BEQUEST TO THE NATION

UK, 1972, 116 minutes, Colour.
Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Anthony Quayle, Margaret Leighton, Michael Jayston, Dominic Guard, Barbara Leigh-Hunt?.
Directed by Charles Cellan Jones.

Bequest to the Nation is based on Terence Rattigan's play about Lady Hamilton and the mysterious hold she had on Lord Nelson. (Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier had appeared in Lady Hamilton in the early 40's).

Terence Rattigan is a popular and respected playwright who has taken English drawing-room comedies and dramas and developed their wit and precision, as well as widening their scope with the trends to franker drama - The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version were two of his earlier successes. Separate Tables was written by him as were the films of The V.I.P's and The Yellow Rolls Royce. He also moved into the historical field with his play on Lawrence of Arabia, Ross. This film contains a typical presentation of his work - historical interest, some good dialogue and dramatic sequences which do not always spark to become a very important work.

However, Glenda Jackson (despite her avowal that she soon realised the part was not right for her) gives a tour-de-force performance as the slatternly alcoholic Emma Hamilton. Peter Finch and Michael Jayston are a bit too refined for Nelson and Hardy but Margaret Leighton's Lady Nelson is certainly worth seeing.

The film is a satisfying enough historical drama (with a little action added, much of it allegedly from the 1951 Captain Horatio Hornblower) with some good performances.

1. Who was the central character of this film? The indication of the title?

2. Where was audience sympathy in this film? Directed towards whom? Why?

3. Comment on the effectiveness of showing the incidents through the eyes of George. The situation seen by an innocent young man, the eyes of England, the eyes of the world, the eyes of admiration, admiration leading to possible disillusion.

4. How well did the film present the early nineteenth century world? Was it an interesting world? The Navy, London, England, society, Bath society, the functions at Merton, the Admiralty, the Napoleonic Wars, British chivalry, ambitions and achievement? How was this an important back-drop to the personal drama of the film?

5. Was Nelson presented as a hero? How was he seen by the principal characters of the film? What is a hero? Does a hero have to be admirable in every aspect of his life? How did Nelson see himself - as a hero? His reaction to popular opinion? His reaction to the populace? To Hardy? Did you like Nelson in this film?

6. Lady Hamilton: as a person, was she caricatured? Do you think the presentation was realistic? Did you like her? Did she like herself - or did she put on masks to cover a large sense of inferiority? How was she seen by the principal characters in the film, especially by George? Did the outlining of her background explain her vulgarity?

7. How was the relationship between the two presented? Was it believable? Did Nelson explain well that he really loved her? The nature of the bequest?

8. Lady Nelson: did you have sympathy for her? What kind of woman was she? Her life at Bath, her nickname and her being mimicked, her relationship with Nelson's family, her going to see Emma Hamilton at the end, a good woman forgiving others?

9. Hardy: what did he contribute to the rum? The upright Naval man, disapproving of Nelson's behaviour, yet admiring him? His presence at Nelson's death and the famous scene? The significance of his informing Emma Hamilton of Nelson's death?

10. Lord Hinto - as a friend to Nelson, as a friend to Emma Hamilton, as the ordinary Englishman's attitude towards Nelson?

11. The Hachims - their snobbery, their subjugating of feelings to conventions and public opinion, especially Cathy. Machim's refusal to punish his son?

12. The picture of society at Bath. The dinner at Merton's. George's manners when confronting Emma. How did these add to the film?

13. The significance of the letter: to George, to Francis, to Emma Hamilton, to Nelson himself? How was the letter a focal point for the moral issues of the film?

14. The importance of the Battle of Trafalgar in the film? As showing Nelson as a hero, as a person - relationships with the sailors, his prayer, attitudes to the French, the significance and style of his death, his achievement?

15. The significance of the bequest: the encounter between Francis and Emma? How did each come out of this encounter? The nobler woman? The ironies of the comment on Emma's subsequent life?

16. What was the overall impact of the film - history, personal relationships?