The Prime Minister (film)
| The Prime Minister | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Directed by | Thorold Dickinson |
| Produced by | Max Milder |
| Written by |
Michael Hogan Brock Williams |
| Starring |
John Gielgud Diana Wynyard Fay Compton Stephen Murray |
| Music by | Jack Beaver |
| Cinematography | Basil Emmott |
| Edited by | Leslie Norman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
Release date | 4 March 1941 |
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Prime Minister is a British 1941 British historical drama film directed by Thorold Dickinson and starring John Gielgud, Diana Wynyard, Fay Compton and Stephen Murray.
It details the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It depicts his long marriage to Mary Disraeli and his relationship with various other public figures of the era including William Gladstone, Lord Melbourne and Queen Victoria. Gielgud would later reprise his role as Disraeli in the ITV television drama Edward the Seventh (1975).
The film was shot at Teddington Studios by the British subsidiary of Warner Brothers. The company had previously made a successful biopic of the Prime Minister as Disraeli in 1929. The film's sets were designed by the art director Norman G. Arnold.
Plot
In 1837, London novelist Benjamin Disraeli (John Gielgud) crashes his bicycle and is given a ride to a garden party by Mary Ann Wyndham-Lewis (Diana Wynyard). She has read his novels and says he should be in Parliament. Disraeli asks Mary Ann to help him, so she goes to the Conservative party leaders and gets their support for Disraeli.
Cast
- John Gielgud as Benjamin Disraeli
- Diana Wynyard as Mary Disraeli
- Fay Compton as Queen Victoria
- Pamela Standish as Victoria, Princess Royal
- Stephen Murray as William Ewart Gladstone
- Owen Nares as Lord Derby
- Frederick Leister as Lord Melbourne
- Nicholas Hannen as Sir Robert Peel
- Will Fyffe as The Agitator
- Anthony Ireland as the Count D'Orsay
- Irene Brown as Lady Londonderry
- Joss Ambler as Earl of Carnarvon
- Vera Bogetti as Lady Blessington
- Barbara Everest as Baroness Lehzen
- Lyn Harding as Bismarck
- Glynis Johns as Miss Sheridan
- Margaret Johnston as Miss Sheridan
- Andrea Troubridge as Miss Sheridan
- Nadine March as Mary Anne's maid
- Gordon McLeod as John Brown
- Leslie Perrins as Earl of Salisbury
- Kynaston Reeves as Lord Stanley
- Abraham Sofaer as Turkish ambassador
See also
- The Thorold Dickinson Archive is held at the University of the Arts London Archives and Special Collections Centre.[1]
Notes
The Prime Minister opened in the United States in February 1942, eleven months after its British premiere. The American release was cut by 15 minutes, and among the scenes lost was one featuring Glynis Johns, then beginning her career.[2]
References
External links
- The Prime Minister on IMDb
- The Prime Minister at AllMovie
- The Prime Minister at the TCM Movie Database