Signals to London
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Signals to London |
| Original title | Lloyd's of London |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English , French |
| Publishing year | 1936 |
| length | 118 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Henry King |
| script |
Ernest Pascal , Walter Ferris |
| production | Kenneth Macgowan |
| music |
RH Bassett , David Buttolph , Cyril J. Mockridge |
| camera | Bert Glennon |
| cut | Barbara McLean |
| occupation | |
| |
Signals to London (Original title: Lloyd's of London ) is an American drama directed by Henry King from 1936. The screenplay is based on a story by Curtis Kenyon .
action
Jonathan Blake has been friends with Horatio Nelson since childhood . While doing this career in the British Navy, Blake becomes an employee of the insurance company Lloyd's of London . One day he met and fell in love with Lady Elizabeth Stacy when he accompanied her from Calais across the English Channel to England . However, the attractive lady is married to the lavish Lord Everett Stacy.
When Nelson's navy goes to war against Napoleon Bonaparte in 1805 , but an influential lord demands half of the fleet to escort his merchant ships, Nelson Blake asks for assistance. Blake then falsely announces that Nelson defeated the French at Trafalgar , which is why Nelson can no longer protect the merchant ships, but can instead pull all his ships against the French fleet.
When Blake and Lady Elizabeth meet again and get closer, they are caught by Lord Stacy, who does not hesitate and shoots Blake. Nelson is fatally wounded in a sea battle. While Blake is being nursed to health by Lady Elizabeth, who is divorcing her husband, news reaches her that Nelson has indeed won at Trafalgar. When Blake sees the funeral procession for Nelson from the window, he wistfully remembers their long friendship.
background
The character of Jonathan Blake is fictional. In general, the film, produced by 20th Century Fox and insured with one million dollars from Lloyd's of London, took great liberties in the reproduction of historical events. The shooting took place from August to October 1936. The budget was $ 850,000.
With his first leading role, for which Don Ameche was initially also in discussion, Tyrone Power made his breakthrough in Hollywood as Jonathan Blake. He subsequently received a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox and was henceforth one of the studio's most important stars. The role of Lady Elizabeth was originally supposed to play Loretta Young , but she left the project when she learned that the director Henry King had Tyrone Powers' role expanded at her own expense. She was then suspended from the studio and replaced by Madeleine Carroll .
The film premiered at the Astor Theater in New York on November 25, 1936 and was released in US cinemas on January 29, 1937.
Reviews
The New York Times described Signals to London as an “appealing film drama full of authentic details from Georgian England” and praised Tyrone Power, who as Jonathan Blake “played a far more complex role” compared to his previous screen appearances and was “great”, “what sheer action and the character drawing concerns ”.
Craig Butler of the All Movie Guide said in retrospect that Signals to London was "a historically inaccurate film epic" that "just doesn't work." The script lacks “subtlety” in most places and the characters lack “shading” that people could make out of the “two-dimensional figures”, so that in the end “only the very impressive technical implementation” is recommended. Leonard Maltin called the film a "nicely decorated fictional story".
Awards
The film received two Academy Award nominations for Best Production Design ( William S. Darling ) and Best Editing ( Barbara McLean ).
Web links
- Signals to London at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Signals to London at Turner Classic Movies (English)
- Signals to London in the All Movie Guide (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b cf. Notes on tcm.com
- ↑ cf. Lorraine LoBianco on tcm.com
- ↑ “Twentieth Century-Fox's Lloyds of London , […], is a pleasing photoplay, crammed with authentic detail of the Georgian England […]. As the vital Jonathan Blake, Tyrone Power Jr. plays a much more varied role than any he has had previously for the screen. Where sheer action and character delineation are concerned, he is excellent. " See 'Lloyds of London' Pleases at the Astor . In: The New York Times , November 26, 1936.
- ^ " Lloyd's of London is a historically inaccurate epic that simply doesn't work. [...] subtlety is lacking throughout most of the screenplay, as are character shadings that might create people rather than the two-dimensional figures that inhabit the film. [...] leaving only the very impressive physical production to recommend. " Craig Butler, cf. omovie.com
- ↑ "Handsomely mounted fiction." Leonard Maltin : Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide . Plume 2010, p. 383.