Today’s movie is a period drama with a scene that happens on
June 24. I hope you will watch this film tonight and enjoy it.
THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII: PART IV – ANNE OF CLEVES
Two years after Queen Jane’s death, Thomas Cromwell, the
Lord Chancellor is pushing Henry to marry again, both to secure the succession
with another son and to form an alliance with the German Protestants against
France. The court painter Hans Holbien
and Sir Christopher Motte are sent to Cleves to paint portraits of Anne and Amalia, sisters of William, Duke of Cleves.
Henry decides to marry Anne. When she arrives in England he rushes to see her
incognito and is disappointed by her looks.
Henry blames Cromwell, while Anne has second thoughts. The wedding takes
place, but is not consummated. Anne is ignored by the king, while the Duke of
Norfolk, Wriothosley and Bishop Gardiner plot to get at Cromwell, by getting
rid of Anne. Robert Barnes, a rabid Protestant, visits the Queen. He is followed by Cromwell, who knows that
he is the target of intrigue. He asks the Queen to help him. An envoy arrives
from her brother. While he is kissing her hands, Henry walks in. He is upset,
even more so when Henry finds Robert Barnes and Cromwell are present. However,
the envoy is actually Philip, the Landgrave of Hesse who wants to meet with
Henry in order to find out how to divorce his wife. He has committed bigamy, and the Emperor has told him to either
abandon his fellow Protestants or suffer the death penalty for bigamy. Henry won’t advise him, so the Landgrave
says he will join the Empire. The collapse of the Protestant League ends the reason
for their marriage. She convinces Henry to agree to an annulment and she is
asked to leave court on June 24, 1540. [1:15:29 to 1:29:05].
I think this is the most interesting on the episodes. Anne
is portrayed as especially clever, since she thinks up a way out of the box
she’s in. Anne is also shown as
probably the nicest of Henry’s Queens.
Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII by David Starkey
(HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2007) at page 639 gives this date when
Anne was asked to leave the court
Awards - . The film won the
Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Michell) Emmy
award. It was also nominated for the Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding New Series, Outstanding Continued
Performance by an Actor in a leading role in a dramatic series (Michell) and
the Outstanding Single Program, drama or comedy at the 24th
Primetime Emmy Awards.
Producers – Ronald Travers and Mark Shivas
Director – John Gleinster
Screenplay – Jean Morris
Runtime – 1 hour 30 minutes
Released – January 22, 1970
Starring –
Keith Michell as Henry VIII
Patrick Troughton as the Duke of
Norfolk
Elvi Hale as Anne of Cleves
Bernard Hepton as Thomas Cranmer
Wolfe Morris as Thomas Cromwell
Basil Dignam as Bishop Gardiner
Patrick Godfrey as Sir Thomas Wriothesley
Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.
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