''The Bad Lord Byron'' is a 1949 British

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and s ...

film about the life of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

. It was directed by David MacDonald and starred

Dennis Price Dennistoun Franklyn John Rose Price (23 June 1915 – 6 October 1973) was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Louis Mazzini in the film '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) and for his portrayal of the omnicompetent valet Jeeve ...

as Byron with

Mai Zetterling Mai Elisabeth Zetterling (; 24 May 1925 – 17 March 1994) was a Swedish film director, novelist and actor. Early life Zetterling was born in Västerås, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actor at the age of 17 at ...

, Linden Travers and Joan Greenwood.

Plot

The film sees life from the perspective of Lord Byron, seriously wounded in Greece where he is fighting for

Greek independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

. From his deathbed, Byron remembers his life and many loves, imagining that he's pleading his case before a celestial court. The first witness called is

Lady Caroline Lamb Lady Caroline Lamb (née Ponsonby; 13 November 1785 – 25 January 1828) was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and novelist, best known for ''Glenarvon'', a Gothic novel. In 1812 she had an affair with Lord Byron, whom she described as "mad, bad, and ...

who recalls their relationship. She met Byron after a ball and they began an affair. He writes the poem ''

She Walks in Beauty "She Walks in Beauty" is a short lyrical poem in iambic tetrameter written in 1814 by Lord Byron, and is one of his most famous works. It is said to have been inspired by an event in Byron's life. On 11 June 1814, Byron attended a party in Lon ...

'' about another woman, causing Lady Caroline to stab herself with a broken glass. He breaks things off and Lady Caroline is sent to Ireland. The next witness is Annabella Milbanke who talks about her romance and marriage to Byron, including the birth of their child. The third witness is

Augusta Leigh Augusta Maria Leigh (''née'' Byron; 26 January 1783 – 12 October 1851) was the only daughter of John "Mad Jack" Byron, the poet Lord Byron's father, by his first wife, Amelia, née Darcy (Lady Conyers in her own right and the divorced wife ...

, with whom Annabelle thought Byron was having an affair, although Augusta denies it.

John Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton, (27 June 1786 – 3 June 1869), known as Sir John Hobhouse, Bt, from 1831 to 1851, was an English politician and diarist. Early life Born at Redland near Bristol, Broughton was the eldest son of Sir ...

is the fourth witness. He talks about Byron's political career and how he became famous overnight through his poetry and meeting

Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli (1800–1873) was the married lover of Lord Byron while he was living in Ravenna and writing the first five cantos of '' Don Juan''. She wrote the biographical account ''Lord Byron's Life in Italy''. On 19 January 1 ...

. Teresa is the fifth witness. She talks of their love affair while she was married and his involvement in the

Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...

in Italy. Byron leaves her to go fight for Greek independence. The celestial judge (played by Dennis Price) tells the viewer it is up to them to decide whether Byron was good or bad.

Cast

Production

Development

The film was announced in 1945 by Two Cities with

Eric Portman Eric Harold Portman (13 July 1901 – 7 December 1969) was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in several films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s. Early life Born in Halifax, ...

to play the title role (Portman had played Byron on stage).

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

was mentioned as another possibility. The film was to be written, produced and directed by Terence Young based on the books by

Peter Quennell Sir Peter Courtney Quennell (9 March 1905 – 27 October 1993) was an English biographer, literary historian, editor, essayist, poet, and critic. He wrote extensively on social history. Life Born in Bickley, Kent, the son of architect C. ...

, ''The Years of Fame'' and ''Byron in Italy''. The project was not made but was re-activated when Sydney Box took over Gainsborough Studios in 1946. Box had been considering a film based on

Percy Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achi ...

but was also enthusiastic about making one on Byron, who Box greatly admired. He assigned the project to producer Aubrey Baring and director David MacDonald. They greatly reduced Young's script by a half but Box was still dissatisfied with it. Working with Gainsborough script adviser Paul Holt, Box reconfigured the film to consist of a series of flashbacks about episodes in Byron's life. Box ultimately decided this approach was too derivative of ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

'' and made Byron's presence in the film too insubstantial. He then decided to focus the script on Byron's relationship with Teresa Guiccioli but changed his mind with

who was playing that part was not available.

Shooting

The lead role was given to Dennis Price, who said during shooting he felt Portman should play the role. Location filming began in Italy in October 1947. They returned in December. It was followed by shooting in Shepherd's Bush studio. Filming was done by April. A Nottingham City librarian refused permission for the filmmakers to shoot at

Newstead Abbey Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, England, was formerly an Augustinian priory. Converted to a domestic home following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it is now best known as the ancestral home of Lord Byron. Monastic foundation The prio ...

because of Byron's reputation. Sydney Box called it "an example of bureaucracy at its worst." Great effort and much money was spent to ensure the film was as historically accurate as possible in terms of sets and costumes. It was not shot in colour as to do so would have increased its budget by a third, and also as colour cameras were being used on the film '' The Blue Lagoon''. A huge set was built at Shepherds Bush. Filming took eleven weeks. Before the film was released, the US announced they would not allow the film to be screened there because of the relationship between Byron and his half-sister, even though it was not featured in the film. Sydney Box later heard a radio play about Byron, ''The Trial of Lord Byron'' by Laurence Kitchin which he thought would tie up some loose ends of the film. It consisted of Byron being hauled before a celestial court and forced to justify his actions. Box bought the rights to the radio play and had David MacDonald shoot 22 minutes of retakes in two days.

Reception

Critical

The movie received bad reviews. Dennis Price later said "One day I hope to have enough money to make another Byron film — the real story. And if I could get hold of all the scenes we shot and which never appeared in the film, two-thirds of the job would be done." A critic for ''

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 ...

'' has written of the film:

Box-office

The film was a box-office disaster. By the end of its theatrical first-run release, in 1953, it had earned £75,000, recording a loss of £179,200.

Book

Sydney Box and Vivian Cox wrote a book on the making of the film which was published in 1949.

References

External links

*
''Bad Lord Byron''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Lord Byron, The 1949 films 1940s historical drama films 1940s biographical drama films British biographical drama films British historical drama films Films set in the 19th century British black-and-white films Films set in London Films set in Greece Films directed by David MacDonald (director) Biographical films about poets 1949 drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films