Winslow contre le roi

This film adaption of Terrence Rattigan's play The Winslow Boy is highlighted by Robert Donat's performance of celebrated English barrister, Sir Robert Morton. It's one of Donat's best performances although he's more Donat that Edward Carson on whom the character is actually based.

If you want to see a more accurate portrayal of Carson and by name than the Oscar Wilde film starring Peter Finch is what you have to look at. In that one James Mason plays Carson who was by all accounts one mean man to cross, but a brilliant advocate. In that film Carson is appearing for the prosecution and he's relentless.

In his own elegant way Donat is relentless also, but he's also one cold blooded fish. As he plays Morton, the part is perfect for one of Donat's antiseptic portrayals.

The story concerns young Ronald Winslow played by Neil North who is expelled from the Naval Academy for the theft of a postal money order of five shillings. I'm sure even back in the Edwardian days this would go down as a petty theft, but it involves the military, His Majesty's military which does not make mistakes as we know.

Half the film is devoted to just letting young Mr. North have his day in court. This isn't America, he has to get permission from the government just to be allowed to defend himself. That is something that North's father Cedric Hardwicke is determined to see he gets.

It costs the Winslow family considerable. Older brother Jack Watling is not allowed to finish Oxford, sister Margaret Leighton's fiancé Frank Lawton breaks up with her because of the notoriety and Hardwicke's health goes down hill.

The Winslow Boy is based on a true incident from back in the beginning of the last century and it has good performances all around. Cyril Ritchard and Stanley Holloway do a couple of music hall numbers to capture the spirit of the time and are welcome indeed.

Still The Winslow Boy is Robert Donat's show and a good show it is.

I hadn't seen this but was aware of its starry remake some fifty years on; having now seen both, this is the better movie for several reasons. Firstly, three brilliant actors in the cast: Cedric Hardwicke, who still fools me every time and it is a surprise and joy to discover it was him after all when the credits roll; Robert Donat, who had another definitive role in this to add to Mr Chips; and the lovely Margaret Leighton, as the suffragette Winslow daughter who isn't at all militant. Secondly, the plot, which manages to weave quite a few threads along with the central story of little Ronnie Winslow and the stolen postal order. And lastly, because of the sparkle and energy of the script and the detail put into every frame. It's a wonderful film which keeps the attention from wandering, and I highly recommend it.

This is my second favorite movie of all time, after A Man For All Seasons. Both are spectacular to me because they embrace, discuss, and analyze philosophies and ideals. Both are also spectacular because of once-in-a-lifetime leading man performances. Scofield, quite justly, won Best Actor of 1966. I think he his portrayal was the Best of the 20th Century -- but I digress.

Donat is equally eloquent, compelling, and vulnerable as Sir Robert Morton. Donat is, in my opinion, one of the best 10 actors ever, and has a screen presence, and an embedded sense of irony, few have ever equalled. Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Margaret Leighton are absolutely superb in their roles as well. And there is a marvelous dance hall cameo from Cyril Ritchard and Stanley Holloway.

The brittle exterior of Sir Robert belies a passionate and sensitive lover of the law. Many times actors have essayed crusty characters trying to hide their hearts of gold, this portrayal goes so infinitely beyond that it makes all others look like pale imitators.

This is a movie that demands to be seen. The recent remake with Northam and Pidgeon was surprisingly good, but this one is pure greatness.

This is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen, and since I turn 92 next month, I have seen a fair number of movies. Robert Donat, one of England's greatest actors ever, embodies the true-life soul of Sir Robert Morton, a high-powered attorney, who sacrificed his success for principle. Sir Cedric Hardwicke as magnificent as the accused boy's beleaguered father. Margaret Leighton's chemistry with Donat is flawless. The dialogue by Terrence Rattigan is equally classic. There are also wonderful small bits by Stanley Holloway, Cyril Ritchard, and Ernest Thesinger. If you wish to see a classic English film, almost unknown in this country, rent this one, and you are in for a treat.

Incidentally, there is also a 1998 version of this movie starring Jeremy Northam and Ian McKellen. Although it does not approach the greatness of the original, it is a more than satisfactory homage, and well worth seeing in its own right --- AFTER you've treated yourself to Donat's classic performance.

By comparison with today's more pacey films, Anthony Asquith's version of the Terence Rattigan classic might seem somewhat slow, with long shots focused on the protagonists' faces and frequent use of the shot/reverse shot technique. As a piece of character-focused drama, however, the film could not be bettered. Set just before the outbreak of World War I, the film concentrates on the trial of a thirteen-year- old boy (Neil North), wrongly accused of stealing a postal order. His father (Cedric Hardwicke) is determined to fight the case, and engages top prosecuting counsel Sir Robert Morton (Robert Donat) to plead the case. While the film works as a courtroom drama, its main focus is on characterization; those small facial gestures that appear to say so little but actually say a whole lot about the protagonists' preoccupations. The Winslow family are concerned to maintain their English sang-froid, but that becomes very difficult as the case wears on. Hardwicke is quite brilliant at showing how the case affects Mr. Winslow; his tired expression as the film unfolds is rapidly superseded by a small smile as he discovers the result and staggers outside to talk to the press. Initially Donat appears as something of a cold fish, but he admits to Winslow's daughter Kate (Margaret Leighton) by the end that this is a facade constructed purely for public consumption. The ending is quite unexpected for both of them. For lovers of British variety of the mid-twentieth century, the film contains the added bonus of two performances by Cyril Ritchard and Stanley Holloway.