Tuesday, June 24, 2014

June 24 - The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Part IV - Anne of Cleves

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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