The man who may have given Hitler his first taste of appeasement.The man who may have given Hitler his first taste of appeasement.The man who may have given Hitler his first taste of appeasement.
Photos
Nigel Anthony
- Narrator
- (voice)
Anthony Blunt
- Self
- (archive footage)
Winston Churchill
- Self
- (archive footage)
Duchess of Windsor
- Self
- (archive footage)
Duke of Windsor
- Self
- (archive footage)
Adolf Hitler
- Self
- (archive footage)
King George VI
- Self
- (archive footage)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Franklin Delano Roosevelt)
Storyline
Featured review
"Cherchez la Femme"
I was guessing that this was just a routine pom-bashing exercise, but it turned out to be something far more searching and revealing.
From the evidence, it is clear that the Duke of Windsor was up to his neck in secret dialogue with the Third Reich, supporting a 'Peace plan' that meant nothing more nor less than a new Nazi order throughout Europe.
As soon as he had abdicated, promising to 'quit altogether public affairs', he was actually busy trying to manipulate them, at the expense of the country that had bred him and honoured him. But even before that, he had made clear his approval of the Führer. Apparently his tacit support for the Rhine invasion tilted the odds in favour of this high-risk operation, which gave Hitler his first scent of appeasement. And as a major-general in Paris in 1939-40, he apparently used his position to pass tactical information to the enemy, the most shocking of all the revelations - if true, that is.
One reason to doubt this claim is that the intelligence services had long since sized him up as a man not to be entrusted with sensitive documents. Boozy and indiscreet, he could be no more than a figurehead in uniform. This leads us to consider the role of Wallis, a far shrewder and more unscrupulous character than her husband, and a far likelier spy. Remembering her reaction to the Battle of Britain - "I can't say I feel sorry for them" - she may have been the one motivated to hit back at the country that had rejected her. Whether or not she was Ribbentrop's lover (possible but unlikely, given the short overlap when they were both in England), she would have had ample opportunities to charm any number of the double-agents who were swarming around Paris at that time. And of course the other reason for putting Wallis in the frame is that Edward was so hopelessly in her thrall that it was really Wallis doing the talking, and just his mouth moving.
It's obvious that this 98-minute video was first issued as three separate programmes, two of them headed with a brief section summarising 'the story so far'. These sections have not been edited-out, and they interrupt what is otherwise a smooth and professional job. The narration by Nigel Anthony is professional enough, though the early part does sound rather like a school history-lesson. More disappointing are the various interviewees, recalling the events of the time. Obviously they're very elderly, but I don't think this quite explains the dreariness of the speech. I think we are catching echoes of 1930's upper-class vocal delivery, and mighty ponderous it sounds today. Fortunately the chief commentator is a younger man, John Costello, and he more than makes up for this, with his crisp authority, able to give the discussion some kind of edge.
Wallis once said "You have no idea how hard it is to live a fairy-tale." But it was even less of a fairy-tale than we had thought.
From the evidence, it is clear that the Duke of Windsor was up to his neck in secret dialogue with the Third Reich, supporting a 'Peace plan' that meant nothing more nor less than a new Nazi order throughout Europe.
As soon as he had abdicated, promising to 'quit altogether public affairs', he was actually busy trying to manipulate them, at the expense of the country that had bred him and honoured him. But even before that, he had made clear his approval of the Führer. Apparently his tacit support for the Rhine invasion tilted the odds in favour of this high-risk operation, which gave Hitler his first scent of appeasement. And as a major-general in Paris in 1939-40, he apparently used his position to pass tactical information to the enemy, the most shocking of all the revelations - if true, that is.
One reason to doubt this claim is that the intelligence services had long since sized him up as a man not to be entrusted with sensitive documents. Boozy and indiscreet, he could be no more than a figurehead in uniform. This leads us to consider the role of Wallis, a far shrewder and more unscrupulous character than her husband, and a far likelier spy. Remembering her reaction to the Battle of Britain - "I can't say I feel sorry for them" - she may have been the one motivated to hit back at the country that had rejected her. Whether or not she was Ribbentrop's lover (possible but unlikely, given the short overlap when they were both in England), she would have had ample opportunities to charm any number of the double-agents who were swarming around Paris at that time. And of course the other reason for putting Wallis in the frame is that Edward was so hopelessly in her thrall that it was really Wallis doing the talking, and just his mouth moving.
It's obvious that this 98-minute video was first issued as three separate programmes, two of them headed with a brief section summarising 'the story so far'. These sections have not been edited-out, and they interrupt what is otherwise a smooth and professional job. The narration by Nigel Anthony is professional enough, though the early part does sound rather like a school history-lesson. More disappointing are the various interviewees, recalling the events of the time. Obviously they're very elderly, but I don't think this quite explains the dreariness of the speech. I think we are catching echoes of 1930's upper-class vocal delivery, and mighty ponderous it sounds today. Fortunately the chief commentator is a younger man, John Costello, and he more than makes up for this, with his crisp authority, able to give the discussion some kind of edge.
Wallis once said "You have no idea how hard it is to live a fairy-tale." But it was even less of a fairy-tale than we had thought.
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- Goingbegging
- Nov 10, 2014
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
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