''Bequest to the Nation'' is a 1973 British historical drama film directed by
James Cellan Jones
Alan James Gwynne Cellan Jones (13 July 1931 – 30 August 2019) was a British television and film director. From 1963, he directed over 50 television series and films, specialising in dramas.
He was particularly associated with the "Classic Ser ...
and starring
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson (born 9 May 1936) is an English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP). She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice: for her role as Gudrun Brangwen in the romantic drama ''Women in Love'' (1970); and again for ...
,
Peter Finch
Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio.
Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...
,
Michael Jayston
Michael James (born 29 October 1935), known professionally as Michael Jayston, is an English actor. He played Nicholas II of Russia in the film ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' (1971). He has also made many television appearances, which have include ...
and
Margaret Leighton
Margaret Leighton, CBE (26 February 1922 – 13 January 1976) was an English actress, active on stage and television, and in film. Her film appearances included (her first credited debut feature) in Anatole de Grunwald's ''The Winslow Boy'' ( ...
. It is based on the 1970
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...
play ''
A Bequest to the Nation
''A Bequest to the Nation'' is a 1970 play by Terence Rattigan, based on his 1966 television play ''Nelson'' (full title – ''Nelson – A Portrait in Miniature''). It recounts the events surrounding Horatio Nelson, his mistress Emma Hamilton, a ...
''.
[ In the United States, it was released as ''The Nelson Affair''.][
]
Plot summary
The film depicts the relationship between Admiral Lord Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...
and his mistress, Lady Hamilton
Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), generally known as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy men ...
, during the Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
plus others they would meet, including Nelson's nephew, George Matcham Jr.
Much of the story takes place at Merton Place, Nelson & Hamilton's estate, before Nelson's heading out to sea for the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1 ...
.
Cast
Critical reception
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' found the film "thoroughly genteel", and wrote that Rattigan's dialogue was written "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." '' Sky Cinema'' found the film "remarkable for the handsome Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
photography of Gerry Fisher
Gerry Fisher, B.S.C. (23 June 1926 – 2 December 2014) was an English cinematographer.
Biography
He was born in London in 1926. Early employment by Kodak and De Havilland Aircraft was followed by service in the Royal Navy during WW II. Fisher ...
and the brilliant production design of Carmen Dillon
Carmen Dillon (25 October 190812 April 2000) was an English film art director and production designer who won an Oscar for the Olivier version of ''Hamlet'' (1948).
Life
Dillon was born in Hendon to Irish-born Joseph Thomas Dillon and his wife ...
. 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
Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to:
* Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Olivier (surname), a list of people
* Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery
* Olivier, Louisiana, a rural po ...
's version of the role, Miss Jackson responds by stridently over-playing her hand as a sluttish Emma"; and ''Time Out
Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to:
Time
* Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team
* Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken
* Timeout (computing), an engine ...
'' wrote, "Histrionics apart, you come out wondering whether it really matters."
Locations
Lansdown Crescent, Bath
Lansdown Crescent is a well-known example of Georgian architecture in Bath, Somerset, England, designed by John Palmer and constructed by a variety of builders between 1789 and 1793. The buildings have a clear view over central Bath, being sit ...
References
External links
*
1973 films
1970s historical drama films
Films based on works by Terence Rattigan
British historical drama films
Films with 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
1973 drama films
Films directed by James Cellan Jones
1970s English-language films
1970s British films
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