December 11 - Wallis and Edward

Today’s movie is a historical drama with a scene that happens on December 11. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

WALLIS & EDWARD                                                         

Ernest and Wallis Simpson are introduced to Edward, the Prince of Wales. Wallis goes on a holiday with the Prince of Wales and friends. They begin a cheap adulterous affair. The Prime Minister orders an investigation of her so he will have ammunition to use against her. Then George V dies and Edward becomes king. It is soon apparent that Edward hates being king and wants to do everything his way, regardless of tradition. Ernest tells Wallis he wants a divorce so he can marry Mary Raffray. Reports are received that Wallis is a prostitute, a KGB agent or a Nazi spy. When she files for divorce against Ernest, concern arrises in the government that the King will try to marry her just before his coronation. Wallis is very upset that her reputation is being shredded in the foreign press. She gets her divorce. Edward proposes to her. When someone advises the King that Wallis should leave the country at once, Edward says he’s prepared to abdicate. Wallis proposes a morganatic marriage. Wallis’s aunt advises her to get out.  Wallis goes to France. The government says it will not support a morganatic marriage. Churchill speaks in support of the King arousing the ire of the Prime Minister. The press hounds her in France. Edward abdicates. On December 11, 1936, [1:21:13 to 1:30:53] the former Edward VIII makes his farewell broadcast to the Empire. Five months later Edward and Wallis are married.

Another movie that attempts to convert cheap and tawdry adulterous affairs into  great romantic epics.   Edward was a complete cad, as evidenced by the fact that he lied and said he was practically broke after his abdication, when in fact he was not, in order to get more cash from his brother. 

Edward VIII: A Biography of the Duke of Windsor by Frances Donaldson (J.B. Lippincott Company, New York, 1974) at pages 312-315 and the film at 1:21:20-25 give the date

Producer - Mark Pybus                      

Director - Dave Moore                                       

Screenplay - Sarah Williams                              

Runtime – 1 hour 34 minutes                              

Released – December 18, 2005                            

Starring –

Joely Richardson - Wallis Simpson

Steven Campbell Moore - Edward VIII

David Westhead - Ernest Simpson

Richard Johnson - Stanley Baldwin

Clifford Rose - George V

Margaret Tyzack - Queen Mary

Bill Champion - George VI/Bertie

Monica Dolan – Elizabeth, Duchess of York

David Calder - Winston Churchill

Miriam Margolyes - Bessie Merryman

Lisa Kay - Mary Raffray

Helena Michell - Thelma

Simon Hepworth - Peregrine Cust

Debora Weston - Kitty Rogers

Mykolas Dorofejus - Herman Rogers

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.