That Hamilton Woman

"The year's most exciting team of screen lovers!"

1941 2h 5m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 95

DramaHistoryRomance

Synopsis

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The story of courtesan and dance-hall girl Emma Hamilton, including her relationships with Sir William Hamilton and Admiral Horatio Nelson and her rise and fall, set during the Napoleonic Wars.

“The year's most exciting team of screen lovers!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Vivien Leigh
Emma, Lady Hamilton
Laurence Olivier
Lord Horatio Nelson
Alan Mowbray
Sir William Hamilton
Sara Allgood
Mrs. Cadogan-Lyon
Gladys Cooper
Lady Francis Nelson
Henry Wilcoxon
Captain Hardy
Heather Angel
Mary Smith
Halliwell Hobbes
Rev. Nelson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alexander Korda
Writers: R.C. Sherriff, Walter Reisch
Languages: English, French, Italian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

85 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alexander Korda, shot by Rudolph Maté. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier and Alan Mowbray carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The year's most exciting team of screen lovers!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0034272 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 95 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alexander Korda directs. Rudolph Maté behind the camera. Miklós Rózsa scores. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

185 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Italian.
3Directed by Alexander Korda, shot by Rudolph Maté. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier and Alan Mowbray carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The year's most exciting team of screen lovers!".
7IMDB entry: tt0034272 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 95 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 15 themes, including "adultery", "ambassador", "courtesan", "naples, italy".

The technical file

Cinematography: Rudolph Maté
Original score: Miklós Rózsa
Production design: Vincent Korda
Costume design: René Hubert
Makeup / hair: Robert Stephanoff
Runtime: 125 min · 2h 5m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: That Hamilton Woman (1941)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Sound

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Alexander Korda

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-25
★ 7/10
Vivien Leigh is wonderfully purposeful, yet flighty, in this depiction of the life and love of Lady Emma Hamilton. Brought to Naples under false pretences by the British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples - Sir William Hamilton (Alan Mowbray), she decides it is better to remain there as his fabulously wealthy trophy wife rather than to risk returning home with her mother to debt and ruin at home. Gradually she ingratiates herself with the court, becomes an intimate of the Queen and when Horatio Nelson (Laurence Olivier) arrives, she is well placed to ensure he has all the help he needs to fend off the Napoleonic forces. Their ensuing romance is the stuff of historical legend and Alexander Korda manages to keep that story progressing tenderly and intimately. Olivier isn't the best here - his performance is, I felt, overly stilted. Even at his most romantic, he falls to ignite any sense of passion, but Leigh carries it all well with good support from Sara Allgood as her mother and Mowbray as her charming but sterile husband. The writing is strong - the script provides us with plenty to develop the characterisations - even some humour too; the look of the film is sumptuous and the ever reliable Miklós Rózsa provides a score that is both rousing and dreamy.

Production companies