Edward & Mrs. Simpson
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Movie Reviews of Edward & Mrs. Simpson
Movie Review: Engrossing Story, Excellent Production, Fine Acting
Summary: 5 Stars
This production, in my view, is one of the glories of Masterpiece Theater. The acting is excellent, from the leads to the extras. The story is fascinating, especially if you like peeking at the lives of royalty and the upper crust. Every pound Thames Television put into the show is visible; the settings are authentic or look it; the costumes appear bespoke, as they say; and everyone's manners are immaculate, even if what they do isn't.
It's the story of the affair between Edward, Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, and Wallis Warfield Simpson, an American twice-married divorcee. It starts just before he meets her and ends shortly after he abdicates the British throne to marry "the woman I love." He became the Duke of Windsor and she his Duchess. It was probably the biggest story of its time. The program runs for six 60 minute installments. Because of the style, the acting and the story of these two people, who are so self-indulgent and so obtuse (on his part) and so calculating and brittle (on her part), it never seems boring.
Edward, played by Edward Fox, is a man of great charm and handsome appearance, a man girls swoon over and men wish to be like. He's also privileged, unselfconsciously selfish and not really too bright. He's a man who seems most comfortable with older women, women who can cosset and coo over him. His mistresses have all been older and married. Edward Fox, a fine actor, is wonderful in the part. (For those who might not recognize his name, he was the Jackal in The Day of the Jackal). Wallis, played by Cynthia Harris, is a woman who can seem hard and even scheming, but who also has some vulnerability about her that makes her at least somewhat sympathetic.
Among the fine cast is Nigel Hawthorne as Walter Monckton, one of Edward's loyal but realistic counsellors; Cherie Lunghi as Lady Thelma Furness, a mistress Edward casts off by simply telling his switchboard not to accept anymore of her calls; David Waller as Stanley Baldwin, the shrewd prime minister; and Jessie Mathews as Wallis' Aunt Bessie Merryman, all pink and plump and powdered...and keen-eyed. (Mathews in the Thirties was the toast of the London stage, singing and dancing in a number of musicals. She introduced Rodgers and Hart's "Dancing on the Ceiling.")
If you like Masterpiece Theater or similar shows, I think you'll like this program very much. The DVD picture is very good. Unfortunately, there is only one extra, A&E's Biography of Wallis Simpson. Not even any cast bios.
Movie Review: History Repeats Itself
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had the VHS version for years and once or twice a year I sit down and watch it with a cup of tea by my side. It's difficult to believe it is already 25 years since it aired on television. Amazing how time flies and history repeats itself. The acting is superb. The actors are almost the mirror-image of the actual Edward and Wallis Simpson. There is one scene that is worth the price of the two discs: When the Duke of Windsor's girlfriend returns from her visit to the US, is invited to the Duke's home for tea and is startled to see her best friend, Mrs. Simpson rush in with the Prince acting as if she owns the place. There is the wink and the nod that told the world: this is serious. I never tire of looking at that.
At the time people in certain circles couldn't get enough of the Prince and Mrs. Simpson. Then, when they fell out of favor and were banished from England, those closest to them were banished as well. The same thing pretty much happened after Prince Charles and Lady Diana's divorce. Those people close to Diana were no longer welcome at certain events. Now it's Charles and Camilla. The people who rallied to their side after the separation are safe, for now. For such a small island England has mesmerized the world for centuries and centuries.
While the Charles and Diana story will be around for some time, 100 years from now, people will still be reading and talking about the Duke of Windsor and the American, Mrs. Simpson. This film gives you the entire story from beginning to the beginning of the end. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a deep affection for England (as do I) and a love of history. Beautifully done.
Movie Review: Edward and Mrs. Simpson in Black and White
Summary: 5 Stars
I like this Thames Television/A&E version immensely. It's in color of course. Edward Fox and Cynthia Harris are Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. The setting, costumes, dialogue: all these are so authentic. Whenever I see this version, I feel overwhelming sympathy for both Wallis and Edward. I tend to feel that love trumps duty in a competition when opposed to an institution that has several "heirs." For a job such as that, anyone can follow the traditional protocols, but for a real love there are only the two individuals. The real evil in this story was that the Duke of Windsor's family did not forgive him for so many years in support of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon's (Elizabeth II's mother; George VI's wife) revenge. Boooo! Now how noble is stubborn revenge??? And how noble is it to risk everything for love???
I am appeased when I realize that exile was not too bad for them, nor was a frivolous life of pleasure, as opposed to giving up a love that stood the test of time by doing what institutionalized mindsets want. I feel that if you don't have a chance at real love, then hey, . . . love a dog, cat, or your job. But if you can give and receive love, then this is a miracle not to be missed.
Of course, there are stories of how Wallis abused the Duke, and how he was some kind of wimp, but I find far better and stronger evidence to support their mutual love.
Please see the A&E Biography Documentary at the end of Disk 2. It is a needed conclusion to what happened after the wedding.
I will love like the Duke of Windsor if it kills me.
Movie Review: God saved the Prince.
Summary: 5 Stars
LOVE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FEELING IN THE WORLD,BECAUSE IT CAN BE SHARED EVEN BY POORS.
Documentaries that reveal the past is wonderful,you can see persons who were born in the World of 'black and white'.Individuals who had lived 'their moments'.
I appreciated the courage of young Edward who abdicated and renounced the throne and lived HIS LIFE as he wished.
Windsor dynasty has impressed me since I was a child.
I even visited the Buckingham Palace in 2001.
There are lots of documentaries and magazines regarding the royal family,this movie appears to be another support.
The prince who gambled everything for LOVE.
It wouldn't also be bad for a rainy day....a sophisticated telenovela
plus documentary.
Movie Review: A great production...
Summary: 5 Stars
...and possibly as close to this story as we can now get given that social values of 1936 have long since died and changed immeasurably. The story is well known, we all of us have a notion of the bare bones, here the meeting of the two through to the develpoment of the story and their undoubted love for each other is depicted beautifully. Fox is superbly crusty and full of emotionless Britishness, Harris is slightly the bright young thing/fliberty gibbert but she reveals more of the character of Simpson way beyond the demonised manipulator she has been cast as by history. Excellent and compelling viewing with fantastic period detail.