The Winslow Boy (1948)

Synopsis: Director Anthony Asquith, working from a successful play by Terence Rattigan, again provides a solid translation of theatrical material to the screen. (The two had previously collaborated on THE... Director Anthony Asquith, working from a successful play by Terence Rattigan, again provides a solid translation of theatrical material to the screen. (The two had previously collaborated on THE BROWNING VERSION.) The film is based on the actual events in the case of Ronald Winslow (Neil North), a Naval Cadet discharged from the Royal Academy for cashing a postal order after forging another boy's signature. His father Arthur Winslow (Cedric Hardwicke) believes his son's claims of innocence, and after being rebuffed by the school authorities, takes his case to the very expensive barrister Sir Robert Morton (Robert Donat). Hardwicke, as a father who cares about clearing his son's name, even to the point of inflicting economic hardship on his family, gives a performance that is the soul of British rectitude while still imparting the depth of emotion he feels for his wife and children. Robert Donat, perhaps best know for GOOD-BYE MR. CHIPS, here portrays the seemingly emotionless barrister who cares only for the law, in this case the principle of whether the Winslow boy can sue the King for wrongful dismissal. The debate in Parliament and subsequent trial were a national media event in 1912, but the press descending on the Winslow home has a very contemporary feel. Donat's stirring call "to let right be done" echoes beyond it's Edwardian setting to give a universal appeal to this story of a family's struggle for justice. [More]

Starring: Robert Donat, Margaret Leighton, Cedric Hardwicke, Francis L. Sullivan

Starring: Robert Donat, Margaret Leighton, Cedric Hardwicke, Francis L. Sullivan, Basil Radford, Kathleen Harrison

Director: Anthony Asquith

Director: Anthony Asquith
Story: Terence Rattigan

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