BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE

UK, 1948, 135 minutes, Colour.
David Niven, Margaret Leighton, Judy Campbell, Jack Hawkins, Finlay Currie, John Laurie, Hugh Kelly.
Directed by Anthony Kimmins.

Bonnie Prince Charlie is a very ambitious film, made in the United Kingdom only three years after the end of World War Two. While there had been strong British film-making during the war, especially at Gainsborough Studios, the post-war years saw some attempts at re-creation of older British history (Saraband for Dead Lovers about the beginning of the Hanoverian rule in England).

The film is about the Scottish rising in the 18th century against the British. Prince Charles Stuart was the last of the Stuart dynasty from Scotland who came to rule in England after the death of Elizabeth and the end of the Tudors. Charles I was executed, Charles II achieved the Restoration, his brother James was attacked by the Protestants and was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. His Catholic lineage included two grandsons, Prince Charles and Henry who became a priest and a cardinal in Rome. Charles Stuart led an uprising in Scotland – and advanced into England, not all that far from London and then retreated. He was eventually beaten at the Battle of Culloden.

David Niven is rather debonair as Bonnie Prince Charlie. Margaret Leighton is the heroine Flora McDonald?. (There was a 1923 version of Bonnie Prince Charlie with songwriter Ivor Novello (who appeared in Hitchcock’s The Lodger) as Bonnie Prince Charlie and Gladys Cooper as Flora McDonald?.

The film was directed by writer-director Anthony Kimmins. Kimmins directed a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s and such idiosyncratic films as Mine Own Executioner as well as the comedy The Captain’s Paradise. He made two films in Australia in the 1950s, Smiley and Smiley Gets a Gun.

1. The appeal of costume drama, historical adventure, history? A past age, romance and danger? The legendary aspects?

2. The appeal of the Stuarts, for the English, for Scotland? The history of a rebellion. of a charming prince, history of lost hopes? How well did the film present these?

3. The use of colour, Scottish locations, the re-creation of the Eighteenth century settings?

4. The status of Scotland in 1745, the opening,, the dominance of the Hanoverian kingdom, the influence in Scotland, the Scottish patriotic songs and their being banned, the gradual subjugation of Scotland, the union with England? The weakness of the claim? Past dreams and memories? Hopes and the realism of their fulfilment? Romanticism? How well did the film capture and present this?

5. The contrast with the Stuarts in Rome, their plans, loyalties, dreams? Were they realistic? King James in exile, the legacy of Bonnie Prince Charlie?

6. The character of Charlie and his hopes? His involvement in the enterprise, sailing to Scotland, the drama of his arrival? A man of skill, a possibility as an English king? The irony since the audience knew of the failure of his attempt?

7. The calling of the clans and the heightened patriotism and expectations? The discussion about joining the rebellion, the various motivations, the trust in the prince? What did the clans hope for?

8. The contrast with Murray, his service with the Hanover regime, his self-absorption and military skill? His standing up to the princes, his pride? His acknowledgement of the prince's skill in the victory when the soldiers went through the marches? The tribute of the English soldiers? The glamour, the isolation and so near to London? The decision for the retreat? The drama of the prince's appeal and nobody listening to him? The irony of the English bluff? The retreat, the disaster at Culloden? Murray’s acknowledgement of his error? The prince and the hopelessness of his cause?

9. The effect on the clans, the effect on Charles and his becoming a fugitive, British justice, spies and searching him out? The dangers for the prince, the support of Donald?

10. The role of Flora McDonald? Her character, her role in the household of her stepfather, her skill, encounter with the prince, the details of her helping him and the persons she enlisted? The help of the boat captain, the people on Skye? Her sharing the dangers with him in the fog? Her achievement, her place in history?

11. The picture of the English pursuers and their vengeance, their torture and their harshness?

12. The atmosphere of patriotism, especially with the music and the popular songs? What had Prince Charlie achieved in fact? In legend?