Le jeune Monsieur Pitt

I first saw this film many years at school when the headmaster, a most enlightened man, had a film collector show it to us one afternoon. It made a lasting impression. It is beautifully made and wittily written. Donat gives an excellent performance as our most brilliant prime minister who gave his life, in effect, in the service of his country. There are also some superb cameos, most notably Robert Moreley as Charles James Fox. It gives an intriguing, if overdrawn, view of 18th century manners and behaviour. The House of Commons scenes, with members imitating clucking chickens to vent their disapproval is memorable. So no change there, then. And look out for the little man at the end of the row in No 10 as Pitt leaves office for the first time. Pitt lived to hear of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar, so it is not true, as one reviewer commented, that he died without knowing of Britain's victory over Napoleon. But why, with due respect, is it an American import? It is an essentially British film. Churchill raised the money to make it.

Only in England, surely, would anyone set out to make a propaganda movie by quoting verbatim from 18th-century Parliamentary proceedings..!

Admittedly -- as shown in the sequences where Robert Donat, as the eponymous Prime Minister, is howled down in the House of Commons -- the gentlemen of that era did not always mince their words. Still, in common with so many other famous British propaganda products of the time -- "A Matter of Life and Death", "In Which We Serve", "Pimpernel Smith", "49th Parallel" -- "The Young Mr Pitt" is a sophisticated and amazingly literate piece of work: no cheap bashing of the enemy, no sentimental romanticising of the fickle mob, no principle or personage too elevated to bear a little gentle mockery. The film's subject is presented in a manner arguably verging on hagiography (Pitt is Right, Fox is Wrong, and the former has no vices beyond a tendency to self-sacrifice)... and yet it has no qualms, for example, in counterpointing Robert Donat's great patriotic speech towards the end of the film with images of Members of Parliament yawning or exchanging long-suffering glances as he orates. By refusing to treat itself with blind veneration, it creates a depth of subtlety that stands up well in its own right so many years later, where simple-minded tub-thumping would long since have become merely embarrassing.

The script is surprisingly funny, and often sparkles: when a naval official complains that he feels more at home at sea than in politics, Pitt returns the swift quip that his rival Fox will soon feel all at sea at home. We are introduced to the King known to history as 'Farmer George' over a bowl of home-grown royal turnips, and treated to the spectacle of the Prime Minister caught out by some very important guests in mid-pillow-fight with the children of his host. By leavening its message with humour, it humanises a potentially heavy-handed political slant.

It is, of course, a one-man show, and Robert Donat proves fully equal to the task. He begins the film portraying Pitt the Elder in old age, and then develops the title character from one mocked for his youth to the sick and prematurely aged man of the final reels; and does it without overwhelming awareness of cosmetic wizardry, and with the benefit of a pair of fine expressive eyes. John Mills has the somewhat thankless role of playing reformer William Wilberforce in what is essentially the role of hero's sidekick, the ever-present character to whom Pitt can voice his plans and dilemmas for the audience's benefit. Albert Lieven is memorable as the devious Talleyrand, and Leslie Bradley and Roy Emerton make an impression in the early part of the film as the famous heavyweights of the bare-knuckle boxing era, Mendoza and 'Gentleman' Jackson.

Featuring cameo scenes for characters ranging from Lord Nelson to Danton, the film is inevitably a quick canter through the relevant history. It doesn't pretend to be a deep political analysis of the period. But as a flag-waver it aims high, and compared to your average Hollywood 'biopic' it is quality entertainment. I saw this as the fourth film at the end of a hectic day, and even under such circumstances it stood out as a more ambitious vehicle than the -- perfectly enjoyable -- rest.

It doesn't have the complexity of a great picture. But it benefits fully from the restraint and talent of its era.

I don't get that Maltin bloke at all. Overlong? Occasionally moving? I wonder what gave him the right to be so jumped up. Has he missed the humour? The perfect castings of Lom. Lovell and Donat? Yes it might be a thinly veiled morale booster, but hello it was WW2 and I am sure even the USA did these but none quite as good or as able to use memories of an epic period in a long and successful history. Pride does count for something here. All I can say is WATCH IT AND JUDGE FOR YOURSELF and then laugh at how pretentious Maltin really is.

Robert Donat is of course the leading character here, playing both father and son William Pitt with sincerity and honour, but Robert Morley as the indomitable opposition leader Charles Edward Fox is at least equally impressing. It's a very human film watching one of the most important and famous British prime ministers from the inside, his drinking, his health problem, and so forth, but the times around 1800 are conscientiously caught on celluloid, and Herbert Lom practices his great part as the best Napoleon ever before King Vidor's "War and Peace" 1956. It's a great history lesson with great human insights, and although a propaganda film during the war, as a history cavalcade from the days of George III it is wholly convincing and most entertaining, especially the election scenes.

"The Young Mr. Pitt" is a type of propaganda film that the British film industry made...and made quite well. Instead of filling the movie with evil Nazis, the movie is about another period in time...a period when the British people all banded together to defeat a different tyrant.

The film begins just before the American Revolution and focuses briefly on William Pitt the Elder. There are a few scenes with him and his very young son. Now, the film jumps ahead to just before the French Revolution. Young Pitt now is a member of the House of Lords like his father...and soon he'll be appointed the youngest Prime Minister in British history. The film follows him throughout the French Revolutionary period through the Napoleonic Wars.

Robert Donat is wonderful playing both Pitt the Elder and Younger. And, the film looks marvelous and is very well made. It essentially pushes the viewer toward patriotism as well as emphasizes that although the battle may be long, victory is on the horizon....just like WWII. An exceptional film that is probably much more interesting for British viewers or nuts like me who love history.