- Director:
Herbert Wise - AMG Rating:
- Genre: Drama
- Movie Type: Biopic
- Main Cast: Richard Burton
- Release Year: 1974
- Country: UK
- Run Time: 72 minutes
Plot
While Adolf Hitler Ian Bannen builds his war machine, Winston Churchill Richard Burton repeatedly warns England of the dangers the Nazis pose. But most of Churchill's countrymen refuse to listen to him, viewing him as an alarmist. Nevertheless, Churchill continues to press his case at every opportunity. At Chartwell, his country home in Kent, he presides over domestic affairs -- paying the electric bill, comforting his injured pug, advising his 18-year-old daughter Sarah Angharad Rees about the pitfalls of marrying an Austrian -- when a disaffected German officer traveling under an assumed name pays a visit. He discloses that Germans are building U-boats in Holland as part of a 1,500-million pound investment in armaments. In Parliament, Churchill rails against the pacifism of the British political establishment and uses his new information to rouse the governing body to action. But again, the establishment ignores him. In a crisis of another kind, King Edward VIII Ian Ogilvy announces plans to abdicate in order to marry a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson. When Churchill supports the abdication, he further isolates himself. However, he doggedly persists and his predictions begin to come true. After Nazis march into the Rhineland unopposed, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin Thorley Walters resigns in favor of Neville Chamberlain Robin Bailey. Chamberlain meets with Hitler and forges an agreement that he believes will lead to "peace in our time." Then Hitler marches into Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain declares war and appoints feisty Churchill First Lord of the Admiralty. But after an ill-fated incursion into Norway, Chamberlain loses support, and Churchill becomes prime minister. In Parliament, on May 13, 1940, he makes a speech rallying the people, saying, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie GuideReview
This 1974 television drama encapsulates Winston Churchill's struggle to persuade Great Britain to recognize Adolf Hitler for what he was: a bellicose madman. Although the film is too short to examine its theme and its characters in detail, it does provide an engrossing overview of the events and personalities driving British politics between 1936 and 1940. In addition, it presents snippets from Churchill's private life at Chartwell -- his country home in Kent -- including a dinner featuring roast pig and a surprise German guest; a tête-à-tête with Churchill's daughter, Sarah; a confrontation with his son, Randolph; and engaging small talk with his wife, Clementine. Richard Burton gives a lively portrayal of Churchill, particularly in scenes in Parliament in which Burton mimics Churchill's oratory. Although Burton's countenance is unlike Churchill's, the veteran actor's makeup and mannerisms, as well as an ever-present cigar and drooping eyeglasses, help confer on him a Churchillian aura. And his voice -- deep and resonant -- is right on target. Burton also successfully plumbs Churchill's complexity, revealing him as a man of unyielding political resolve whose daughter easily bends his will to her whims. The other actors also perform capably, including Ian Bannen as Hitler, Michael Elwyn as Anthony Eden, Robert Hardy as German ambassador Joachim von Ribbentrop, Thorley Walters as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, Robin Bailey as Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Patrick Stewart as Clement Atlee, and Virginia McKenna as Clementine Churchill. Viewers who like spectacle and marching soldiers will not find them in this film. But audiences will find plenty of cerebral action in which the weapons are words and ideas. The Gathering Storm is based on Churchill's book of the same name.~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Cast
- Richard Burton - Winston Churchill
