The Winslow Boy (1999 film)

"The Winslow Boy" is a 1999 film adaptation of Terence Rattigan's dramatic play "The Winslow Boy". It was made by Winslow Partners Ltd. and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. It was directed by David Mamet and produced by Sarah Green with Sally French, Michael Barker and Tom Bernard as associate producers. The screenplay was adapted by Mamet based on Rattigan's play. The music score was by Alaric Jans and the cinematography by Benoît Delhomme.

The film starred Nigel Hawthorne, Rebecca Pidgeon, Jeremy Northam and Gemma Jones.

Background

Set against the strict codes of conduct and manners of the age, "The Winslow Boy" is based on a father's fight to clear his son's name after the boy is expelled from Osborne Naval College for stealing a postal order. To clear the boy's name was imperative for the family's honour; had they not done so, they would have been shunned by their peers and society. The boy's life would have been wrecked by the stain on his character.

The play was inspired by an actual event, which set a legal precedent; the case of George Archer-Shee, a cadet at Osborne in 1908, who was accused of stealing a postal order from a fellow cadet. His elder brother Major Martin Archer-Shee, was convinced of his innocence, and persuaded his father (also called Martin) to engage lawyers. The most respected barrister of the day, Sir Edward Carson was also persuaded of his innocence, and insisted on the case coming to court. On the fourth day of the trial, the Solicitor General accepted that Archer-Shee was innocent, and ultimately the family was paid compensation. George Archer-Shee died in the First World War and his name is inscribed on the war memorial in the village of Woodchester in Gloucestershire where his parents lived.

Plot

Ronnie Winslow (Guy Edwards), a cadet at the Royal Naval College, is accused of the theft of a postal order. An internal enquiry which grants him no chance of defence, finds him guilty and his father, Arthur Winslow (Nigel Hawthorne), is requested to remove his son from the college. Unwilling to accept the verdict, Winslow and his daughter Catherine institute their own enquiries and engage a friend and family solicitor, Desmond Curry (Colin Stinton) to assist them, including the briefing of the best barrister in England at the time, Sir Robert Morton (Jeremy Northam), should the case come to court.

The government is unwilling to allow the case to proceed, but after heated debates in the House of Commons, the government yields, and the case does come to court. Morton is able to discredit much of the supposed evidence and the government finally withdraws the charges against Ronnie. Although the family win the case, each of them has lost something along the way: Dickie Winslow (Matthew Pidgeon) has been forced to leave Oxford due to the lack of money, Catherine (Rebecca Pidgeon) loses her marriage settlement and subsequently her fiancé, John Watherstone (Aden Gillett), and Arthur Winslow loses his health.

Cast

* Nigel Hawthorne - Arthur Winslow
* Rebecca Pidgeon - Catharine Winslow
* Jeremy Northam - Sir Robert Morton
* Guy Edwards - Ronnie Winslow
* Gemma Jones - Grace Winslow
* Matthew Pidgeon - Dickie Winslow
* Aden Gillet - John Waterstone
* Colin Stinton - Desmond Curry
* Sarah Flind - Violet
* Neil North - First Lord

Cast notes

*Actor Neil North who played the title role in the 1948 version also appears in this version (as the First Lord of the Admiralty). In the audio commentary for the DVD release, Mamet says he had already cast North in the film before he was told that North also appeared in the 1948 version.
*In the DVD commentary, Jeremy Northam claims that film director Mike Newell originated the role of Ronnie Winslow in the original stage production. However, this is false. Northam has confused another actor who is also named Michael Newell, who is now a realtor [http://www.mikenewell.net/] . Mike Newell (the director) was born in 1942, and since the play premiered in 1946, it is not possible for a four-year-old to have played that role.
*Rebecca Pidgeon who plays Catherine is the wife of playwright and director David Mamet.
*Matthew Pidgeon who plays Dickie Winslow (Catherine's brother) is Rebecca Pidgeon's real-life brother.

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