These talented stars are on the rise. How many do you recognize?

These Stars Are on the Rise

Check out the biggest movies and shows out now or coming soon.

IMDb Staff Picks for November

Discover some of the most anticipated sequels, prequels, and spin-offs coming to theaters and streaming.

New Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-Offs

The tangled affairs of George, Prince of Wales, leading to his illegal marriage to commoner Mrs. Fitzherbert. Also portrayed is the conflict between the future George IV and his father George III.

Not always accurate as a history lesson and lacking as a human drama

Holds the interest though lacking in flair

The shenanigans between Prince Charles and Princess Diana were by no means the only, or even the worst, example of marital discord in the history of the British Royal Family. Leaving aside Henry VIII (who was an English rather than a British monarch), the two worst were George I&#39;s treatment of Sophia Dorothea and the mutual loathing between George IV and his wife Queen Caroline, which culminated in her furiously banging on the doors of Westminster Abbey, demanding admission to his Coronation ceremony from which she had been locked out. Both these episodes were made into films in the late forties, the story of the unfortunate Sophia Dorothea being told in &quot;Saraband for Dead Lovers&quot; in 1948. &quot;Mrs. Fitzherbert&quot; from the preceding year tells the story of George IV&#39;s love-life, concentrating less upon Caroline than upon the great love of his life, the beautiful young widow Maria Fitzherbert. Maria was a Roman Catholic, and therefore forbidden by the Act of Succession to marry a member of the Royal Family, but even if she had been willing to convert to Protestantism it is unlikely that the Prince&#39;s father George III would have given permission for the marriage. (There was no legal bar in Britain to a commoner marrying into the Royal Family, but there was such a bar under German law, to which as Elector of Hanover George III was subject, which forbade dynastic marriages between persons of unequal rank). Despite the legal obstacles to their marrying, George and Maria nevertheless went through a form of marriage which they regarded as being religiously valid and thereafter lived together as man and wife. George III and his government, however, disregarded this &quot;marriage&quot;, which was void under English law, and saw it as no obstacle to the Prince&#39;s marriage to Caroline, which took place after he and Maria had separated. This is basically the story told in this film, although it does embroider the historical account somewhat. (It suggests, for example, that George broke off his relationship with Maria because of a false rumour that she was having an affair with the Duke of Bedford). It tells its story, however, in a rather pedestrian manner; it attempts to emulate the historical bodice-rippers being produced by Gainsborough Pictures at this time, but never manages to conjure up the sense of passion and tumultuous emotion which were the hallmark of the Gainsborough style. Another criticism I would have is that the film is in black and white, which makes it rather dull visually. The makers of &quot;Saraband for Dead Lovers&quot; avoided this mistake, realising that the lavish costumes and décor of the Georgian era cried out for the use of colour, making that film a visual feast whereas &quot;Mrs Fitzherbert&quot; is a frugal meal indeed. The acting in &quot;Saraband...&quot; is also much better, with Joan Greenwood making an enchanting heroine, Stewart Granger&#39;s a handsome, dashing and sensitive hero and Peter Bull a vulgar, boorish villain for all his royal blood. By contrast, here Peter Graves as the Prince and Joyce Howard as Maria, neither of whom were major stars of the standing of Granger or Greenwood, are both rather stiff and forgettable. &quot;Mrs Fitzherbert&quot; is watchable as a history lesson (if not always an entirely accurate one) but lacking as a human drama. 5/10 Some goofs. The name &quot;Maria&quot; is pronounced in the film in the modern way, ma-REE-a, but the eighteenth-century pronunciation would have been ma-RYE-a. In the film the Prince first meets Maria when he rescues her during the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780; in reality they did not meet until 1784. During the Gordon Riots scene mention is made of Catholic churches in London; at this date there were no Catholic churches anywhere in Britain. (The opening of Catholic chapels was legalised by an Act of Parliament of 1791; one built at Lulworth in Dorset in 1786 was technically illegal, but the authorities turned a blind eye). George III is portrayed as speaking with a German accent, even though he spent all his life in England and never visited Germany. In a scene set in the 1780s, George offers to give up his right to the throne, stating that his brother William (the future William IV) would make a better king. In fact, at this period the next in line to the throne would have been another brother, Frederick Duke of York, who is never mentioned in the film. He would have become King Frederick I had he not died in 1827, three years before George.

tt0039733

Mrs. Fitzherbert

Based on a 1945 bodice ripper by Winifred Carter. The cast (including Peter Graves, already ubiquitous as upper class twits but here playing the dashing young Prince) gather about stiffly in fancy dress discussing affairs of state and matters of the heart in this drama with echoes of the recent Abdication Crisis while providing an escape for those trapped in postwar Austerity Britain into a harsher but plusher era. (The script is careful to identify luminaries of the period like &#39;Mr Pitt&#39; and &#39;Mr Haydn&#39; by making sure they are habitually referred to by name.) Feline Viennese actress Wanda Rotha fleetingly makes quite a vivid impression (as she usually does) in the first of a tiny handful of English-language roles as Caroline of Brunswick.

As an account of the doomed affair between Mrs Fitzherbert and the young Prince George, this is engaging and quite moving in places. Certainly an expensive production for British National at the time, with a huge cast and some exquisite costumes together with lavish sets. It&#39;s all presented in rather straight-laced fashion though, failing to capture the Rabelaisian flavour of the times, something the rival Gainsborough studios would not have overlooked. Peter Graves is too much of a lightweight for the part, his presence being another testament to the scarcity of leading men in British pictures of the time. Leslie Banks as Charles Fox and Margaretta Scott as the intriguing Lady Jersey are notable in support.

A law prohibiting the marriage of Catholics to the Royal Family is the motivation for keeping the crown prince of Whales (Peter Graves as the future George IV, and no, not the future actor who played a pilot that liked movies about gladiators) away from the widowed Mrs. Fitzherbert (a gorgeous Joyce Howard) who becomes his wife in a marriage not considered legitimate. King George III (Frederick Valk) and Queen Charlotte (Lily Kann) oppose the romance, and they push him into romances with two uppity women, Wanda Rotha as the queen&#39;s lady in waiting, and Margaretta Scott, whose princess Charlotte ends up being queen and whom the prince despises from the moment they meet. History has shown that this was the beginning of a domestic war of the Hanovers, resulting in her being banned from her own husband&#39;s coronation. The Prince George/Maria Fitzherbert romance isn&#39;t exactly one of romantic love, and he is often cruel to her, denying the marriage yet keeping her letters. Movies about historical situations like this have to be taken with a grain of salt, embellished to make them more interesting on the screen. Confrontations between the two chosen women as possible brides are delightfully caustic. Leslie Banks stands out among the supporting cast as William&#39;s friend, Charles James Fox, a historical character quite interesting in his own right. While this was indeed a real life story fictionalized with the screen, it has become legendary, with Mrs. Fitzherbert a major character in several movies including &quot;Beau Brummel&quot; and The Madness of King George&quot;. Maybe not in the league of real strong romantic dramas, but definitely worth seeing for its superb production design. The ending is both sad and moving, but doesn&#39;t make a real impact simply because the romantic structure of the main relationship seems weak and one-sided.

Obviously made to cash in on the success of the Gainsborough costume dramas.However lacking the dash and élan of those films,and of course lacking a Mason or Lockwood.Its 96 minutes pass exceptionally slowly.

User reviews

Mrs. Fitzherbert

Not always accurate as a history lesson and lacking as a human drama

A Royal Affair

Holds the interest though lacking in flair

The Madness of the King George's.

Lacklustre costumedrama

More from this title

More to explore

Recently viewed