Plot
In June 1837, 18-year-old Queen Victoria, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent ascends the throne as Queen Victoria following the death of her uncle, William IV of the United Kingdom, King William IV. She soon shows her independence from the influence of her German mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the Duchess of Kent, and her Belgian advisor, Christian Friedrich, Baron Stockmar, Baron Stockmar. William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Lord Melbourne, her trusted Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister, tells her he is growing old and she needs an advisor. He suggests she marry her German cousin Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Victoria considers Albert too straitlaced and serious, while he thinks she is frivolous, self-willed, overly talkative and too fond of dancing. Victoria decides to postpone inviting Albert and his older brother Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Ernest to visit, but when Melbourne informs her that Albert does not want to come, she immediately changes her mind and insists he come. Britain does not make a favourable first impression on Albert and Ernest; their passage across the English Channel is rough and rain-drenched. When they are first presented to the Queen, Albert is not very friendly. Later, at a ball, Albert tells Ernest they are returning home the next day, but after a waltz with Victoria (the orchestra conducted by Johann Strauss II, Johann Strauss), he cancels that plan. In the meantime, Victoria has decided to marry Albert, but he cannot propose to a sovereign, so she must do it herself. After their marriage, Victoria devotes herself to government, leaving Albert with nothing to do. He chafes at his idleness. When Robert Peel, Sir Robert Peel talks to Victoria about the merits of an income tax with Victoria during a party, Albert tries to join the discussion, only to be rebuffed by his wife. When Albert finally rebels, Victoria is unsympathetic at first, but then gives in and lets him participate in governing. She grows to rely on him. During the social unrest and depression of the "European Potato Failure, Hungry Forties", Albert spots a would-be assassin and shields his wife during an open-carriage ride. The man only manages to shoot Albert's hat before being overpowered. In November 1841, Victoria and Albert's first male child, Edward VII, Prince Albert Edward, is born. After an angry mob gathers outside the palace demanding bread, Victoria and Albert support Peel in repealing the Corn Laws. In 1861, the Trent Affair threatens to bring the United Kingdom in on the side of the South in the American Civil War. Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Lord Palmerston, the Foreign Minister, is strongly in favour of a strong message to the United States, but Victoria insists otherwise, and Albert rewrites it so that hostilities are avoided. That same year, Albert dies. Grieving, Victoria goes into seclusion, eventually resulting in public discontent with the monarchy. Finally, Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, William Gladstone pleads with her to resume her public duties, asking her what Albert would have wanted. At this point, the film switches from black and white to colour, as she heeds Gladstone's advice.Cast
* Anna Neagle as Queen Victoria * Anton Walbrook as Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert * Walter Rilla as Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Ernest * H. B. Warner as Lord Melbourne * Mary Morris as Victoria, Duchess of Kent, Duchess of Kent * James Dale as Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Duke of Wellington * Felix Aylmer as Lord Palmerston * Charles Carson (actor), Charles Carson as Sir Robert Peel * Gordon McLeod (actor), Gordon McLeod as John Brown (servant), John Brown * C. V. France as William Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury * Arthur Young (actor), Arthur Young as William Ewart Gladstone, William Gladstone * Greta Schröder as Baroness Lehzen * Paul Leyssac as Christian Friedrich, Baron Stockmar, Baron Stockmar * Derrick De Marney as Younger Benjamin Disraeli, Disraeli * Hugh Miller (actor), Hugh Miller as Older Disraeli * Percy Parsons as President Abraham Lincoln * Hubert Harben as Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham, Lord Conyngham * Henry Hallett as Joseph Chamberlain * Clarence Blakiston as Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, Duke of SussexCritical reception
''Variety (magazine), Variety'' wrote, "Not cloak-and-cocked-hat historical tedium of pageantry and fancy dramatics, ''Victoria the Great'' travels a long way towards a full and clarified explanation of the most popular ruler England ever had...Anna Neagle, in the title role, gives an unwavering performance throughout. Anton Walbrook as Albert, the Prince Consort, is superb...The film wisely puts its prime focus on the private life of Victoria, her romance, marriage, and personal characteristics. Backgrounded is her public life, and her gradual rise to such high estimation of her people. ''Victoria the Great'' is done with a lavish hand – the closing sequence is in Technicolor [shot by William V. Skall]. The tinting isn’t too good, but serves effectively as a pointer-up for the climax." ; and more recently, the ''Radio Times'' wrote, "It's all fairly tame, and a long way from the rough ride given to the royals of today. Yet Neagle's sympathy for the monarch shines through, and the final reel, which bursts into glorious Technicolor for the Queen Victoria#Diamond Jubilee, Diamond Jubilee, is a delightful piece of patriotic pomp."References
Bibliography
*''The Great British Films'', pp39–41, Jerry Vermilye, 1978, Citadel Press,External links
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