The Woman He Loved

The story of King Edward VIII and The Woman He Loved has been told on two levels, the romantic and the geopolitical. This production starring Anthony Andrews as Edward and Jane Seymour as Wallis Warfield Simpson prretty much opts for the romance.

There is a political angle here though that is barely hinted at. You'll see it in a brief conversation with Andrews and David Waller as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin where Baldwin tells him Germany is rearming and that will be a big problem for his successor. Andrews says while he is king there will be no British soldiers dying on a European battlefield. Something Hitler counted on.

The Prince of Wales and his lady were big favorites with the Cliveden set of British appeasers. After their wedding in France the Duke and Duchess of Windsor did the grand tour of Europe Hitler rolled out the red carpet for them and had he conquered the Unite Kingdom he would have restored Edward VIII to the throne.

But we love to concentrate on the great romance at least on this side of the pond. If thst's what you want here it is for you.

Andrews and Seymour are a fine royal pair. And making what was her farewell appearance is Olivia deHavilland as Wallis's Aunt Bessie who was her confidante.

If Wallis Warfield Simpson had listened to Aunt Bessie the whole course of history might have changed.

How true "The Woman He Loved" is debatable. So why do I say the truth is debatable? Well, in recent years, several documentaries have claimed that King Edward VIII did NOT abdicate in order to marry an American divorcee as was publicly announced but because he was so pro-Germany that he could not be trusted to look after the best interests of Britain as WWII approached. This more recent interpretation seems reasonable, as Edward really did admire the Third Reich...to the point of making some very bad decisions. And, many in government did distrust him...so they sent him off to the Caribbean (where he was made governor of the Bahamas) to get him out of the way instead of allowing him to remain in his own country during the war. This film clearly is meant to promote the commonly repeated theme that he was incredibly in love with Wallace and he sacrificed everything for this love.

So why would I watch this film even though I am inclined to believe the new image of the couple? Well, Olivia de Havilland is in the film...and it's her last film appearance. That is what I really wanted to see. Sadly, she was barely in the film at all.

The story begins with the death of Edward in the early 1970s and then bounces back and forth from that time to 1936-7 when she and Edward were a couple. It really doesn't focus much on their life post-marriage.

For me, this was a tough film to love. I have always thought the couple were selfish and foolish....so I really didn't buy into the who romance angle. It also didn't help that Anthony Andrews was stiff and Jane Seymour, in a few scenes, looked positively grotesque with the odd facial appliances they added to her face. Overall, a film that bored me a bit and whitewashed Edward's love of the Reich...and it's really not even part of the story, which it surely should have been.

Seymour--weird facial prostethics. Ghoulish.

Begins with his death.

A bad rehashing of the Edward VIII story with Jane Seymour glamming it up. CBS wanted another "lavish" mini-series so they just $$$$ all over the place.

First they scored Anthony Andrews, Seymour's leading man from 1982's "The Scarlett Pimpernel" - they sparked well there, despite CBS' best efforts. Here, he doesn't act; he simply imitates Edward VIII - and badly. It's embarrassing to watch.

Then, they scored two other actors: Robert Hardy yet again reprising Winston Churchill - somebody had seen him in 1981's "Winston Churchill: the Wilderness Years." He was the man himself in that production; here we see him only sitting and painting.

And then - for me this was the corker - CBS got David Waller to reprise his role as Stanley Baldwin from "Edward & Mrs. Simpson" - the 1980 British production that did this story right the first time. I saw that one, that was meaty work for everybody involved; here, Waller looked like somebody who just found out he was at the wrong party.

One would think that with all the lavish care and expense that went into this made-for-TV movie, it would reflect something of the taste and manners of the upper class couple--Wallis Simpson and the Prince of Wales--instead of being a mawkish, unappetizing historical romance.

Nor is it helped by the fact that JANE SEYMOUR and ANTHONY ANDREWS give stiff, rather uncomfortable to watch performances in which the events move much too slowly to hold attention.

It's hard to understand why a star of OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND's caliber would wish to play the supporting role of Aunt Bessie since the role is so colorless she just about fades out of sight. At this stage in her career, Olivia was appearing in so many "nobility" roles requiring a regal presence but nothing more.

A trivial movie best left forgotten among all the made-for-TV movies of that era.

Anthony Andrews imitates Edward, Duke of Windsor (but slightly better than Edward Fox did in 'Edward and Mrs Simpson'), while Jane Seymour is a fairly OK Wallis Simpson, a little bit scheming and a little bit vulnerable. She's backed up by Aunt Bessie (Olivia de Havilland, note-perfect but hardly stretched), while he is supported by Winston Churchill (Robert Hardy, good as ever).

It's the usual story often presented in true TV-movie style, very glossy and very referential to the Royals. So nothing really scandalous or new here, and sadly the film remains flatly unemotional so there is no engagement with the plight of Wallis or Edward.

So it is a reasonable effort, watchable television, but nothing fabulous. 'Edward and Mrs Simpson', having the luxury of more time to tell the story, is better; 'Wallis and Edward', getting the casting and pacing wrong, is worse.