Although Sophie Dorothea of Celle was the wife of a British king, she was never crowned Queen of Great Britain. She was married to her first cousin Prince George Louis of Hanover, the future King George I, but it was never a happy marriage, and was dissolved in 1695 on account of her alleged adultery with an army officer named Count Philip von Königsmarck. Despite his German-sounding name, Königsmarck was Swedish by birth. He disappeared in 1695, probably murdered on George's orders, and Sophie spent the rest of her life under virtual house arrest in Ahlen Castle until her death in 1726, a year before that of her former husband. "Saraband for Dead Lovers" tells this tragic story. The curious title- a "saraband" is a type of dance- is never explained in the film, although it may be in the original source novel by Helen Simpson, which I have never read.
The Act of Settlement, which excluded Roman Catholics from the succession and established George's mother, the Dowager Electress Sophia, as next-in-line to the throne after the future Queen Anne, was not passed by the English Parliament until 1701. During the period in which the action takes place (1689- 1695) there were numerous people alive with a better claim to the throne, but in the film George and his mother are keen to stress their links with the British Royal Family and, inaccurately, talk as though their right to succeed was already a done deal. Perhaps the idea was to further the cause of Anglo-German reconciliation, three years after the end of the war, by stressing the dynastic links between the two countries. The closing titles point out that Sophie Dorothea was the mother of King George II and, through him, the ancestress of all future British monarchs.
Perhaps the weakest part of the film is the confusing sub-plot dealing with Countess Clara Platen, a mistress, or former mistress, of Ernest Augustus. She is in love with Königsmarck but he will have nothing to do with her, leading her to plot her revenge against him. Flora Robson was never really convincing as Platen, depicted here as a faded femme fatale; Marlene Dietrich (who probably would have been a lot better) was considered for the part, but Ealing were not keen on casting big-name Hollywood or foreign stars.
The rest of the cast, however, are much better. Peter Bull's George, for all his royal blood, is a vulgar, boorish bully who neglects his beautiful young wife and betrays her with a series of mistresses. Stewart Granger's Königsmarck is not only handsome and dashing but also sensitive, able to give Sophie the love which her husband denies her. Joan Greenwood makes an enchanting heroine, with her rich, distinctive contralto voice appropriate to Sophie's regal dignity. There is also a good contribution from the French actress Françoise Rosay as the formidable Electress Sophia, a woman whose only concern is to forward her dynastic ambitions and who remains blind to her son's grossness and to the emotional suffering of her daughter-in-law.
This was the first Ealing Studios film shot in colour, and with its elaborate sets and costumes can be seen as a precursor of the British "heritage cinema" style of historical drama. The roots of this style go back to the late forties; the Oscar Wilde adaptation "An Ideal Husband" and even Olivier's version of "Henry V" can be seen as other examples. Perhaps film-makers felt that, at a time of post-war austerity the British people needed something sumptuous to entertain them. Yet there is more to the film than good looks. It is also a moving character study of a doomed marriage and an equally doomed romance. 8/10
The Act of Settlement, which excluded Roman Catholics from the succession and established George's mother, the Dowager Electress Sophia, as next-in-line to the throne after the future Queen Anne, was not passed by the English Parliament until 1701. During the period in which the action takes place (1689- 1695) there were numerous people alive with a better claim to the throne, but in the film George and his mother are keen to stress their links with the British Royal Family and, inaccurately, talk as though their right to succeed was already a done deal. Perhaps the idea was to further the cause of Anglo-German reconciliation, three years after the end of the war, by stressing the dynastic links between the two countries. The closing titles point out that Sophie Dorothea was the mother of King George II and, through him, the ancestress of all future British monarchs.
Perhaps the weakest part of the film is the confusing sub-plot dealing with Countess Clara Platen, a mistress, or former mistress, of Ernest Augustus. She is in love with Königsmarck but he will have nothing to do with her, leading her to plot her revenge against him. Flora Robson was never really convincing as Platen, depicted here as a faded femme fatale; Marlene Dietrich (who probably would have been a lot better) was considered for the part, but Ealing were not keen on casting big-name Hollywood or foreign stars.
The rest of the cast, however, are much better. Peter Bull's George, for all his royal blood, is a vulgar, boorish bully who neglects his beautiful young wife and betrays her with a series of mistresses. Stewart Granger's Königsmarck is not only handsome and dashing but also sensitive, able to give Sophie the love which her husband denies her. Joan Greenwood makes an enchanting heroine, with her rich, distinctive contralto voice appropriate to Sophie's regal dignity. There is also a good contribution from the French actress Françoise Rosay as the formidable Electress Sophia, a woman whose only concern is to forward her dynastic ambitions and who remains blind to her son's grossness and to the emotional suffering of her daughter-in-law.
This was the first Ealing Studios film shot in colour, and with its elaborate sets and costumes can be seen as a precursor of the British "heritage cinema" style of historical drama. The roots of this style go back to the late forties; the Oscar Wilde adaptation "An Ideal Husband" and even Olivier's version of "Henry V" can be seen as other examples. Perhaps film-makers felt that, at a time of post-war austerity the British people needed something sumptuous to entertain them. Yet there is more to the film than good looks. It is also a moving character study of a doomed marriage and an equally doomed romance. 8/10