Now, this is an Anna Neagle completely unlike her later, Great British typecast roles - and all the better for it! This saucy, bawdy comedy is just the ticket - although brief by modern standards, it's so full of life it certainly doesn't feel short.
Cedric Hardwicke and Anna Neagle play off one another to the hilt as the merry monarch and bouncy, irreverent Nell, and the verbal pyrotechnics of the script kept up a ripple of laughter among the audience. Broader visual comedy includes a multitude of impromptu meaningful looks, a cheeky dog and the sleeping Nell's voluptuous little wiggle.
Jeanne de Casalis was somewhat irritating as Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth, sporting a heavily over-the-top French accent and mannerisms; however, the character was supposed to be irritating, so this was not an insurmountable problem!
A film for fans of Ealing comedy and screwball romance, this was a thoroughly enjoyable romp, based a little too accurately on historical fact for the American censors, that took an unexpected serious twist towards the end. I found myself left wondering what did happen afterwards to Nell Gwyn...
Cedric Hardwicke and Anna Neagle play off one another to the hilt as the merry monarch and bouncy, irreverent Nell, and the verbal pyrotechnics of the script kept up a ripple of laughter among the audience. Broader visual comedy includes a multitude of impromptu meaningful looks, a cheeky dog and the sleeping Nell's voluptuous little wiggle.
Jeanne de Casalis was somewhat irritating as Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth, sporting a heavily over-the-top French accent and mannerisms; however, the character was supposed to be irritating, so this was not an insurmountable problem!
A film for fans of Ealing comedy and screwball romance, this was a thoroughly enjoyable romp, based a little too accurately on historical fact for the American censors, that took an unexpected serious twist towards the end. I found myself left wondering what did happen afterwards to Nell Gwyn...