"Mr. Speaker, will the 30s go down as the decade...
"which witnessed the destruction...
"and downfall of the British empire?"
"That witnessed the wanton self-destruction...
"of the British empire?"
"If India were granted...
"self-government...
"it would mark the downfall of the British empire."
"It would mark and consummate...
"the downfall of the British empire."
Mr. Inches, you're wanted!
On my way.
- Good morning. - Good morning, madam.
Have to do something about Miss Sarah's gramophone.
I don't want to start the day with a family altercation.
- No, madam. - Hello, Mommy.
Good morning, darling.
Inches, kindly tell my daughter to turn off that bloody gramophone.
Trashy music all over the house.
There you go, sir.
She knows I can't stand it. Why does she do it?
Leave it to me, sir, will you?
Have you been drinking?
This time of the morning, sir? Certainly not.
If you have, I hope it's your damn whisdey and not mine.
What time is Mrs. P coming?
Early afternoon, sir.
- Early afternoon? Why not this morning? - Because you told her to come after lunch.
Pure invention, I did nothing of the sort.
You said you're going to town this morning...
so she would not be required until after lunch.
I've changed my mind, I need to redraft the speech.
- Get her here now! - Yes, sir.
- Thank you. - Mrs. Churchill?
- Mrs. Landing. - Good morning, madam.
Is something the matter? What's wrong?
It's Mr. Monds, madam.
- Butcher? - Yes, madam.
It seems we haven't paid his bill for several weeks.
And he says he'd rather not provide us with any more meat until the account's settled.
Inches!
I'll write a checd and you send one of the girls to deliver it.
Thank you.
Inches, liver salts.
Good morning, sir.
- Good morning. - Morning.
- Randolph, you look dreadful. - Thank you, Mama.
All those double brandies late last night.
I'm not in the same league as my beloved papa.
It's very bad of a young man to drink so much...
Don't start nagging at this time of the morning, please?
Let me wade up first.
Who is it?
Winston, have you paid Mr. Monds?
The butcher from Westerham, have you paid his bills?
My dear Clemmie, I'm trying to save India from Mr. Gandhi...
and his gang of subversive Hindus, to save British imperial power...
from a disastrous eclipse, and save the Tory Party...
from an act of shame and dishonor.
In other words, you haven't paid the bill.
For God's sake, woman, I can't do everything!
Good morning, Mrs. P!
Good morning, Mary! How's she going?
Fine, thank you.
You look lovely!
I thought he said after lunch.
He did. He's changed his mind.
I wish he didn't do that. I have to take the girls to Westerham to buy shoes.
Heaven knows when I'll get another opportunity.
- Mr. Churchill? - Mrs. P, at last!
Good morning.
We have much to do and very little time in which to do it.
Inches, please tell Mr. Churchill I've decided to go to town with him.
- What time will he be leaving? - 11:30, madam. On the dot.
We'll revise this speech...
and go on to the second chapter...
on the way up to London.
- Today? - Anything wrong with that?
No, of course not, Mr. Churchill.
And bring my notes for the Battle of Blenheim.
- Clemmie, did I keep you waiting? - Not more than usual.
- Good morning, Mrs. Churchill. - How are you, Mrs. P?
- I think I'm fine... - As happy as a clam, aren't you?
Don't let him boss you about, he's a dreadful bully.
Nonsense, Mrs. P adores me.
- How are you getting on with your book? - Very well.
Volume 2, Chapter 20, the Battle of Blenheim.
We're already on page 800 and something.
I think the publishers hoped for something a little shorter.
Bugger the publishers, this is more than a biography.
It's a panegyric...
a tribute to my great and illustrious ancestor.
Get a move on, Jenner, overtake!
Remember when Randolph and I went off...
to see the battlefield?
Of course.
I dreamt about it last night.
I could see everything.
The enemy being routed...
Europe saved from those ravaging hordes...
and there was Marlborough...
riding into history.
Our eyes met.
I think he smiled at me.
You shouldn't have had so much cheese.
Stilton always gives you nightmares.
"Mr. Speaker, the loss of India...
"would mark and consummate the downfall of the British empire.
"If we cannot do our duty in India...
"we shall have shown ourselves unworthy...
"to preserve the vast empire...
"which still centers upon this small island.
"It is alarming...
"and also nauseating to see Mr. Gandhi...
"a seditious Middle Temple lawyer...
"now posing as a fakir of a type well known in the East...
"striding half-naded up the steps of the Viceregal Palace...
"to parley on equal terms...
"with the representative of the King Emperor. "
Councils, private members' bills, second reading.
What a monstrous speech.
You're his friend, Bracden.
You should tell him to stop making a fool of himself. It's pathetic.
Britain is losing her grip on its imperial affairs. He's trying to stop the rot.
Rubbish.
Winston's a self-serving opportunist. That's why nobody trusts him. No loyalty.
Does his party count for nothing?
Is it disloyal to defend what one believes in passionately?
He's attacding government policy, so he's attacding his own party.
It's about time he toed the line and stopped being such a bloody nuisance.
Wrong hat, Tom.
Mr. Woods, this is appalling.
You must remember that your husband lost a very substantial sum...
as a result of the Wall Street crash.
We're bandrupt.
Not exactly.
But I have made it clear to your husband that economies are necessary.
What did he say?
He promised to cut down to three bottles of champagne in the evening.
There was a time...
when people used to rush into the chamber to hear me speak.
"It's Winston," they'd cry. "Winston's on his feet."
Now they hurry away...
as if to avoid an embarrassing accident.
I'm finished, Brendan.
Nonsense.
A ghost...
Witnessing my own demise.
Diana.
Desmond.
- Have you met my husband? - At the wedding. Good to see you again.
I'm so glad to see you.
Hello, Morton, how's the spying game?
I'm not a spy, I'm a civil servant. Where's your father?
I'm afraid he's having a black-dog day. We rely on you to get him out of it.
He returned from London in a terrible mood. He's been like that ever since.
Winston!
Come on, Winston, lunch in five minutes.
Dogs look up to you.
Cats look down on you.
Pigs treat you as equals.
What is it? India?
Partly.
- Partly these. - What about them?
Full of "Herr" Hitler.
Made me think.
At 35, I was Home Secretary...
37, First Lord of the Admiralty...
at 50, Chancellor of the Exchequer, doing pretty well.
- Not bad. - Now look at me.
No power, no prospect of power.
look at Hitler.
From bugger-all to head of state in 10 years.
- Come and have some lunch. - Not hungry.
- Everyone's waiting. - Let them wait.
Come and have a drink at least.
What have you got there?
- I'll show you indoors. - Will it cheer me up?
Not exactly.
You may be right about Germany.
What do you mean?
What is all this?
It's a report from our air attaché in Berlin.
He says the Nazis have in training over 8,000 pilots.
Sounds as if Hitler...
is creating an air force.
I would say so.
Yes, but the Prime Minister would not.
God help us, Desmond.
England is lost in a pacifist dream.
People prefer that to the nightmare of war.
Passchendaele and the Somme are all too close for comfort.
If people are dreaming, it means they're asleep.
It's time they bloody wode up.
Mr. Baldwin?
Prime Minister.
"Herr" Brecder.
My government is very displeased by a number of scurrilous...
and totally unfounded attacds on the Third Reich...
that seem to emanate from your ambassador's office in Berlin.
- Sir Robert? - Yes. I'll make the appropriate inquiries.
If it's true, we shall take immediate action.
I deplore any attempt to create feelings of doubt and suspicion.
I am anxious to work closely with Germany...
under the new order.
Thank you, Mr. Baldwin.
Mr. Wigram.
Perhaps you will let me know the results of these inquiries.
Our most recent dispatch from our ambassador reported...
that Nazi policy is intensely anti-Jewish.
Is that "scurrilous and totally unfounded"?
The Jews have become far too prominent in many aspects of German life.
Their influence is disproportionate.
Our policies are merely adjusting the balance.
Is that why you built a concentration camp outside Munich?
It is a place of protective custody, Mr. Wigram.
Remember, it was the British who invented the concentration camp...
during the Boer War, I believe.
We are merely following your good example.
Jolly good, what you said in there.
Nothing but bully boys, these damn Nazis.
- They get away with it, that's the trouble. - Nobody does anything about it.
That's right.
- Very alarming. - It is.
- Desmond Morton. - Ralph Wigram.
Foreign Office, Central Department.
Dear. I'm sorry, have we met before? I'm terrible at faces.
I'm afraid it's my training, military intelligence.
I have a filing cabinet instead of a mind. I'm going to Charing Cross, can I drop you?
Yes, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Deuce.
I think she wants to do it professionally.
- Annoying people? - No, the stage.
Nonsense.
Girls go on the stage to marry into a good family.
Sarah already belongs to a good family. Ladies do not become chorus girls.
There's no cake.
- Pardon, sir? - You've forgotten the cake.
- There isn't any. - That's what I'm telling you, silly girl.
We don't have any cake. That's what she means.
Don't have any cake? Of course we have cake. Dundee cake from Fortnum's.
- Thank you, Peggy. - Yes, ma'am.
- What on earth's going on? - We have to make economies, Winston.
What are you talking about?
I'm worried about money, I went to see Mr. Woods.
Four queens. Why?
He's my accountant as well.
You could've told me, could've gone together.
I wanted to see exactly how bad things are.
- Could be worse, that's the answer. - We've got the most enormous overdraft.
- We're paying it off. - No, we're not.
For God's sake, Clemmie, I'm working day and night.
All these articles for "The Evening Standard", Marlborough...
not to mention the constituency work.
I know, that's why we have to economize.
Like depriving me of my Dundee cake.
You're paying all of Randolph's debts.
Randolph is hopeless with money, we all know that.
He's irresponsible.
I'll talk to him.
- It's your turn. - What?
- It's not... - It is, come along.
You just won the last tricd.
Bezique, double bezique.
Score it.
Double bezique, 500 points.
- Winston, I know how to score. - Do it.
It's not just Randolph, it's this house, it's Chartwell.
That's where all the money goes.
All right.
We employ 18 people here.
Surely not.
It's ruinously expensive. We shouldn't have bought it.
Don't start.
- You went behind my back. - I did not.
You knew I didn't like it and you deliberately deceived me.
- That's not true. - I never saw such an ugly house.
You may find the house ugly, I do not.
Anyway, that's beside the point.
- Come with me. - What for?
I want to show you something.
- Don't change the subject. - I'm not.
Come with me, please.
That's why I bought it.
Not because the house is beautiful, but because of that.
What you can see from the house.
England.
look at it, Clemmie.
Nowhere in the world...
could you find a landscape more ravishing than that.
And it's ours...
to look at and to cherish for the rest of our lives.
I would die for it, Clemmie.
Winston.
Ralph!
Some rather unwelcome news, I'm afraid.
The Cabinet has decided to sell aircraft engines to the Germans.
I don't believe it.
To be precise, 118 Rolls Royce PV-12 Merlins.
God almighty.
Designed for civilian use, I am told...
but we know they can be used for fighter planes.
This is total madness.
"Trade should have no boundaries," says the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
"If we don't sell, somebody else will." I suppose there's some logic in that.
What are we doing here, Van?
We made recommendations, write briefing notes, nobody listens.
Nobody in Downing Street gives a damn.
They're not very interested...
in uncomfortable things like political reality.
Surely the Germans aren't allowed to rearm.
Try telling that to Mr. Hitler.
Why doesn't the government do something?
They don't want to provode another war. Who does?
- And they feel guilty. - About what?
The Treaty of Versailles, it was far too punitive.
It robbed the Germans of their self-esteem.
- He's tired. I'm getting him ready for bed. - Thank you, Ethel.
Shall we go up?
Mr. Baldwin believes a strong Germany...
will keep Russia in its place.
The government regards the Communists as a greater threat than the Nazis.
- And are they? - I think not.
Nazism is more than just a political movement.
It's a cult...
a religion based on the idea of racial purity.
Mankind, the Nazis believe, is divided between...
the man-gods and the subhumans...
aliens who will be used as beasts of burden...
or merely disposed of.
Those with pure Aryan blood are the man-gods.
The beasts are the Jews.
You ready for bed?
Charlie.
Daddy.
Charlie, my boy.
Hello, beautiful boy.
You ready for bed?
Yes, you ready for bed?
Sweet dreams, big man.
Good night, sweetheart.
Good night.
What part of Germany are you from, "Herr" Baron?
Bavaria, some 10 miles from Munich.
- Do you know it? - I was there last year with my family.
On holiday?
No, researching for my book on the Duke of Marlborough.
- Having a look at the battlefields. - How very exciting.
One has to visit the actual places...
tread the terrain, as it were.
We nearly had tea with Hitler.
- In Munich? - At the Ambassador hotel.
The Regina hotel.
The Ambassador's in Vienna.
Please, don't interrupt me when I'm trying to interrupt you!
"Herr" Schroder...
have you ever seen "Herr" Hitler?
- I've met him. - Really? When was this?
Quite recently. I was having dinner with friends.
Hitler was the principal guest.
- What's he like? - My first impression...
insignificance.
Utterly insignificant.
A gray face, slate gray.
Melancholy jet-black eyes, like raisins.
A figure out of a ghost story.
He talked on and on, endlessly.
"Out of"Parsifal"," he said...
"I shall make a religion."
His oily hair fell into his face when he ranted.
Then...
quite suddenly, he left.
He bowed to me like a waiter...
who has just received a fair tip.
When he left...
nobody moved...
nobody spode.
We all sat in silence.
Rather like this.
"After the Great War, we were told that Germany...
"would be a democracy with parliamentary institutions.
"All this has been swept away. What do you have?
"Dictatorship, the most grim dictatorship.
"You have the persecution of the Jews.
"You have militarism and appeals...
"to every form of fighting spirit."
Baldwin won't like that.
He sincerely believes that Hitler does not want war.
- Baldwin. - Not just Baldwin, many others.
They're wrong.
You think so, I think so, but don't underestimate them.
They admire Hitler. They won't like it.
They can lump it.
Order!
"You have dictatorship, most grim dictatorship."
Order!
"You have the persecution of the Jews.
"You have militarism...
"and appeals to every form of fighting spirit."
Germany wants peace!
"We have steadily marched backward since the Great War.
"Fears are greater.
"Rivalries are sharper.
"Military plans are more closely concerted.
"And because of our disarmament, Britain is weaker."
Order!
The right honorable gentleman must be heard!
"The war mentality...
"The war mentality is springing up again.
"Britain's hour of weakness is Europe's hour of danger."
Mr. Pettifer.
Mr. Speaker, although one is loathe...
to criticize anyone in the evening of his days...
nothing can excuse the right honorable member for Epping...
for having permeated his entire speech...
with the atmosphere that Germany is arming for war.
May I remind the right honorable member that a poll conducted...
by the League of Nations found that over 90 percent of the British people...
favor international disarmament?
Hear, hear.
And let us not forget...
that a child born on the day the Great War ended...
is now just old enough to die in the next Great War.
It is our duty, Mr. Speaker...
to ensure that there is no next Great War.
This country wants peace!
People say, "Winston won't mind.
"He's used to being shouted at."
They're wrong...
and it hurts deeply.
Especially from your own party.
The Tories don't want to be make to think.
What you're saying is right. That's what matters.
They don't listen, that's what matters.
It's like banging your head against a bricd wall.
One can't go on forever.
Most men of my age have retired.
They do a bit of gardening, enjoy a spot of golf...
enjoy a few years of quietude.
And die.
All those dreams of standing shoulder to shoulder...
with Marlborough and all the other heroes...
Stupid nonsense!
If you give up now, then you'll never know.
Give up, give up what?
- There's nothing to give up. - You're depressed, black dog's barking.
Perhaps he's barking the truth.
Do you remember last year when Inches fell ill?
It wasn't the flu, it was something more serious.
- Why didn't you tell me? - Because he told me not to.
Doctor said he should give up work completely...
but he refused.
"Mr. Churchill needs me," he said.
And it's not just Inches, it's Mrs. P, the staff...
your constituency workers, me, we're all the same.
You have the ability to make people carry on, no matter what.
You're only trying to cheer me up. Don't.
All these years I've put up with...
the miseries of political life, because I believe in you...
and somehow I survived.
But to have you here all the time in retirement...
bad-tempered, getting in everybody's way.
That is something I just could not survive.
You're getting pretty good at this.
Ninety bricds an hour, isn't that right, Harry?
- Nearer to 60, I should say, sir. - Very well.
Between 60 and 90.
I've become a member...
of the Amalgamated Union of Building Workers.
- Fully paid up. - Very good.
This material...
you're feeding me about the German air force...
it's too generalized.
- Facts and figures is what I need. - That stuff doesn't come in my direction.
- How do I get hold of it? - I don't think you can.
Top secret, eyes only. Goes straight to the Foreign Office.
See what you can do.
I got thrashed again in the House, last week.
I need muscle, Desmond.
I need to fight back.
Come in.
I thought you left ages ago.
I've been reading this.
- drink? - Yes.
It's a report from Berlin.
Hitler's cabinet has approved a new law.
It means, in effect, the compulsory sterilization...
of all those suffering from hereditary illnesses...
which are deemed, and I quote, "to affect the health of the nation."
Bad.
Racial purity, this...
This is just the beginning.
I'll have a word with the Prime Minister.
Much good that'll do, he'll say it's German domestic policy.
It has nothing to do with us.
Which is true.
In all honesty, there's very little I can do, if anything.
You, on the other hand, may think otherwise.
Have you brought any of this to the attention of the government?
I've tried.
I've sent briefing notes to Mr. Baldwin and all members of the cabinet.
- Have you had any reaction? - Nobody pays any attention.
Hitler's war machine is getting more powerful every day...
and the British public's being deliberately misinformed.
Or at least deliberately kept in the dark.
I've made a summary of the figures issued by the government...
comparing our military strength with that of Germany.
On the next page are my own figures, which are much nearer the truth.
Germany will soon be strong enough to wage an aggressive war...
which is what I believe they intend to do.
Your figures are very precise.
Much more so than the information I have.
Presumably, you have access to other reports, other statistics.
All of it as precise and detailed as this.
Far more detailed. As I say, this is only a summary.
Then I don't see how I can help you.
Your position...
I may be called Director of the Industrial Intelligence Center...
but don't be fooled.
I'm no more than a civil servant.
I have no public voice, which is what you need.
Yes, it is.
In that case, I think you should talk to Winston.
Winston Churchill?
But surely he's...
Past it?
I don't trust him.
First, he joins the Tory Party. Then he switches to the Liberals.
Now he's back with the Tories again. He has no judgment.
Maybe, but he has an extraordinary instinct.
He knows when something's important and should be pursued.
He's wrong about India, of course. He's been wrong about a lot of things.
But I believe he's right about Germany.
I shall be seeing him at the weekend.
If you'd like me to take anything down to Chartwell...
I shall be happy to do so.
But that would mean...
You're suggesting that I remove secret documents from a government office...
and show them to someone who has no right to see them.
It's a criminal act.
But perhaps a necessary one.
- Marjorie? - Yes, Mr. Wigram?
- An envelope, I need a large envelope. - An envelope?
- Yes, do we have any large envelopes? - How large?
Just to take some papers. Just an ordinary large-size envelope.
If you give the papers to me, I'll post them. What's the address?
No, it's nothing to do with work. Where do we keep the envelopes?
Is this big enough for you?
It's fine, perfect.
Thank you.
They must be back in the office on Monday morning.
- So, I need them back by Sunday evening. - You have my word.
If it says, "Don't walk on the grass," I never do.
Never used to.
- Sunday evening, then. - Sunday evening.
Out. Definitely out.
- Can we have some more lemonade? - No, let's finish the set first.
Where did you get this?
A chap in the Foreign Office, Ralph Wigram. Head of the Central Department.
- risky business, pinching this. - Useful?
This'll make the buggers jump.
Half-past 11:00. Where the hell is he? Morton promised.
- Perhaps you should telephone. - Telephone who?
Don't they know how important this is?
Hello?
- Mr. Wigram? - Yes.
Brendan Bracken, just returning that. Sorry I'm late.
Car broke down, bloody nuisance. There's a note in there from Winston.
He'd love to have you come down for Sunday lunch.
He'll be in touch. Good night.
Good night.
Mr. Churchill.
Mr. Speaker, before I am derided yet again...
and before any further insults are hurled at me...
in the evening of my days...
It's nearly midnight, Winston.
...let me give you some facts and figures, some food for thought.
Let me describe to you...
the method of aircraft manufacture in Hitler's Germany.
Sit down, Winston, we've heard it all before.
This, you will not have heard, I can assure you of that.
Airplanes destined for the Luftwaffe...
are not manufactured in one place.
Throughout Germany, a large number of firms...
are making seemingly innocent component parts...
which are then dispatched to great, central factories...
where they are assembled very rapidly...
into fighter and bomber aircraft...
like a jigsaw puzzle or Meccano game.
It's very clever, very effective.
And above all, it conceals the true scale of German rearmament.
I am reliably informed...
that the working population of Dessau...
a small town near Leipzig...
increased last year...
by 13,000 people.
And why was that?
What is manufactured in Dessau that requires...
such an enormous influx of workers?
Lager beer?
Lederhosen?
Sausages?
Aircraft.
That is why I say we must act decisively.
And we must act now, to put our defenses in order.
If we do not, history will cast its verdict...
with those terrible, chilling words, "too late."
Hear, hear.
Mr. Ferguson, the right honorable gentleman and member for 18 years...
Charlie would so love a dog.
- I'm sure we could find you one. - Off you go.
I'm afraid our garden's too small. It's the size of a postage stamp.
We have an absolute menagerie here.
Winston has cats, dogs, geese, dondeys, wild swans...
pigs, not to mention the children.
- I don't know how you manage. - I've written my own epitaph.
"Here lies the woman who was always tired.
"She lived in a world where too much was required."
- Are landscapes your specialty? - On the whole, yes.
Less troublesome than portraits.
A tree can't tell me that I haven't done it justice.
I don't know how you find time for painting.
I wouldn't do without it. It keeps me sane. I mean it.
I couldn't exist without paints and brushes.
The black dog will get me.
Are you a worrier?
Yes, I'm afraid I am.
Then you should definitely take up painting.
It's good for the spirit, calms the nerves.
What do you worry about?
Almost everything, really.
My wife, my son. Are they happy? Will they be all right?
The state of my finances, the state of the world, the state of my roof.
- Your what? - My roof.
We have a leaky roof. Every time it rains, it's a nightmare.
But most of all...
I'm worried about these papers, these documents I'm showing you.
If anyone found out, I'd be in the most terrible trouble.
Nobody will find out, don't worry.
It's all strictly confidential.
- May I call you Ralph, if it's not too sudden? - Please, do.
The recognizing and acknowledging of fear...
is a mark of wisdom.
For example, I can't stand too near the edge of a platform...
when an express train is passing through.
Second's action would end everything forever.
My doctor says it's a form of melancholia. We call it my black dog.
Painting drives it away.
As does bricklaying. I'm building a wall.
It goes well with writing.
Two thousand words and 200 bricks a day.
What's the time? I feel peckish.
- It's nearly 4:00. - I knew it, time for tea.
When we have visitors, we have Dundee cake.
It's a great treat these days. I'm particularly fond of Dundee cake.
Come along!
I'll take these, you bring the easel.
My old man said, follow the van
And don't dilly-dally...
Come on, don't try and fold it up. It's a bloody nightmare.
And don't dilly-dally on the way
I hear you went to Chartwell.
Yes.
- Did you have fun? - Yes, we did rather.
I didn't know you were chummy with Winston.
I'm not, not chummy.
- I wonder what he wants you for. - What do you mean?
Winston's so-called friends are people who are useful to him.
The idea of having a friend because you like someone has no place...
in his world.
- You have to be very careful. - What of?
He demands total loyalty.
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
Do you know what Lloyd George said of him?
He said he would make a drum of his own mother's skin...
in order to sound his own praises.
walk on.
Who's this article for?
The Daily Mail.
Damn good, "The Daily Mail". Big fee, big readership.
What more could a fellow ask?
Walter Guinness telephoned this morning.
- How is he? - He's very well.
- He's asked me to go on a cruise. - A cruise?
Very nice.
It's more of an expedition, really.
Fine, you'll enjoy a little rest.
Where's Walter planning to go, south of France?
Komodo.
Komodo, where the hell is that?
Just below the Philippines, near Bali.
That's halfway around the bloody world.
What on earth makes him want to go there?
- Something to do with catching dragons. - Dragons?
They're more lizards, really, but they're very big. They're for the zoo.
Wait a minute.
Walter Guinness is seriously suggesting...
going halfway around the world searching for some damn lizard.
- Is that right? - Yes.
- He must be mad. What's the point of it? - It would be a great adventure.
- You'd be away weeks, months. - About four months.
Who else is going on this trip?
Evelyn, of course, two of their cousins, and a man called Terrence Phillip.
- Who's he? - Art dealer.
We met him at one of Walter's dinner parties.
Clemmie, you have four children...
who require your love and support...
not to mention a husband who has to work 20 hours a day...
to keep this household afloat.
And you think it's all right, do you, to leave us...
to go off chasing lizards with Walter Guinness?
What am I supposed to say to that?
Don't you think it just might be construed as just a little selfish?
Well, don't you?
Do not accuse me of being selfish. Do not dare!
I spent the last 26 years of my life trying to please you.
And I've done everything, and I mean everything!
I put your happiness before the children's happiness...
before my happiness!
You are the most self-centered man I have ever met.
So...
don't accuse me of being selfish. Don't you dare.
Sorry, sir.
I thought somebody...
The sprouts misbehaved.
Yes, sir.
Mrs. Pussycat, Mr. Pug is very sorry.
Pussycat, do let me in.
Mr. Pug is very lonely out here.
Mrs. Pussycat, please.
- Mommy, open the window. - What darling?
- Open the window! - I can't hear you.
That's why you need to open the window! The leather strap, pull up!
- It won't budge, you'll have to shout. - We are shouting.
- Bye, Mommy, find a dragon! - Pull up on the leather strap!
Goodbye.
- Goodbye, Clemmie. - Goodbye.
- And how are you this morning, sir? - All right, I think. Thank you for asking.
Missing her, of course, but that's to be expected.
No point in dwelling on her absence, we must KBO.
Yes, sir, "keep buggering on" at all times, sir.
KBO, that's the order of the day.
"We are entering...
"a period of danger...
"and of anxiety."
Comma.
"Let us stop...
"and see exactly..."
No, scrub that.
Bugger.
Thank you, kindly.
"We are entering upon a period of danger...
"and of anxiety."
You're repeating yourself.
All right, don't break your heart about it.
"And how do we stand...
"in this long period of danger?"
Pause for emphasis.
look of doom and foreboding.
"There is no doubt...
"that the Germans are superior to us in the air...
"at the present time.
"And it is my belief that by the end of the year...
"they will possibly be three...
"or even four times our strength."
Where did he get all that information?
He makes it his business to be well informed.
I don't like it, it could do immense damage to our trade with Germany...
not to mention the cost of rearmament.
Where does he think the money's coming from?
I want him isolated. Tell the whips.
"Only a short distance away there dwells a nation...
"of nearly 70 millions...
"who are taught from childhood to think of war and conquest...
"as a glorious exercise," comma...
"and death in battle...
"as man's noblest fate." Stop.
I beg your pardon, Mrs. P.
"To urge preparation of defense...
"is not to assert the imminence of war.
"On the contrary, if war was imminent...
"preparations for defense would be too late.
"However calmly surveyed...
"the danger of an air attack on London...
"must appear most formidable."
- I'm sorry. - That's all right.
"London is the greatest target in the world.
"The kind of tremendous, fat, valuable cow...
"tied up to attract a beast of prey.
"We cannot retreat.
"We cannot move London."
Papers. Get your papers here.
This is all a bit Agatha Christie, wouldn't you say?
"Daily Express".
"Times". Get your newspapers.
"Dearest Clemmie, thank you for your letter.
"I am delighted you had such an exciting time in Madras."
Stop.
"Mr. Phillip sounds a most agreeable...
"and adventurous companion." Stop.
"I've decided to make...
"the peninsula on the bottom lake into an island...
"thus providing a safe haven for the geese.
"The heavy work will be done by a great mechanical digger...
"which does the work of 10 men...
"and will therefore please the accountant.
"As you will have heard...
"Randolph was heavily defeated in the by-election...
"and lost his deposit.
"This resulted, of course, a setback for him...
"and should teach him prudence."
The choice is in your hands.
If I achieve anything, they say it's because of you.
Rubbish.
When I fail, they say, "What a tragedy."
For God's sake.
I'm not a child, I'm 23, I want to make a life of my own.
Do what you like. make a fool of yourself. I don't give a damn.
Go to hell, Papa.
I'm not staying in this bloody house a moment longer.
Bugger.
- Sprouts again, sir? - Cauliflower.
Keep young and beautiful
It's your duty to be beautiful
"Mary and I went to see the show...
"that Sarah has got herself involved in.
"Didn't care for it at all. Not a patch on Gilbert and Sullivan. "
Keep young and beautiful
It's your duty to be beautiful
Keep young and beautiful if you want to be loved
"Met this wretched man she keeps talking about.
"Rick Oliver, the so-called star of the show."
If you want to be loved
If you're wise, exercise all the fat off
Take it off, off of here, off of there
When you're seen anywhere with your hat off
Have a marcel wave in your hair
"Can't imagine what she sees in him, common as dirt.
"Diana, I know...
"has written to you about her intended divorce.
"A sad business, but probably all for the best.
"I dealt with the situation very clumsily, I'm afraid.
"I wished profoundly that you'd been there...
"to offer comfort and advice."
It's getting deeper in, Richard.
"The accountant has been sadly disappointed.
"Downpours of rain occurred.
"And the mechanical digger sank into the mud...
"and finally wallowed himself into an awful pit. "
No good, hopeless.
- 98 degrees, sir. - Very good, Inches, full steam ahead.
Yes, sir, very good, sir.
- Dinner jacket tonight. - Yes, sir, the looser trousers?
I'm afraid so.
- Car round at 6:00. - Very good, sir.
Good morning, Mr. Churchill.
"Your dear letters are the only bright spot in my life, Clemmie.
"I fill my days writing inflammatory articles about Germany...
"and thus incurring the wrath of Stanley Baldwin...
"which pleases me no end."
"Evening Standard". Have you seen it?
Yes.
You haven't had much luck as far as Winston is concerned.
He's more voluble than ever.
Germany is his new hobby. He won't let go of it.
You've got to make him.
- Excuse me, sir. 10:30? - Yes.
I will not allow him to interfere with government policy...
nor indeed with the smooth running of the party machine.
I'll do what I can.
Have a word with someone in his constituency.
Yes, of course.
A word about what exactly?
There must be a large amount of local party members...
who were dismayed, not to say alarmed, by his behavior.
Encourage them to speak up.
Tell them to make him aware of their displeasure.
Say he's erratic, totally unreliable.
- Ralph. - Hello, Van.
- Enjoying it? - Very much, you?
lmmensely.
- Winston's been very active recently. - Active?
Yes, endless speeches, all those newspaper articles...
"Evening Standard", "Daily Mail", everywhere you look.
- Created a lot of anxiety. - Yes, I'm sure.
- Not surprising, really. - No.
His information is remarkably detailed.
I'm starting to wonder where it comes from.
Of course, a lot of it could come from your department.
Yes, it could, I know.
Winston started to make some real impact.
Slowly but surely, attitudes are changing.
It would be unfortunate if something were to go wrong.
Wrong?
Yes, one has to be very careful.
No unnecessary risks, if you know what I mean.
Yes.
Here we are.
Hello. Here you are, my darling.
"We must defend our island from foreign aggression." Stop.
All clear.
"We should repudiate all defeatism and passivism." Stop.
Bugger!
West room 93.
It's for you, sir. Mr. Wigram.
"Our country can only be saved if it is strong."
Ralph, how are you?
Winston...
I can't go on with this.
I'm sure they know something. We have to stop this now.
Listen, Ralph, just a little longer.
Winston, are you sure we're not making matters worse?
I don't believe we are.
It's so very important, what you're doing, Ralph.
You mustn't stop now.
Ralph, KBO, remember our motto. Keep buggering on.
"Life is drab without you, Clemmie.
"If it weren't for Mary, I'd be utterly miserable. "
Now, I just want to show you the scale, the distance.
There's the South of England, where we live...
and there is Austria, where you went last Christmas with Mommy.
- And you remember how far away that was. - Yes.
Now, I'll show you where Mommy is now.
Let her go!
Miles and miles away.
"Your desert-island picnic with Mr. Phillip sounds idyllic.
"I wish I could've been there with you.
"It is over 11 weeks since you left Chartwell.
"And I'm counting the seconds until you return. "
...to Komodo, where the dragons are.
- It really is a long way. - Yeah, it is.
Paragraph.
"Diana's gone back to her husband."
Comma.
"But I fear the marriage will not last." Stop.
Inches, out! I'm in the middle of a letter!
- Telephone, sir. - Out!
- The man says it's important. - He can call later.
- Really important. - Who is it?
- Major Sankey. - Who is Major Sankey?
One of your constituency workers. You should talk to him.
- Now? - Yes. He's been ringing all morning.
All right. Inches, you're the most irritating clug on earth!
I was in the middle of a letter to my wife, now I've lost my train of thought.
Idiot! Have you no sensitivity?
There's no need to be insulting, sir. I was just passing on a message.
Shut up, Inches. How dare you?
Tell the girl to put the call through up here.
- She's gone to lunch, sir. - Then do it yourself.
I'm not acquainted with the mechanism, sir.
God almighty. Bloody hell!
- You're very rude to me, Inches. - You're very rude to me, sir.
Yes, but I'm a great man.
You're a stupid old bugger.
Mr. Churchill's in trouble.
What do you mean?
Mr. Baldwin, or someone higher up, is trying to get him pushed out.
Of what?
The Conservative Party.
Don't be daft, they wouldn't do a thing like that.
They don't like his speeches on Germany. They want to shut him up.
Can they do that, Mrs. P? Just dick him out?
They could, I suppose, yes.
Organize a vote of no confidence, something like that.
- He'd never get over it. - I know.
I'll tell you this, Mrs. P.
If they do dick him out, I shall never vote Tory again.
Never! Not even Liberal.
Bastards! How dare they? Buggers!
This is absolutely the worst day of my whole bloody life!
I'm surrounded by enemies.
They call me a warmonger because I speak the blunt truth?
Baldwin is behind all this, Stanley bloody Baldwin!
No better than an epileptic corpse.
"Who is in charge of the clattering train?
"The axles creed and the coupling strain.
"The pace is hot, and the points are near.
"And sleep has deadened the driver's ear.
"And the signals flash through the nights in vain.
"For Death...
"is in charge of the clattering train."
He'll be needing a glass of champagne.
Possibly two.
Charlie, Mommy's nearly finished. Then, I promise, we'll go to the park.
There's someone to see you, ma'am.
- Who? - Mr. Pettifer.
Pettifer, to see me?
We'll go in a minute, darling.
What are you reading, Charlie?
Good afternoon, Mr. Pettifer.
Mrs. Wigram.
- I'm afraid my husband's not home. - It was you I came to see.
Please, do sit down.
Thank you.
I need your help in a rather delicate and confidential matter.
The Prime Minister feels it would be advantageous...
if your husband did not see quite so much of Mr. Churchill.
What do you mean?
It's perhaps not wise, not good for him.
Not wise for who?
Your husband.
Then shouldn't you be telling this to my husband?
I'm quite sure he takes note of what you say.
What my husband does is his own business.
I wouldn't dream of trying to interfere.
No, of course not.
But do remember, your husband's the head of an important part of the Foreign Office.
It's not a good idea for him to tell Mr. Churchill what's going on.
Why?
If indeed he has been.
Please, Mrs. Wigram, don't let's argue about this.
Please, Mr. Pettifer, don't treat me like a child.
If your husband persists in seeing Winston...
he may find himself being posted somewhere inconveniently distant...
which would, of course, be difficult with regard to your son.
Difficult for him to travel, I mean.
Difficult also, I should imagine...
to find the appropriate medical assistance in certain parts of the world.
I dare say, it would mean your having to stay here.
You've make a foolish mistake, Mr. Pettifer.
A tactical error.
When a member of the government comes to my house and threatens me so openly...
it only shows how important it is...
that my husband continue his friendship with Mr. Churchill.
That is my opinion, anyway.
Please, give my regards to your husband.
- Do tell him what I said. - I think I prefer not to.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Wigram.
- What do you want, Mr. Churchill? - I'm looking for a letter.
What letter?
I thought there might be something from Clemmie.
Not today.
It's not easy to post letters in that part of the world.
Perhaps tomorrow.
Does the name "Terrence Phillip" mean anything to you?
Terrence Phillip? Yes. Art dealer, I think.
Anything known?
Good-looking?
Rather dashing, plenty of money. His father was rich.
- Married? - No.
Clemmie seems to be quite chummy with him.
She keeps mentioning him.
- He's on the boat with her? - He is.
- I'm idiotically jealous. - Winston.
- I'm sure she's in love with him. - Rubbish.
She writes about him in every letter.
"Terrence and I did this, Terrence and I did that."
- They're companions, friends on holiday. - I know Clemmie.
I can read between the lines. I know her thoughts.
Don't be ridiculous. She loves you, Winston, very deeply.
- I'm a rotten husband. - Nonsense.
I suppose he's the romantic type. You know, all that sort of stuff.
Never got much of that from me.
It never seemed important, even when I was young.
Daisy Fellowes, she tried to seduce me at the Ritz.
Wasn't interested.
Used to think it was because I smoked too much.
- Tobacco is bad for love, old age is worse. - You're talking nonsense, Winston.
"I've lived too long, I'm in the ruck I've drunk too deeply of the cup
"I cannot spend, I cannot fuck I'm down and out, I'm buggered up"
Where did you get that from?
It's a translation from the Russian. Pushkin, I believe.
You may laugh, Desmond Morton...
but I think about it all the time.
Clemmie and that fellow.
She'll be home soon, Winston.
Wrap me up in me tarpaulin jacket
And say a poor trooper lies low
Get six stalwart lancers
to carry me
with steps silent, mournful
and slow
Mr. Churchill!
Inches, you're drund.
She's here, sir.
What?
- Taxi's coming down the drive, sir. - What are you talking about?
Mrs. Churchill, sir.
- She's here? - Yes, sir.
She's here!
Out of my way!
Lovely.
Thanks very much.
Why are you all wet?
I thought I'd never see you again.
Here I am.
Mr. Inches, how are you?
So, you had a good time?
Wonderful.
I missed you very much.
I missed you, too.
I'm not sure...
that I believe that.
You seem to have seen a lot of Mr. Terrence Phillip.
Yes.
You like him?
He was good fun.
Good fun?
He's very interesting.
I hear he's much in demand.
All the hostesses in London want him at their dinner table.
Yes.
I'm sure they do.
You should ask him here for the weekend.
Did you...
fall in love with him?
He made me like him.
Mr. Pug...
your new island looks lovely.
At Versailles it was laid down...
and at Locarno it was confirmed that Germany was forbidden to take...
any armed forces into the Rhineland zone.
And for 18 years, the fortresses of Frankfurt, Koblenz...
and the other garrison cities on the Rhine have been empty...
but gradually, under dictator Hitler...
Germany has been asserting her independence from treaty obligations.
First, she left the League of Nations...
then set about rebuilding her army, navy and air force.
Until today, when her forces play at war and mimic battle...
Germany is seen again to be one of the great armed powers of Europe.
We're powerless.
Hitler's preparing to tear the world apart...
and we can do nothing.
Of course we can, and we shall.
I should never have shown you those papers.
What do you mean?
Perhaps the Prime Minister's right.
Perhaps we should try to find a compromise with "Herr" Hitler.
Don't be ridiculous, you know that's impossible.
Then perhaps we should let him have his own way.
For God's sake, Ralph, what ridiculous nonsense is this?
Ralph, you're tired. We should go home.
Hundreds of thousands of people will die.
Millions.
And I shall be responsible.
- Ralph, that's just not true. - Partly responsible, then.
How would you be remotely responsible?
By showing those papers to Winston.
By stirring up public opinion.
By making it impossible for the government to reach a settlement with the Nazis.
Hitler is unstoppable. In three years, he's made himself dictator of Germany...
dumped the Treaty of Versailles, rebuilt the armed forces.
He'll march into Austria, and then Czechoslovakia, and then...
God knows what, the whole of Europe.
There may be a war.
I grant you that.
Nevertheless, we shall win.
How can you say that?
It's just mindless optimism.
When I was in school, I had a friend called Murland Evans...
and one day we were talking about what we would do when we were grown up.
And I don't know why I said this...
or why I thought it.
But I said:
"One day in the future, Britain will be in great danger...
"and it will fall to me...
"to save London and the Empire."
Schoolboy fantasy.
I wanted to play for England and go climb Everest.
My destiny.
And I truly believe it.
You're an extraordinary man, Winston.
I am, I know it.
Nobody but you could say that sort of thing and expect people to believe it.
Destiny is what I believe in.
Destiny commands...
we must obey.
Not a very jolly lunch, I'm afraid.
look out for yourself, Ava.
take care of Ralph, he needs you so much.
I will. Thank you, Clemmie.
Goodbye.
"All over Europe...
"is the hush of suspense.
"And in many lands, it is the hush of fear.
"During these last few years...
"the world has grown gravely darker.
"We have steadily disarmed...
"partly with a sincere desire to give a lead to other countries...
"and partly through the severe financial pressure of the time.
"But a change must now be make.
"We must not continue longer on a course in which we alone are growing weaker...
"while Germany is growing stronger."
Hear, hear.
Prime Minister...
Hello, Winston.
I hear there's a nonsensical rumor that you're about to retire.
Please, state that that isn't the case.
I should be making an official announcement in due course.
But please, be discrete, I don't want everybody to know.
I'm very surprised.
You're much loved in the country, Stanley.
I've had my day. I'm exhausted.
You know, some days I am so tired, I can hardly turn over the pages of a book.
We've had our differences.
Profound differences.
But I've always admired...
your great political sdills.
Winston, let me tell you something.
To my mind, war is the greatest folly that can afflict mankind.
- Absolutely, no question about it... - Please, don't interrupt.
Maybe you're right about Hitler. Perhaps this war is inevitable.
But I believe that I am also right.
I have done everything in my power to preserve peace...
and I would do exactly the same, all over again.
Bloodshed, sorrow...
irreparable loss...
that's what I've been hoping to prevent.
But, as I say...
you may well be right.
So many telegrams today!
German troops are on the march.
Thousands of them. Hence all the telegrams.
Hitler's planning to invade the world, and we're planning to do nothing about it.
What do you make of that, Marjorie?
Perhaps we should go home? Or we could take a stroll in St. James's Park.
It's remarkable weather for this time of year, and we're hardly much use here, are we?
Sorry, Marjorie.
It's a poor joke.
Thank you for these.
Marjorie, I meant to ask, what time is the defense meeting tomorrow?
I don't think you're required at that meeting, Mr. Wigram.
We haven't received any notification.
Not required?
Fine.
Funny how word gets around.
Thank you very much. Come on, my little man.
Charlie, it's snowing, how lovely.
- Ethel, can you manage? - Yes, thank you, ma'am.
We should go find Daddy in the garden and make a snowman, what do you think?
Oh, silly Mommy.
Silly Mommy!
We wish you a merry Christmas We wish you a merry Christmas
and a happy New Year
- Shall I take him? - Thank you.
Come on, young man, what you need is a bath!
Good bath.
Be up in a minute.
Ralph?
What's wrong?
Nothing.
- Drink? - Please.
The snow has settled.
How wonderful.
We must take Charlie to the park, he's never seen snow like this.
So beautiful, like a painting.
You must telephone to the office. Tell them you won't be in today.
Just for two or three hours. It is Christmas, after all. They'll spare you.
I'm afraid I absolutely forbid you to go to work on a day like today.
Poor turnout from Whitehall.
I know, pretty bloody awful.
We had lunch with him a few days ago, and he was very upset then.
I was quite frightened. Do you think...
It says a pulmonary hemorrhage on the death certificate.
I think we should leave it at that.
He said it was all pointless, everything he tried to do.
Was it pointless?
His life was very precious to me.
Please, tell me it wasn't wasted.
Ava, my dear, you'll be very proud of him.
People often act heroically...
because they don't fully appreciate the dangers that lie ahead.
Ralph saw all those dangers and was afraid of them...
but he did what he did, in spite of his fear.
No man can be braver than that.
Thank you, Winston.
What is it?
Any invading force...
would march across our little bit of England...
on their way to London.
I wonder how long we've got.
This is London.
You will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister...
the right honorable Neville Chamberlain.
I am speaking to you...
from the cabinet room at 10 Downing Street.
This morning, the British ambassador in Berlin...
handed the German government a final note...
stating that unless we heard from them by 11:00...
that they were prepared at once...
to withdraw their troops from Poland...
a state of war would exist between us.
I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received...
and that, consequently...
this country is at war with Germany.
Mr. Churchill!
Upstairs, Mrs. P.
- What's the matter? - Telephone, sir. The Prime Minister's office.
First Lord of the Admiralty, back in power!
Jolly good show, marvelous!
I have been made a member of the War Cabinet.
Mrs. Churchill and I must now make our home in London.
Needless to say, we shall return to Chartwell whenever possible.
Every one of you will be looked after...
and either retained here, or found good jobs elsewhere.
Mr. Inches has all the details.
There may be difficult and painful times ahead.
But now that I'm in charge of the Navy...
Mr. Hitler and his Nazi thugs had better look out.
We're going to teach them a lesson they'll never forget!
Good luck, sir.
Mr. Inches, I think a glass of champagne might be in order.
With respect, sir, I think we might save that for happier days.
Quite right.
However, there's a good claret you may be interested in.
It is a very good year, I can't tell you which year.
Not the House of Commons, the Admiralty!
I've got a navy to run!
Just before the Battle of Blenheim...
Marlborough said to his aide:
"Today, I conquer or die."
Now I know how he felt.
Thank you.
For what?
For being rash enough to marry me...
foolish enough to stay with me...
and for loving me in a way...
I thought I'd never be loved.
At ease.
- Good evening. - Good evening, sir.
- I'm the new First Lord. - Yes, sir, we know that.
How do you know?
A signal was sent to the fleet this afternoon.
What signal?
"Winston is back," sir.
"Winston is back."
And so he bloody well is!