Two Historical Romances

That Hamilton Woman (1941) / Alexander Korda. Laurence Olivier and Vivian Leigh appear in this black-and-white-but-should-have-been-color historical costumer about the doomed love affair between England’s greatest navel hero Lord Horatio Nelson and the former showgirl Emma Hamilton. The only tiny stumbling block to their bliss is that they happened to be married. To two other people. Leigh is the real star here (only her second film after GWTW) and she is the one who sells it. Late in the movie, after Emma has met Lady Nelson, she tries to break up with Lord Nelson, telling him how wrong it was to hurt his wife and her husband, how selfish they were, even how evil. I wonder how close to her real feelings this came or did it not occur to her at all. You see, Leigh and Olivier were practically newlyweds, themselves, having recently divorced two other people so they could marry. Her emotion at that moment sure seemed real. Acting? Self-revelation? Who knows? Viv and Larry are marvelous and a joy to watch. There is fine acting from supporting players Alan Mowbray as Lord Hamilton, Emma’s husband and Gladys Cooper as Lady Nelson, and Sara Allgood as Emma’s loyal mother.

Young Bess (1953) / George Sidney. We move now to another historical costume drama, this time the focus is on the young daughter of Henry VIII who would become Queen Elizabeth I. Jean Simmons, at 24 years old, has no trouble playing a teen girl finding her own personality – which turns out to be forceful and powerful. The only scene that she can’t quite rise to comes at a climactic trial where she answers charges of treason in front of the Privy Council and faces them down, even striking the Lord Protector of England (Guy Rolfe) across the face with a horse whip for insulting her mother. We see that the major influence on her was the Lord Admiral of the Navy, Thomas Seymour (Stewart Granger), brother of Jane Seymour the third wife of King Henry who came after Elizabeth’s mother. Elizabeth falls in love with him in spite of the difference in their ages. It gets more complicated. After her father’s death, Elizabeth becomes very close to the VIII’s last wife, Catherine Parr (Deborah Kerr) only to find out that the dowager Queen is in love with Thomas and they want to be married. It all seems very sophisticated, but tough on Bess. It is shot in glorious Technicolor by cinematographer Charles Rosher, but in the old Academy aspect ratio. “Young Bess” was released in May of 1953. Just seven months later, “The Robe,” also with Jean Simmons, became the first wide-screen (Cinemascope) feature.

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