fall of a courtesan.There are some brilliant lines in the dialogue:Hamilton to her old soon-to-be hubby:"so your nephew sent me to you with his paintings and the bric-à-brac because he's broke!".Her last lines are touching .My mother saw the movie when it was released and how did she love them:"And then?" ,the hooker says " "there's no then" Hamilton replies"there's no after".When Hamilton understands she's lost everything,she draws the curtains and collapses,she seems to be on a stage and the play is over.

Vivien leigh did not make many movies.So it would be a pity to miss this one.

French remake by Christian-Jaque in 1968,with Michèle Mercier,John Mils and Richard Johnson as the leads ,known as "les amours de lady Hamilton."Despite a huge budget,much inferior to Korda's version" Jean Tulard.

This picture emphasizes the fact that Vivien Leigh is not only beautiful but a major talent, too. In some ways, the character of Lady Emma Hamilton does resemble Leigh's earlier role of Scarlett O'Hara, but this is not surprising when one considers the actress is often typecast as the scheming vixen.

In a particularly memorable scene, when the Lady argues with her husband (Alan Mowbray) you do get a sense of Scarlett quarreling with Rhett. But the actress' undeniable chemistry with costar Laurence Olivier, as lover Lord Nelson, is perfect and much more intimate than what she shared on screen with Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind.

In fact, we believe that these two sincerely love each other. Both performers are rather eloquent and yet passionate in this film. And Korda's direction is superb. In addition to the great melodramatic moments, we are treated to some very realistic battle scenes that provide a fair amount of adventure amid the realities of war.

This is a beautiful period piece with the incomparable Vivien Leigh at her peak, just after GWTW and Waterloo Bridge. For a 1940's era production, the sets and lighting are outstanding, and the remaining cast is credible. Laurence Olivier may have been the best actor in history, but I do not appreciate it here. Perhaps this was not his best role. Leigh runs circles around him.

This film is worth a look for Leigh fans and those liking British period work, along with war propaganda. Here the noble civilized Brits are threatened by Napoleon (which is easily drawn to comparison with Hitler, being 1941).

Certainly, this is worth a look. Jolly Good Show.

If nothing else, 'That Hamilton Woman' proved two things: Vivien Leigh is just as beautiful in black and white as she is in the glorious technicolor of 'GWTW'; and when it comes to the cinema, her acting technique on screen is every bit as expert as Laurence Olivier's. (In fact, Olivier himself admitted this when he saw a screening of her Scarlett O'Hara performance.)

At any rate, my main interest in seeing this film was that I learned it was Winston Churchill's favorite movie during World War II, dealing as it does with the British admiralty and the threat of war and domination. As Lady Hamilton, Vivien Leigh narrates the story and since it is told from her viewpoint, she manages to dominate with her beauty and acting prowess. How she rises from abject poverty to become Lord Nelson's mistress makes up the bulk of the story--which sometimes seems a bit unbelievable. However, since both stars were at the time married to others, one can easily see that these roles suited both of them to perfection. Surely, if anyone could identify with these characters, they could!

Slow moving in spots, handsomely photographed in black and white, it is interesting to note how very British Leigh actually was when not assuming a more American way of talking (as in 'GWTW') -- proof indeed that she was a good actress. Of all of her films after "Gone with the Wind", I prefer her in 'Waterloo Bridge' (with Robert Taylor). Following that, I would choose this one.

Some of the ships are obvious models--but other than that, the production is a handsome one. Worth seeing for the two stars alone.