Review of That Hamilton Woman (1941) by Kristin H — 02 Aug 2010

In "That Hamilton Woman," Emma Hart(Vivien Leigh) travels to Naples with her mother(Sara Allgood) on vacation before her fiance is set to arrive. She is extremely disappointed to hear from her future father-in-law(Alan Mowbray), the British ambassador, that he will not be coming. And she is absolutely livid that he purchased her rights for 5000 pounds and a fresco to be named later. Three years later, they are happily married. At least, that is the case until Captain Horatio Nelson(Laurence Olivier) makes a social call.

"That Hamilton Woman" is an opulent movie that takes a decidedly sideways glance at history, almost turning an important point in history into an overheated soap opera. There are a couple of allusions to Emma's past via "Salome's Last Dance" that definitely sound racy for any time. According to the movie, she is almost responsible for all of us speaking French and I'm still torn if that would be a bad thing. Of course, saying your empire is morally superior to the other fellow's is a silly exercise at best but then this movie was made during World War II so some allowances should be made, as Olivier's speeches take the day in a warmup for his "Henry V." In the end, I am left wondering if Nelson would have been happy with any peace, mostly because I am the type of person who would prefer people make hot sweaty sex, not war.