That Hamilton Woman
| That Hamilton Woman (Lady Hamilton) |
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| Directed by | Alexander Korda |
| Produced by | Alexander Korda |
| Written by |
Walter Reisch R. C. Sherriff |
| Starring |
Vivien Leigh Laurence Olivier |
| Music by | Miklós Rózsa |
| Cinematography | Rudolph Maté |
| Edited by | William W. Hornbeck |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | United Artists (UK/US) |
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Release date
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Running time
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128 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | over $1 million (US/Canada, 1941 release) ₤119,305 (UK, 1948 re-release) 2,360,970 admissions (France, 1945) |
That Hamilton Woman, (also known as Lady Hamilton and The Enchantress), is a 1941 black-and-white historical film drama, produced and directed by Alexander Korda for his American company during his exile in the United States. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the film tells the story of the rise and fall of Emma Hamilton, dance-hall girl and courtesan, who married Sir William Hamilton, British ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples. She later became mistress to Admiral Horatio Nelson.
The story begins with an ageing, alcoholic woman (Vivien Leigh) being clapped into debtors' prison in the slums of Calais. In a husky, despairing, whiskey-soaked voice, the former Lady Hamilton narrates the story of her life to her skeptical fellow inmates. In one of the early scenes that launches the flashback, Emma, well past her prime, looks into a mirror and remembers "the face I knew before," the face of the young, lovely girl who captured the imagination of artists - most notably George Romney and Joshua Reynolds.
Emma Hart's early life as the mistress of the charming but unreliable Charles Francis Greville leads to her meeting with his wealthy uncle Sir William Hamilton (Alan Mowbray), the British ambassador to Naples.
Greville gives Emma to Sir William in exchange for relief on his debts. At first Emma is crushed by this turn of events. Gradually, however, she comes to appreciate her luxurious surroundings and her glamorous new life. She also grows to respect Sir William, who marries her and explains the reasons for Britain's war against Napoleon. When Horatio Nelson (Laurence Olivier) arrives in Naples, Emma is soon deeply attracted to him and is impressed by his passionate insistence on resisting Napoleon's dictatorial rule. She leaves Sir William to live with Nelson, who is also married. Their idyllic life together is threatened by the continuing war and their infidelity to their spouses. Nelson leaves to confront Napoleon's navy in the decisive Battle of Trafalgar. After his death in the battle, she succumbs to alcoholism and spirals down into poverty and oblivion.
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Wikipedia