Nelson & His World

I now get Google alerts re: any mention of Lord Nelson (most of them about pubs of that name). This one, a review on a website for film enthusiasts, of a film made in 1929 about Lady Hamilton might be of interest. Has anyone seen 'The Divine Lady'?


THE DIVINE LADY (1929)
Corinne Griffith in an excellent performance as a British lady in the Napoleonic era who has an affair with Lord Nelson. Melodramatic, as many silent pictures can be, but very gripping and sweeping. There's some excellent scenes of a naval battle, but all pales next to Griffith, who is just exceptional in this film.

It's ages (years) since I saw this film, Tycho, so can't go into any intricate detail. But the general impression I can recall was one of being thoroughly entertained.

The scale of the production (de Mille-esqe) and the surprisingly uncompromising (or shameless - depending on the viewer's perspective) interpretation of the affair were particularly notable.

I admit to being a fan of the expressiveness of silent film; so the flamboyant gestures, the rolling eyes, the theatricality and the melodrama of it all were not at all offputting.

And because the film didn't attempt to drill home any overt moral or patriotic messages; less dated than some far more modern productions.

Definitely worth a watch on a winter's evening.

I wonder if it was a clip from this film that was shown 'on a loop' at the Royal Naval Dockyard Museum a few years ago. The clip showed the death of Nelson - such paroxysms of silent movie agony as he expired! I'm afraid we dissolved in hoots of disrespectful mirth and guffawed at the memory all the way home.

Did you see the film in a cinema, Mira? It would be interesting to see the whole sweep of the drama - and the remarkable Corrine Griffith - instead of the isolated clip.

yes, I can remember seeing excerpts of "The Divine Lady" in a "loop-" when I visited the Naval museum at Portsmouth during Trafalgar week, but alas, it was only a very short clip, and all attempts to track it down on have failed, but I can recommend " I Remember Nelson" which I got from Amazon - it's a US import, but played on my all regions DVD without a problem.

'The Divine Lady' has recently been made available on DVD in the USA, and can be obtained from amazon.com. For UK buyers that means paying international shipping and possibly Customs and VAT charges - plus checking it will play on your equipment, as Tay mentions.