Bequest to the Nation

It's 1805. Adm. Lord Horatio Nelson (Peter Finch) has returned to England from fighting the Napoleonic Wars. He intends to rest for several months, not with his wife but with his mistress Lady Hamilton (Glenda Jackson). Meanwhile, his nephew George Matcham visits and gets entangled in the affair. Nelson is beloved but the Lady is not. Pressure mounts as the French and Spanish combined fleet heads towards England leading to the legendary Battle of Trafalgar.

Glenda Jackson seems to be overacting and the wild, drunken character doesn't feel like Lady Hamilton. Although she may be the only one trying to elevate the drama. Everybody else is rather bland. Only a few characters rise above a whimper. As for the climatic battle, they do what they can with the interior work and they don't explain the battle plan for the exterior work. It's old and the intensity is not at the highest. It shows when the people die in that old showy way. It's a costume drama.

"That Hamilton Woman" of 1941 was a spectacular Alexander Korda production bent on exonerating the woman in question, marvellously played by Vivien Leigh in her prime against Laurence Olivier as Nelson who consequently became her husband. It was a very romantic film romanticising and idealising the affair and story, making Lady Hamilton something of a martyr and a saint, while this film, written by Terence Rattigan, does the opposite: it focuses entirely on undressing Lady Hamilton almost to the bone, making her an almost unbearably impudent self-indulgent and self-derogatory shameless woman, whom no one can understand how Lord Nelson could prefer her to his wife. Well, he did, and his wife even made him an ultimatum to choose between the two, and he actually chose the cheap and vulgar one, if you are to believe Terence Rattigan. His portrait of Lady Hamilton must be somewhat exaggerated, she can't have behaved like that in social life, although Glenda Jackson makes a virtuoso performance of her. Peter Finch is perfect as Lord Nelson, quite credible in his love and weakness for her and still remaining in perfect order and loyalty as an admiral. Lady Nelson is heart-renderingly played by Margaret Leighton, which must be one of her best performances, and also Gladys Cooper made an excellent interpretation of her in "That Hamilton Woman" - both films make her justice. Glenda Jackson overdoes it in all her splendour, and the final battle of Trafalgar crowns the film in realism and admirable reconstruction of the battle. It's a great film although slightly biassed by Terence Rattigan, who did not understand women. An additional triumph of the film is an absolutely stunning and perfect score by Michel Legrand.

England, 1805. After two years at sea, Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, the naval hero, is back. With his star in its zenith he could demand and get any post but for now he just wants to be with the woman he loves. Controversially, that woman is not Lady Nelson but his mistress, Lady Hamilton.

A film that largely explores the famous Lord Nelson's private life. In particular his private life in the months leading up to the Battle of Trafalgar. It's a complex business, which adds a bit of spice to proceedings. However, much of the way it is portrayed amounts to less interesting melodrama, feeling a bit soap-opera-y at times

In addition, the point of all this escapes me. The focus appears to be more on Lady Hamilton than Nelson and she's painted as a rather unpleasant person. I was hoping there'd be a turning point, where some positive qualities come through but she is unpleasant and unsympathetic to the end.

The personal drama stuff isn't terrible, it's even quite engaging at times, but it isn't enough to make an entire movie about.

What makes the film eminently watchable, however, is the battle scene. This isn't any battle, it's the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson's finest hour. A very gritty, lavish portrayal of the battle - very well made. This lifts the quality of the film considerably.

Quite a smartly made British period film. Set in Georgian Britian the film centres around Nelson's relationship with the scandalous Miss Hamilton who is portrayed as a witty yet crass woman, insecure and often drunk and hardly acceptable in society. The film portrays Nelson has beyond doubt a great man but one with a complex personal life. This is not really a war movie and it's pacing may frustrate a modern viewer now. The battle sequence though is fairly well portrayed and I'm glad we have at least one film that depicts this key moment in British history.

The film has a 16:9 aspect ratio, colours are fairly natural and the set decoration and filming locations all looked pretty good to me.

Terence Rattigan adapted his own play "Bequest to the Nation" (also this film's alternate title) featuring young Dominic Guard as yet another go-between: this time observing the relationship between vulgar Lady Hamilton (who quotes others as labeling her "that Hamilton b*tch") and his uncle, Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, who is unhappily married to Lady Nelson, the young man's confidante. Glenda Jackson is rather a hoot as the belching, saucy Lady Hamilton, though she criticized her own performance after seeing the completed picture (causing Rattigan to suggest she return her salary). The ticklish little asides between Jackson and Peter Finch are fun, though there's really no reason to be interested in these costumed monsters and guttersnipes. *1/2 from ****