That Hamilton Woman!

Spent some time relaxing yesterday as the proberbial "Day-After-Christmas" couch potato after all the holiday festivities. One of my gifts was the classic movie: That Hamilton Woman, the story of Lord Horatio Nelson and his scandalous affair with Lady Emma Hamilton; Nelson played by Lawrence Olivier and Emma by Vivien Leigh. It's wonderful, with a bit of artistic license, but I love it. From 1941, it is filmed in black and white, and directed by Alexander Korda.                 

The film tells the story of the rise and fall of Emma Hamilton, a dancehall girl/courtesan, charming and clever as she works her way up the social ladder at the royal court in Naples during the Napoleonic Wars, eventually becoming the mistress of Admiral Nelson. She was married, as an ornament, to Lord Hamilton, an old man, the British ambassador to the kingdom of Naples. The plot begins with Emma as an old, drunken, shell-of-her-former-self, with a flashback to her glory days.

Interestingly enough, Leigh and Olivier were newlyweds at the time of the filming and were considered a dream couple. They would have been called "The Beautiful People" in the 80's; today, known as "Leigh-Vier", or "O-Leigh" (I like that one! Ha Ha).

Emma Hamilton was considered the beauty of the age, as was Leigh during her time. But, typical for Hollywood films back in the day, bad behavior breeds bad results. Hamilton's days were numbered, but while she was with Nelson, she had a grand time. After Nelson's famous death at the Battle of Trafalgar, her life sank as there was no compensation for her. They were not married, no one would include her in proper society, and there was no such thing as "palimony" suits. She ended up in Calais, with nothing.

This is the famous portrait of Emma, painted by George Romney, English artist, in 1785. It hangs today in the Huntington Library in Pasadena (San Marino), California.

At left is Vivien Leigh as Lady Hamilton.