THE WINSLOW BOY [1948 / 2019] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] First . . . A Great Play! Now . . . A Great Motion Picture!
Directed by Anthony Asquith [“The Browning Version” and “Pygmalion”] and adapted from the seminal play by Terence Rattigan [“The Deep Blue Sea” and “Separate Tables”]. ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ is a classic tale of standing up to bureaucracy and one family’s testing fight for justice.
Based on real life events, ‘THE WINSLOW BOY,’ Starring Robert Donat [‘The 39 Steps’ and ‘Goodbye Mr Chips’] as Sir Robert Morton and Basil Radford [‘Whiskey Galore’ and ‘The Lady Vanishes’] as Desmond Curry and the story follows the tribulations of an Edwardian naval cadet who is accused of the theft of a Fifteen Shillings and Sixpence postal order, who is then expelled from his academy. On returning home his father Arthur Winslow becomes determined to clear his son’s name and prove his innocence after what he considers an unfair internal enquiry. During his pursuit for justice the case eventually reaches The House Of Commons to cause public outcry and a political furore.
This is a thoroughly British film, and a very searing drama about the conquest for truth and the sacrifices that comes with it. ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ still retains its ability to move audiences with its poignant and powerful story telling.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1948 Venice Film Festival: Nomination: Grand International Award for Anthony Asquith. 1949 BAFTA Awards: Nomination: UM Awards for the film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY.’
FILM FACT No.2: Unlike the play and the David Mamet remake, the 1948 film shows the actual trial, while in other versions, the trial occurs offstage and the audience is told (but not shown) what occurred during it. The Archer-Shee case took place in 1908, while the film is set in 1912-13, just prior to World War One. ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ was one of the most popular films at the British box office in 1948. As of the 30th June, 1949 the film earned £216,000 in the UK of which £159,034 went to the producer.
Cast: Robert Donat, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Basil Radford, Margaret Leighton, Kathleen Harrison, Francis L. Sullivan, Marie Lohr, Jack Watling, Walter Fitzgerald, Frank Lawton, Neil North, Nicholas Hannen, Hugh Dempster, Evelyn Roberts, W.A. Kelley, Edward Lexy, Gordon McLeod, Marie Michelle, Mona Washbourne, Ivan Samson, Kynaston Reeves, Charles Groves, Ernest Thesiger, Vera Cook, Cyril Ritchard, Stanley Holloway, Archibald Batty (uncredited), Cyril Bevan (uncredited), Anthony Bird (uncredited), George Bishop (uncredited), Honor Blake (uncredited), Barry Briggs (uncredited), Wilfrid Caithness (uncredited), Lewis Casson (uncredited), Ian Colin (uncredited), Lambert Enson (uncredited), Colin Gordon (uncredited), Nicholas Hawtrey (uncredited), Mary Hinton (uncredited), Noel Howlett (uncredited), Wilfrid Hyde-White (uncredited), Aubrey Mallalieu (uncredited), Beatrice Marsden (uncredited), Dandy Nichols (uncredited), Hilary Pritchard (uncredited), Philip Ray (uncredited), Bill Shine (uncredited), Frank Tickle (uncredited), Caven Watson (uncredited) and Margaret Withers (uncredited)
Director: Anthony Asquith
Producers: Anatole de Grunwald and Teddy Baird
Screenplay: Terence Rattigan (adapted from the play to screenplay) and Anatole de Grunwald (screenplay)
Composer: William Alwyn
Costume Design: William Chappell
Make-up Department: John O'Gorman [Make-up artist], U.P. Hutchinson [Make-up artist], Charles Nash [Make-up assistant] (uncredited), Connie Reeve [Make-up assistant] (uncredited) and Joe Shear [Hairdresser]
Cinematography: Freddie Young, O.B.E., B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black and White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 118 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: London Films / British Lion Film Corporation / STUDIOCANAL
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: The film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ [1948] is set in 1912, and is about how a well-to-do family dedicates itself to the defence of their young and presumably innocent son Ronnie Winslow [Neil North] after he is expelled from the Royal Naval Academy for allegedly stealing a Fifteen Shilling and Sixpence postal order (a bill of payment, rather like a cheque).
Ronnie Winslow protests his innocence to anyone who will listen, even under the most gruelling questioning. However, the Royal Naval Academy arbitrarily denies his request for a fair trial and defends its denial with the legal shield that “the King can do no wrong.” Neither side will give in, and thus begins this three-year-long battle between a middle-class family and its government over a matter of principle.
Arthur Winslow [Sir Cedric Hardwicke] who is especially fine, and the ailing family patriarch, goes up against the Crown to achieve justice; and Arthur Winslow hires a famous attorney and Member of Parliament, Sir Robert Morton [Robert Donat], whose dashing conservatism both attracts and repels Arthur Winslow’s suffragette daughter, Catherine Winslow [Margaret Leighton]. During Arthur Winslow’s quest for justice the case eventually reaches the House of Commons causing public outcry and a political furore.
“It is not Winslow’s guilt or Winslow’s innocence that concerns us now. It is something greater by far. It is Winslow’s right as a common citizen of England to be heard, to be heard in defence of his honour, so wantonly pitched into the mire because of this monstrous assumption … that the King can do no wrong.” This last phrase refers to the government’s claim to immunity from civil suit, which the heroic barrister fights all the way into Parliament in order to secure a hearing for his wrongfully accused client.
Resetting the film from 1908 to 1912 sets the film at its heart and a typically Playwright Terence Rattigan theme, namely that of a father and son relationship is something that reflected the Playwright Terence Rattigan own strained relationship with his father.
‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ is also superior British entertainment and the remarkable thing is, that it was based on a true story, adapted for the stage by one time darling of the British theatre Playwright Terence Rattigan, who also did the script. Robert Donat gives a commanding, nuanced performance as the highly principled barrister, (who is based on the great Irish advocate Sir Edward Carson) who undertakes the case, and Margaret Leighton is excellent as Arthur Winslow's suffragette daughter Catherine Winslow, who crosses swords with Sir Robert Morton. But of course Freddie Young's monochrome cinematography is totally first rate, as is the amazing supporting cast.
The final verdict comes at great personal cost to the family, and yet David Mamet, who streamlined Terence Rattigan’s theatre play and doesn’t take the material as far as it can go. Here Victory is shown to be debilitating but not all-consuming, and so we’re left with a very pleasing fable about the battle of the sexes and the virtues of persistence of a just cause. Though the film is dated, despite this, it is a thoroughly entertaining top quality British film that is still an immensely enjoyable drama of a wrong made right.
THE WINSLOW BOY MUSIC TRACK LIST
SNOOKEY POOKEY TWADDLE (uncredited) (Written by Howard Carr)
BUGLE MARCH (uncredited) (Written by Hubert Clifford)
YOU CAN’T HELP WINNING (uncredited) (Written by Howard Carr)
WHO WERE YOU WITH LAST NIGHT? (uncredited) (Written by Fred Godfrey and Mark Sheridan) [Performed by Cyril Ritchard and female chorus]
IN THE SHADOWS (uncredited) (Music by Herman Finck)
LITTLE DOLLY DAYDREAM (uncredited) (Written by Leslie Stuart)
KNOCKED ’EM IN THE OLD KENT ROAD (uncredited) (Written by Albert Chevalier and Charles Ingle)
“WAIT AND SEE” (uncredited) (Written by Stanley Holloway) [Sung by Stanley Holloway]
ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL (uncredited) (Lyrics by Cecil F. Alexander) (Music by William H. Monk) [Sung in the church]
FOR HE’S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW (uncredited) (Traditional) [Sung after the verdict]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – London Films, British Lion Film Corporation and STUDIOCANAL presents the film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ in a stunning 1080p Black-and-White image and is enhanced with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which was the standard format in 1948. The detail is consistently crisp, any blemishes or damage have been cleaned up or repaired, and the monochrome tonal range is consistently lovely, ensuring the black levels are solid, the highlights are stable and the grayscale between is handsomely rendered. A fine film grain is visible and the image is consistently stable, with no errant jitter. Unfortunately, throughout the film, we now and again get to view a visible line down the middle of the image and also sometime to the left and sometimes to the right, but despite this, the image is really sharp and STUDIOCANAL has done a really superb job. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – London Films, British Lion Film Corporation and STUDIOCANAL brings us the film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ in a very reasonable 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo. Dialogue and effects are rendered cleanly and clearly, and the wonderfully atmospheric composed score by William Alwyn sounds really excellent, especially in some of the more really dramatic moments in the film, so all in all it is a terrific audio performance, especially for a film made in 1948.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: George Archer-Shee and The Case of the Stolen Postal Order [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.33:1] [10:06] With this featurette, we get to meet Gavin McGuffie who is the Senior Archivist at The Royal Mail Archive at Phoenix Place, London to talk about the real George Archer-Shee (6th May, 1895 – 31st October, 1914) who attended the Royal Naval College at Osborne House near Cowes on the Isle of White where George Archer-Shee was a Royal Navy Cadet at the start of 1908 at the age of 13 years of age. In the afternoon of 7th October, 1908 George Archer-Shee was given permission to go to the Osborne Post Office to purchase a Postal Order for Fifteen Shillings and Sixpence in order to purchase a model train, but finds out that another Royal Navy Cadet Terence Hugh Back who received a postal order from a relative for Five Shillings. On returning to the college, he discovered that Terence Hugh Back had reported that his postal order had been stolen. On returning to the college, George Archer-Shee discovered that Terence Hugh Back had reported that his postal order had been stolen and so the Royal Naval College went to interview the Postmistress Miss Anna Clara Tucker, the elderly clerk at the Osborne Post Office and Miss Anna Clara Tucker produced Terence Hugh Back's cashed postal order and stated that only two cadets had visited her that afternoon. However, Miss Anna Clara Tucker claimed the same Royal Naval Cadet who had bought a Postal Order for Fifteen Shillings and Sixpence was also the one who cashed the Five Shillings postal order and after the short investigation felt George Archer-Shee was guilty person whose case of whether George Archer-Shee had stolen the Five Shillings postal order was decided in the High Court of Justice in 1910 and of course George Archer-Shee was expelled from the Royal Naval College at Osborne House near Cowes on the Isle of White. When the Admiralty wrote to George Archer-Shee's father telling him that his son was being expelled for theft, his father Martin Archer-Shee instantly responded that “Nothing will make me believe the boy guilty of this charge, which shall be sifted by independent experts.” The father's reaction reflected the family's values because they were devout Roman Catholics and the background in banking meant all the sons had been brought up to regard misuse of money as sinful and contacted several lawyers to help clear his son's name. Martin Archer-Shee also contacted his son Major Martin Archer-Shee, the half-brother of George Archer-Shee, who was active in politics and in 1910 became Member of Parliament for Finsbury Central in North London. At first Major Archer-Shee contacted the solicitors Messrs. Lewis & Lewis to take on the case at the end of 1908 who in turn contacted the Osborne Post Office to provide any evidence they could provide to show that George Archer-Shee had in fact not stolen the postal order and for the Admiralty to again look into this particular case and was carried out, but there was a technical problem and they could not proceed any further. Major Archer-Shee obtained the services of Sir Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson [Former Attorney General for England and Wales] who was regarded as one of the United Kingdom's Top best barrister of the age, who also had a son at the Royal Naval College at Osborne House near Cowes on the Isle of White and at the same time the Archer family had then found this thing called “Petition Of Right” which was a mechanism to proceed with the case. Sir Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson also interviewed the Postmistress Miss Anna Clara Tucker and questioned her if she can remember that it was George Archer-Shee had been involved with the said two postal orders and maintained it was the same person, but Postmistress Miss Anna Clara Tucker could not say for sure whether it was the same person and to actually identify that person, but said the cadets all basically looked the same, especially in their uniforms, and of course Sir Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson was beginning to doubt that George Archer-Shee actually stole the postal order. After four days of the court trial, the Admiralty caved in and finally accepted that George Archer-Shee did not steal the postal order and therefore accepted that George Archer-Shee was innocent of the crime, and the allegation was withdrawn and George Archer-Shee was vindicated. Following the trial, the Archer-Shee family began to press the Admiralty to pay restitution. On the 16th March, 1911 the First Lord of the Admiralty said that he thought the House of Commons would think it inappropriate. Nevertheless, the family continued to press their claim, circulating a booklet presenting their side of the case. On the 6th April, the George Archer-Shee case was raised in the Commons during a Naval Estimates debate. As most MP’s supported compensation, the Admiralty was forced to concede to a judicial hearing to decide the matter, otherwise the business would be “lost” (a parliamentary term meaning postponed, not dismissed, to a future day). Following the hearing, John Charles Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey agreed the family should be paid £4,120 to cover their costs, and £3,000 compensation “in full settlement of all demands” (equivalent to £770,000 in 2021). All monies were paid in July 1911. Following George Archer-Shee’s acquittal, the boy's family were paid compensation in July 1911. George Arthur Shee was commissioned in the British Army in 1913, and was killed aged 19, at the First Battle of Ypres on the 31st October, 1914. George Archer-Shee was the son of Martin Archer-Shee the father and his second wife Helen Treloar. His father Martin Archer-Shee was an official at the Bank of England in Bristol and grandson of the painter Sir Martin Archer Shee. His half-brother was Martin Archer-Shee, an army officer and Member of Parliament. Actor Robert Bathurst is his great nephew. The trial, which became a British cause célèbre, was the inspiration for the 1946 Terence Rattigan play “The Winslow Boy,” which has been the basis for the film and Gavin McGuffie now talks about the play write Terence Rattigan and in 1946 decided to do a stage play of the incident and feels not sure whether Playwright Terence Rattigan consulted the Post Office records, which of course recorded the case and is in the Post Office Archives, whereas Gavin McGuffie feels that Playwright Terence Rattigan did his own investigation, especially via the newspapers of that period in 1908 and also in other records, but says it is really hard to know the true facts about Playwright Terence Rattigan, but also feels Playwright Terence Rattigan had certain connections, but again Gavin McGuffie says we will never know the true facts about Playwright Terence Rattigan and that point the Gavin McGuffie featurette comes to an end. We are informed that the actual documents were from The Royal Mail Archive, courtesy of The Postal Museum.
Special Feature: Interview with Cultural Historian Matthew Sweet [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.33:1] [23.52] With this featurette, we get to meet Author and Film Critic Matthew Sweet and of course talks about the real 1908 historical incident of the accused George Archer-Shee who attended the Royal Naval College at Osborne House near Cowes on the Isle of White who was of course accused of stealing the Fifteen Shillings and Sixpence postal order and taking it to the Osborne Post Office to cash it in, in order to purchase a model train, and of course at first the Royal Naval College found George Archer-Shee guilty of the crime and was immediately expelled and sent back home, which caused George Archer-Shee’s brother to be very angry about what had happened to his brother, as well as his father, who now wanted to clear his son’s name to make things right, but of course the family was up against the might of the Admiralty and were naïve about the legal mechanism to set the wheels in motion to take the Admiralty to court and so called in the famous Sir Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson [Former Attorney General for England and Wales] who was regarded as one of the United Kingdom's Top best barrister of the age, who was also the man who sent Oscar Wilde to prison, and the Archer family had hears about the “Petition Of Right” and of course the case went to court and it became the ultimate triumph of justice against the belligerent Admiralty who thought without doubt that George Archer-Shee was 100% guilty as charged, and of course the court case in 1908 shamed the Admiralty of making out that the young boy of 13 years of age George Archer-Shee who of course was innocent, and was not capable of stealing the said postal order for Fifteen Shillings and Sixpence, and if they had supposedly thoroughly investigated the incident 100%, of course the case would of never gone to trial. Now Matthew Sweet talks about the Playwright Terence Rattigan in saying he came across the case in a magazine article and was looking for a story to be able to put on a play at the time to explore so called English justice and was working with collaborators who were also interested in this particular court case of George Archer-Shee, but also wanted the stage play to be also interest to the audiences who wanted to come and see the stage play, and found out the Archer family were Catholics and there was a lot of anti-Catholic attitude in 1908 and the way the Archer family were treated with distain with certain parts of society and of course Playwright Terence Rattigan decided not the show this in the stage play, but more towards leading up to the court case and Playwright Terence Rattigan wrote his stage play during the 1945 United Kingdom General Election and the final result of the General Election showed Labour to have won a landslide victory, making a net gain of 239 seats, winning 47.7% of the popular vote and achieving a majority of 145 seats, thus allowing Clement Attlee to be appointed Prime Minister. But Playwright Terence Rattigan wrote his stage play in six weeks and Playwright Terence Rattigan was also enthused with the Labour Party landslide which meant a massive cultural change in British history with the Labour Party winning a massive landslide with the 1945 United Kingdom General Election. But of course the father Martin Archer-Shee of the young son George Archer-Shee was played by the actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Martin Archer-Shee had very serious arthritis and the trial put a great strain on him personally, but despite this Martin Archer-Shee having strong old fashioned moral values, felt justice must be done to clear his son George Archer-Shee once and for all, and Playwright Terence Rattigan wanted to show this Edwardian family that they must stick together to make things right, in fact that actual saying is “Let Right Be Done” and has a certain ring about it and of course the daughter and sister Catherine Archer-Shee of the family was a dedicated suffragette and Playwright Terence Rattigan wanted to bring this out in the stage play, showing that women were now standing up for themselves and for the rights of women to be able to vote at an election. The stage play “The Winslow Boy” was first produced at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, on Monday, the 25th February, 1946, to massive cheers from the audiences even halfway through the stage play, especially when Member of Parliament, Sir Robert Morton the former Solicitor General of Great Britain took on the case and at that point the curtain came down for the interval, and all of the audiences stood up and cheered and clapped enthusiastically, that is how Playwright Terence Rattigan stage play was so strong on emotion and seeing justice done for an innocent young boy and to also show the stage play was shaming the Admiralty of their short sighted attitude in declaring the young boy was guilty and if they had thoroughly investigated the incident properly, the case would have never gone to court, and of course the stage play was a powerful performance for the audience at the Theatre Royal, Brighton to show justice always wins in the end, and of course the stage play was a massive success and then transferred to the Lyric Theatre, London in May 1946 and principle cast included Michael Newell, Kathleen Harrison, Frank Cellier and Clive Morton, and on the opening night audiences flocked to see the stage play, as well as celebrities like Sir Alexander Korda was the founder of London Films and, post-war, the owner of British Lion Films, a film distribution company and bought the rights to the stage play and by the end of that year there had been stage play productions in the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, Israel and of course it was a tremendous success and eventually the stage play transferred to Broadway in New York and it stayed at the Lyric Theatre for 12 months. Playwright Terence Rattigan and Anthony Asquith [English film director] was real meeting of minds and got together in 1939 and were working on the comedy film adaption of ‘French Without Tears’ [1939] and in cooperation with Anatole de Grunwald, Ian Dalrymple and Ian Dalrymple worked on the script to get it into shape, but both Terence Rattigan and Anthony Asquith were at the time in 1939 “closeted gays” which was a secret which they shared, and Anthony Asquith became Terence Rattigan’s confident, but unfortunately Terence Rattigan was very difficult to live with and if he had any kind of relationship would not allow his lovers to stay overnight in his flat and always made some excuse with the lover at the time and they had to leave, but Terence Rattigan would get very depressed and would take to his bed sometime and not emerge for some time and would cancel engagements, because of his deep depressions, but he was helped out with his depressions with his friend and confident Anthony Asquith, and Matthew Sweet felt Terence Rattigan and Anthony Asquith had a much more honest relationship, other than each other’s separate relationships, but with Terence Rattigan and Anthony Asquith it was never ever a romantic relationship, just good close friendship, but it fact it was also a very creative partnership. Matthew Sweet feels the film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ appears at very important and interesting times of a sort of golden moment and also a very vigorous production, where Britain and America engaged in a nasty cinema trade war, where a tariff was slapped on American films and of course Hollywood was not at all happy with this situation, but the process gives a boost to the British Film Industry, but there was an element of dancing on a volcano, because the situation cannot last and of course eventually it does not last, as the American and British Film Industry resolved the situation amicably. We find out that the actor Robert Donat was offered the part to do the stage play on Broadway, but turned it down but instead and of course accepted his role in the film, but despite not getting paid a lot of money appearing in the film. As to the film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ and of course it was very well received by the audiences that flocked to the cinema, and on top of all that, all the critics’ reviews of the film were totally ecstatic, especially towards the actor Robert Donat, but also the critics also commented about the David and Goliath situation with the family battling it out against the belligerent Admiralty, but also picking up on the British war time bureaucracy. Matthew Sweet says, that coming for the first time to view the film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY,’ might be surprised by the freshness of the political language in the film and the fight for universal human rights and hear about feminism and named explicitly in the film with the word “Suffragette” and a story taking place with a media context, but in the stage play the business of Parliament was never mentioned, but the film cannot resist showing Parliament at work in showing right and justice always wins, and this why Matthew Sweet thinks the film still has a very strong grip on us all, especially with the power of the truth, but it is also about getting to the heart of the truth, and we see the affect it has on the Archer family and it shows you that if you really want to pursue the idea of truth and justice, that it is a very long haul and that it of course has a cost as well and that is the universal idea. At that point the featurette with Mathew Sweet comes to an end and I found the analysis by Mathew Sweet on the film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ first class and totally fascinating and is definitely a must view featurette. By the way, throughout this featurette we get to view several clips from the film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY.’
Special Feature: Interview with Geoffrey Wansell, Authorised Biographer on Terence Rattigan [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.33:1] [17:36] With this featurette, we get to meet Author and Critic Geoffrey Wansell, who is also the Authorised Biographer on Terence Rattigan and of course talks the real George Archer-Shee who was a Royal Navy cadet whose case of whether he stole a Five Shillings and Sixpence postal order that was decided in the High Court of Justice in 1910. George Archer-Shee was successfully defended by barrister and politician Sir Edward Carson. The trial, which became a British cause célèbre, was the inspiration for the Playwright Terence Rattigan 1946 play “The Winslow Boy,” Following his acquittal, the boy's family were paid compensation in July 1911. George Archer-Shee was commissioned in the British Army in 1913, and was sadly killed at the age of 19, at the First Battle of Ypres on 31st October, 1914. George Archer-Shee was the son of Martin Archer-Shee and his second wife Helen Treloar. George Archer-Shee’s father was an official at the Bank of England in Bristol and grandson of the painter Sir Martin Archer Shee. His half-brother was Martin Archer-Shee, an army officer and Member of Parliament. Geoffrey Wansell now talks about the Playwright Terence Rattigan who was looking for a subject on the injustice towards ordinary civilians and was given some vital information by Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (19th January, 1887 – 23rd January, 1943) who was an American drama critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio personality who he thought Playwright Terence Rattigan would be able to make a marvellous stage play, and what appealed to Playwright Terence Rattigan was the relationship between the father Martin Archer-Shee and his son George Archer-Shee about the honesty that he never stole the postal order for Fifteen Shillings and Sixpence and especially the father Martin Archer-Shee who had just retired as an official at the Bank of England in Bristol and again the stage play is vital showing the bond between the father Martin Archer-Shee and the son George Archer-Shee, and that is why Playwright Terence Rattigan wanted to write the stage play to show justice wins in the end. When the film came out in 1948, Playwright Terence Rattigan was very happy with the result and did more justice to his work and genuinely was conveying to a lager cinema audience of the power of the cinema presentation and especially the full on drama of the fight for justice and the fight to let “Right Be Done.” Geoffrey Wansell also says that George Archer-Shee was picked on because of his religious beliefs in being a Catholic, but in the stage play Playwright Terence Rattigan did not want this subject mentioned because he thought it would confuse the whole issue of the stage play, but the whole aspect of the play was again the saying let “Right Be Done” and that George Archer-Shee should have a proper trial to show that he was innocent all along, and especially before a judge and jury, so to defend himself. At that point the featurette comes to an end, but what has annoyed me about the featurette with Geoffrey Wansell totally repeats all the same information you can read in the above two previous featurettes which are far more interesting, and that is why this featurette is very short and to be honest, having this third featurette with Geoffrey Wansell was to me a complete waste of time, but the other annoying factor with Geoffrey Wansell in the way he uses his hands. Again, throughout this featurette we get to view several clips from the film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY.’
Special Feature: Stills Gallery [1948] [1080p] [1.78:1] [0:49] With this featurette, we get to view lots of wonderful 1080p black-and-white images to all aspect of the film ‘THE WINSLOW BOY.’
Finally, ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ is an object lesson on how to transfer a stage play to the silver screen and this proves it can be done and done very well. Playwright Terence Rattigan adapted stage play to screenplay is left largely untouched, but the scenes are broadened out to give the original theatre production room to breathe. Robert Donat is really wonderful as the celebrated barrister defending a naval cadet charged with theft, and Playwright Terence Rattigan's insights into class and hypocrisy are sharpened by Anthony Asquith's assured direction. This is primarily a cinematic experience, but the play is left unscarred. ‘THE WINSLOW BOY’ has been fully restored and is now available for the first time on Blu-ray, and is very well worth purchasing. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
