Bequest to the Nation (film)
Bequest to the Nation | |
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Directed by | James Cellan Jones |
Written by | Terence Rattigan |
Produced by | Hal B. Wallis |
Starring | Glenda Jackson Peter Finch Michael Jayston Anthony Quayle |
Cinematography | Gerry Fisher |
Edited by | Anne V. Coates |
Music by | Michel Legrand |
Production company | Hal Wallis Productions |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 118 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Bequest to the Nation is a 1973 British historical drama film directed by James Cellan Jones and starring Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Michael Jayston and Margaret Leighton.[1] It is based on the 1970 Terence Rattigan play A Bequest to the Nation.[2] The film depicts the relationship between Admiral Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton during the Napoleonic Wars plus others they would meet, including Nelson's nephew: the story takes place before Nelson's heading out to sea for the battle of Trafalgar. In the United States, it was released as The Nelson Affair.[2]
Cast
- Glenda Jackson - Lady Hamilton
- Peter Finch - Lord Nelson
- Michael Jayston - Captain Hardy
- Anthony Quayle - Lord Minto
- Margaret Leighton - Lady Frances Nelson
- Dominic Guard - Master George Matcham
- Nigel Stock - George Matcham
- Barbara Leigh-Hunt - Catherine 'Catty' Matcham
- Roland Culver - Lord Barham
- Richard Mathews - Reverend William Nelson
- Liz Ashley - Sarah Nelson
- John Nolan - Captain Blackwood
- André Maranne - Admiral Villeneuve
- Clelia Matania - Francesca
- Pat Heywood - Emily
- Stephen Jack - Major-domo
- Nicholas Lyndhurst - Cabin boy
- Philip Madoc - French Captain
Critical reception
The New York Times found the film "so thoroughly genteel that it is perhaps best seen before having afternoon tea...Mr. Rattigan ("The Winslow Boy," "Separate Tables") writes period dialogue in the manner of someone regurgitating the cadences of a 19th-century schoolgirl's diary...Peter Finch plays Lord Nelson with a reserved passion that seems intelligently thought out but is not terribly interesting to watch, while Glenda Jackson seems to go at Lady Hamilton from the opposite direction"[2] though Sky Cinema found the film "remarkable for the handsome Technicolor photography of Gerry Fisher and the brilliant production design of Carmen Dillon. There are some touching moments, notably those involving Margaret Leighton as Lady Nelson, and vivid climactic battle scenes. However, the two principals are not very well cast, and while Peter Finch struggles gamely to erase memories of Olivier's version of the role, Miss Jackson responds by stridently over-playing her hand as a sluttish Emma";[3] and Time Out wrote, "Histrionics apart, you come out wondering whether it really matters."[4]
References
External links
- 1973 films
- 1970s drama films
- 1970s historical films
- British films
- English-language films
- Films based on works by Terence Rattigan
- British drama films
- British historical films
- Screenplays by Terence Rattigan
- Films scored by Michel Legrand
- Films produced by Hal B. Wallis
- Films set in the 1790s
- Films set in the 1800s
- Universal Pictures films
- Cultural depictions of Horatio Nelson
- Cultural depictions of Emma, Lady Hamilton
- 1970s British film stubs