Darkest Hour (2017) Movie Script
Order!
Order! Order!
Mr. Speaker! Mr. Speaker!
Order! The leader...
Order.
The leader of the Opposition,
Clement Attlee.
Mr. Speaker.
It seems that I have not been
clear enough.
Then let me leave no doubt
about my feelings regarding
Mr. Chamberlain's future
as prime minister.
All right, honorable gentlemen!
Give way! Give way!
Give way!
Owing to his years
of inactivity
and incompetence,
we find him
personally responsible...
...personally responsible
for leaving this nation
ruinously unprepared
to face the present Nazi peril.
- Order! Order!
- Sit down!
Shame on you! Shame!
We are at war, Mr. Speaker...
at war... and leaving aside
whether he is fit
to be a leader in peacetime,
he has proved himself incapable
of leading us in wartime!
Sit down!
Order! Order!
I said, "Order!"
Therefore,
in the national interest,
we, the Opposition,
are willing to enter into
a grand coalition with
the ruling Conservative Party...
so-called...
- Order! Order!
- ...but not...
and I stress never...
under the leadership
of Mr. Chamberlain,
who has lost
the confidence of this House.
In the country's interest, man,
resign, step down,
and let us find a new leader.
Sit down. Shame on you.
- Shame.
- You've got some nerve!
Where's Winston?
Ensuring his fingerprints
are not on the murder weapon.
Order!
As the Opposition refuse
to join any government
headed by me,
we must now select
my successor,
someone with new strength
to form a coalition government.
I will step down tomorrow,
but, uh,
I did want my own party,
the gentlemen I most respect,
to know first.
Yeah.
- And it must be Halifax.
- Hear, hear.
There's no question.
- Our foreign secretary.
- Halifax.
Yeah, of course.
No contest. Halifax.
Thank you, gentlemen.
I appreciate
your confidence in me.
However,
my time has not yet come.
Then who?
But, on whomever
the task may fall,
he shall be required
to explore every avenue.
Including that
of diplomatic talks.
Indeed. Towards the restoration
of peace in Europe.
- Absolutely.
- Hear, hear.
Well, gentlemen,
there is only one candidate...
only one man...
the Opposition will accept.
- Oh, no. Oh, surely not.
- God, has it come to that?
No, no, no.
No, this is totally absurd.
And if he
stretches out his hand
and says, "Gimme,"
you need to anticipate
what he wants.
Black pen, red pen, paper
or "clop"...
that's his hole punch.
How selfish to resign,
time like this.
Do you think they'll take me
to Downing Street
if he gets the job?
Not after that spotted dick
you served last week, eh?
He mumbles,
so it's almost impossible
to catch everything.
Be prepared to type fast...
short bursts and double-spaced.
He hates single-spaced.
Hates it.
Good luck.
To the French ambassador.
With German forces...
...crossing into Holland...
H-Holland alone...
- Come on. Telegram.
- Oh.
...Holland alone...
requests reassurance
that French forces
will now move...
uh, move at once
uh, into, uh...
to protect Belgium.
Stop.
French ambassador, sir.
Uh, Monsieur Ambassador.
Oh.
Oh.
Uh, they've already
invaded Belgium?
Holland and Belgium?
Uh... I-I will convey your plea
to the prime minister at once.
Uh, yes. Uh, the situation
is still very confused.
Yes.
Uh, good-bye.
"To the French ambassador.
- With German... "
- No, scrap that.
Uh, new telegram.
Uh, to General Ismay.
In...
- What is it now?
- Your son.
Randolph, quickly.
No, last night, they said
I might be made
prime minister today,
but that-that was yesterday.
Let's see what happens today.
Yeah? Let's see what, uh...
let's see what Neville
does today.
Yes.
Oh, thank you, my boy.
Yes. Um...
Yes. Keep buggering on.
Um... um...
Where, uh... now...
"To General Ismay. "
Ah, General Ismay.
Yeah. Uh, Sawyers.
- Oh.
- Get rid of this, will you?
To General Ismay.
In, uh, light
of today's events,
the time is, uh, ripe...
...for, uh, many preparations
to be...
Are you, uh, uh...
uh, striking those keys
in a normal fashion?
It's awfully loud. I can't...
I can't hear myself think.
Read it back.
Uh... "To General Ismay.
In the light of today's events,
the time is right... "
"Ripe"! Not "right"!
God's teeth, girl.
I said "ripe"!
Ripe! Ripe! Puh, puh, puh!
Last sentence.
Uh, "The time is ripe. " Puh.
- For...
- "For... "
- For...
- "Man-Many, many, many... "
Many, many, many, many, many.
How many "many" s did you write,
you nincompoop?
One "many. " For...
"For many
preparations to be made. "
Single-spaced. Single-spaced!
Were you not briefed,
young lady?
Single-spaced!
Someone set it
on single-space, and...
Then why did you persist?
- Well, I...
- Oh, goddamn! Tell...
Tell Evans to send me someone
who can get it right
the first time!
Go on! Out!
"Right"!
Tuh, tuh, tuh!
He shouted at you.
- Did he shout at you?
- No.
- He can be an awful brute!
- I'm...
- I made too many mistakes.
- I think you were nervous,
and he has a knack
for drawing out the very worst
in those who are trying
to help him the most.
No, no, it's not...
it's not him.
It's me. He's... he's...
He's a man, like any other.
Come on. What you doing?
Dearest.
Uh, the War Cabinet's
been called.
- Bloody cat's under the bed again.
- My darling?
- Tango.
- May I tell you something
I feel you really ought
to know?
I have noticed a recent
deterioration in your manner.
You're not as kind
as you used to be.
You've become rough.
And sarcastic
and overbearing and rude.
Oh, is this about the new girl?
If the king does ask you
to become prime minister...
We don't know that for sure.
I don't want you
to be disliked.
More than I already am?
Oh! My darling,
you are on the brink
of having tremendous power,
surpassed only by that
of the king,
and with such power you really
must try and be more kind.
And, if possible, calm.
I want others to love
and respect you, as I do.
Telegram for Mr. Churchill.
Excuse me?
I'm not...
...troops
have destroyed all bridges
of the Isle and Meuse rivers.
This is the BBC Home Service.
Here is a short news bulletin.
The German army invaded
Holland and Belgium
early this morning, by land...
- There's a telegram.
- ...and by landings
- from parachutes.
- Shh.
The armies of the Low Countries
are resisting.
An appeal for help
has been made
to the Allied governments...
- It's from the Palace.
- ...and Brussels says
that Allied troops
are moving to their support.
A hundred war planes
were seen over Brussels,
and it is now reported
that in the first raid
over Brussels,
several hundred people
were killed and wounded,
and several buildings
destroyed.
Five minutes ago,
the Air Ministry announced
that in the early hours
of this morning...
Thank you, uh, Miss...?
Layton.
- You're shaking.
- So are you.
Oh, you... you from excitement;
I from terror.
You've wanted this
your entire adult life.
No. Since the nursery.
But do the public want me?
It's your own party to whom
you'll have to prove yourself.
Ah, I'm getting the job only
because the ship is sinking.
It-it's not a gift;
it's revenge.
Let them see your true
qualities, your courage.
- My poor judgment.
- No, your lack of vanity.
- And my iron will.
- Your sense of humor.
Ho, ho, ho.
Now go.
- Go?
- Be...
Be what?
Be yourself.
Myself?
Hmm.
Which self should I...
be today?
Hmm.
One should have had power
when a young man.
When wits were sharp.
Sinews strong.
Oh, well.
Uh, uh, lead on, Macduff.
When youth departs,
may wisdom prove enough.
Mm.
Hardly seems like
there's a war on at all.
Do you know
I've never ridden a bus?
Sir?
I've never queued for bread.
I believe I can boil an egg.
But only because
I've seen it done.
The only time I tried
riding the Underground
was during the General Strike.
Clemmie dropped me off
at South Kensington station.
I went down but got lost.
I came straight back up!
It was awful.
Why not Halifax?
I favor Halifax.
I wanted Halifax.
The Lords wanted Halifax.
Perhaps, uh,
Halifax wanted Halifax.
Then why have I been forced
to send for Churchill?
Because he is
the only member of our party
who has the support
of the Opposition.
His record is a litany
of catastrophe.
Gallipoli, 25,000 dead,
the India policy,
the Russian Civil War,
the Gold Standard,
the abdication,
and now this Norway adventure.
What's that, 1,800 men?
One aircraft carrier,
two cruisers,
seven destroyers
and a submarine.
- Winston lacks judgment.
- He was right about Hitler.
Well, even a stopped clock
is right twice a day.
First Lord of the Admiralty,
Mr. Winston Churchill.
Early.
Keen.
I accept your resignation,
but I want you to know how...
cruelly I think
you've been treated.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Oh, this way, my lord.
Your Majesty.
Mr. Churchill.
I believe you know...
why I have asked you
here today.
Sir, I simply cannot
imagine why.
It is my duty to invite you
to take up the position
of prime minister
of this United Kingdom.
Will you form a government?
I will.
Very well.
Well, that was quite easy.
Yes, it was.
I believe we are
to meet regularly.
Once a week, I'm afraid.
How is...
How are you for Mondays?
Um, I shall endeavor
to be available
- on Mondays.
- 4:00?
I nap at 4:00.
Is that permissible?
No. But necessary.
I work late.
Oh. Then perhaps lunchtime.
Lunch?
Mondays?
Your Majesty.
Prime Minister.
- Can we get any closer?
- Mr. Churchill!
Good evening, gentlemen.
Mr. Churchill,
welcome to Number Ten.
Thank you, sir.
Mr. Churchill,
what's your agenda?
The agenda?
Uh, a glass of Pol Roger.
- Cheers.
- Over here, sir!
You'll-you'll have
your pictures.
Prime Minister.
Anthony.
How is the king?
Anxious.
He's never forgiven me
for supporting
his brother's marriage
to Wallis Simpson.
You only have to meet him
once a week.
Oh, but that's like saying
you only have to have
your tooth pulled once a week.
Composition
of your War Cabinet.
Who should sit on it?
Yeah.
Uh, Chamberlain, of course.
Uh, the Reverend Holy Fox.
Halifax.
Keeping your enemies close?
Oh, more than that.
Without them, the party
will have rid of me.
Oh, and-and that sheep
in sheep's clothing, Attlee.
Come on, Daddy.
Everyone's waiting.
Yes, I-I'll be there
in a jiffy, my love.
I heard that before
you were asked,
they offered it
to Lord Halifax.
Oh, I doubt that.
Halifax would never
turn it down.
He's the fourth son of an earl.
Fourth sons turn nothing down.
I wish the position had come
your way in better times, sir.
You have an enormous task
ahead of you.
I only hope it's not too late.
I'm very much afraid it is.
But we can only do
our best, hmm?
- Hip-hip!
- Hooray!
- Hip-hip!
- Hooray!
Oh, heavens!
What a... a frightful sight.
- Oh, a toast.
- Yes, a speech.
- Yes.
- Mama.
Oh, um...
Yes.
Uh... my darling husband.
Um... some of you may not know
that on the eve
of our marriage
I got cold feet.
But as I'd already called off
two engagements
by the age of 21
and was in danger of gaining
a reputation
for being a bolter...
...it would have been poor form
- to call off a third.
- Hear, hear.
Lucky for Daddy.
But the real reason
for my wintery feet
was that I knew, even then,
that his priority
would be public life.
But it worried
a young girl greatly,
this wretched thought
of eternally coming second.
But so it has proven to be.
And in due course, our children
would have to make their peace
with this same fact.
We all did, you see.
In our own way.
And now, today,
we are to receive our reward.
Proof that our small sacrifice
was for a far,
far greater good.
I give you your father,
my beloved husband,
the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister.
Here's to, um...
...to not buggering it up.
To not buggering it up.
Belgium was a ploy.
They punched through
the Ardennes into France.
Crossed the Meuse River
in under 24 hours.
No one can cross
the Meuse in 24 hours.
Well, apparently
the Germans can.
Look to Chamberlain's
handkerchief.
If he waves it at the end
of Churchill's speech,
we show approval.
If not, keep quiet.
The Prime Minister.
Here we go.
Mr. Speaker,
on Friday evening last,
I received
His Majesty's commission
to form a new administration.
It was the evident wish
and will
of Parliament and the nation
that this should be conceived
on the broadest possible basis.
And that it should include
all parties.
Hear, hear.
A War Cabinet
has been convened.
Um, uh, no.
Uh, uh, uh, correction.
Has been formed.
"Formed. "
A War Cabinet
has been formed
of five members.
Representing, with the Opposition parties,
the unity of the nation.
Read.
"The three
party leaders have agreed
"to serve either
in the War Cabinet
or in high executive office. "
With this agreement in place,
I now invite the House
by the resolution which,
uh, stands in my name...
...to record its approval
and to declare its confidence
in the new government.
Uh, uh, miss?
Uh, I'm coming out
in a state of nature.
It must be remembered
that we are in
the preliminary stage
of one of the greatest battles
in history.
And that many preparations
have to be made here at home.
Hear, hear.
Sir, I take up my task
with a buoyancy and hope,
and say to the House,
as I have said
to those who have joined
the government,
I have nothing to offer
but blood, toil, tears
and sweat.
We have before us an ordeal
of the most grievous kind.
We have before us
many, many long months
of struggle and of suffering.
You ask, "What is our policy?"
I say it is to wage war
by sea, land and air
with all our might
and with all the strength
that God can give us.
To wage war
against a monstrous tyranny
never surpassed in the dark
and lamentable catalogue
of human crime.
That is our policy.
Oh, you ask, uh,
"What is our aim?"
I can answer in one word.
Victory.
Victory at all costs.
Victory,
in spite of all terror.
Victory, however long
and-and hard the road may be.
For without victory,
there can be no survival.
What's he doing?
Contempt.
We have to start somewhere.
Snap.
"Our policy is to wage war.
"At all costs.
No survival. "
Good God, he's incapable
of even pronouncing
the word "peace,"
let alone entering
into negotiations.
Awful, the thought
that I shall never see
my country at peace again.
I have cancer.
Oh, Neville.
Uh, Winston must be removed
from office.
If we can get him to declare
that he refuses
to even consider peace
negotiations with Germany,
you and I would perhaps
have clear grounds to resign.
That would force a vote
of no confidence.
The party
couldn't countenance that.
You're the chairman,
for heaven's sake.
He'd be finished.
And you would agree
to be prime minister.
Well...
with Winston out of the way,
who can say?
But the important thing,
Neville,
is that your policies
would be back on the table.
Peace and the protection
of our nation.
On record.
I beg your pardon.
He must declare, on record,
his refusal to engage
in peace talks.
We must have it in writing.
Thank you.
- Miss Layton.
- Morning.
Follow me.
Morning.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, ma'am.
What goes on down here?
That's need-to-know,
and you don't.
- The lavatory?
- For the PM's use only.
- Ah.
- Sleeping quarters,
for when you miss
the last train.
Ma'am.
That's the Map Room.
- No women allowed.
- What department's this?
Indiscretion in conversation
or any other form,
within or without these rooms
regarding what happens here,
is a statutory offense
punishable by up to
two years imprisonment
with hard labor.
Clear?
Crystal.
Good.
That's the War Cabinet room.
Never.
I don't mean to be rough
on you, but...
them's the rules.
This is the typists' pool.
- Good morning, sir.
- Ladies.
And here's you.
Belgium and Holland
may fall at any hour.
And the French?
The entire French Ninth Army,
some 200,000 men,
have capitulated.
All of them?
Capitulated.
Deserted. It was a rout.
All our land forces,
roughly 300,000 men,
are now in full retreat.
Air cover?
For our troops?
The Luftwaffe
control the skies.
We simply don't have enough
planes to challenge them.
In fact, I strongly recommend
we stop sending
our precious fighter planes
to be wasted in France.
Save them for our own defense.
And our navy sits idle,
neutralized, useless.
Our fleets no sooner come
within their range
than we come
under blistering air attack.
Well, their speed
is devastating.
Panzer tanks moving rapidly
westward through the center.
Oh. Well, they will have
to pause for fuel supplies.
This is not the last war, sir.
Their tanks can stop for fuel
at a petrol station.
Petrol station?
The road to Paris
now lies open.
Seven million refugees
are on the move.
Collectively, we are looking
at the collapse
of Western Europe
in the next few days.
Should the public be told?
Not yet.
First, we must rouse
our old friends
to an heroic resistance.
France must be saved.
Premier.
Uh... Bien que notre,
uh, situation,
uh, soit tres grave...
uh, ce n'est pas
la premiere fois, uh...
que nous, um, uh,
faisons face
a une crise ensemble.
Uh... Uh, perhaps, uh,
in English, Prime Minister.
Well...
We have, uh, survived,
uh, crises before,
and I am... I am confident
we will survive this one.
Uh, tell me how you...
you plan to counterattack.
There is no plan.
W-Well...
Well, you must counterattack.
Well, you-you-you-you...
you must.
Um... Vous devoir, uh...
uh, contre-attaquer!
Il le faut!
I do not believe that this...
this, uh...
Panzer breakthrough
is a real invasion.
Not a real invasion?
No. As long as their
tank crews are not supported
by infantry units,
th-they are...
merely little flags
stuck on a map.
Because the tank crews
cannot support themselves.
No. I-I refuse to see,
in this spectacular raid
of the German tank,
a real invasion.
He's an actor,
in love with the sound
of his own voice.
I love to listen to him.
But we must never
take his advice.
Has a hundred ideas a day.
Four of them are good,
the other 96
downright dangerous.
His father was the same...
great orator, but...
Until he lost his mind
to syphilis.
How nations suffer
for the sins of their fathers.
My opinion?
At this critical juncture
for the empire,
we have a drunkard
at the wheel.
Wakes with a scotch,
bottle of champagne for lunch,
another one at dinner.
Brandy and port
until the wee hours.
I wouldn't let him borrow my bicycle.
He's a Conservative
who defects to the Liberals,
lobs grenades at us
for ten years,
then flops Conservative again
as it bloody suits him.
Sorry, but he stands
for one thing.
Himself.
We may have to replace him,
Bertie.
Replace him?
We must strive for peace
so that every son and daughter
of this land
can emerge from this crisis
with something recognizable
as home.
Spoken like a true
prime minister.
"V for Victory. "
You need to reply
to the Lord Privy Seal.
Uh... uh, uh,
tell the Lord Privy Seal
I am sealed in the privy.
And I can only deal
with one shit at a time.
The broadcast is tonight,
so don't spare me, Anthony.
- Be frank.
- Mm.
I don't think so.
You, uh...
you don't think so what?
You're suggesting
we're somehow winning.
We're not.
No, but, uh,
it will inspire them.
- Winston, I know...
- Anthony, Anthony.
I am going to imbue them
with a...
a-a spirit of feeling
they don't yet know they have.
You asked my opinion.
I caution against it.
Cicero.
Cicero!
"If fortune is adverse... "
Uh... uh, something,
uh, something, something.
Well...
Well, it's not there.
I left it there.
Clemmie!
Cat!
Clemmie!
We cannot pay our bills.
My-my-my copy of, uh, Cicero.
- Did-did you shelve it?
- Did you hear what I said?
- What was that?
- We're broke.
Oh. Um...
Out! Uh, out.
Come on. Everybody out.
I dare not write another check.
Well, I'll economize.
Only, uh, four cigars a day.
You are insufferable!
Is there anything else?
Yes.
My love for you.
How much have you had
to drink this morning?
I see you now
as I first saw you
in-in 1904.
And-and I simply stood,
speechless.
Well, I must have been
very beautiful
to achieve
that miraculous effect.
Four years until we saw
each other again.
Went by in an absolute flash.
You didn't lack for admirers.
Your fidele serviteur
in Sidney Peel.
- Brilliant man.
- Lionel Earle.
Wonderful dancer.
And then at Lady St. Helier's
dinner party.
Who should show up?
Pig.
Just the same.
Are we terribly old?
Yes, I'm afraid you are.
Oh, you beast.
Oh, you...
Would you... would you
hear me read my speech
for tonight's broadcast?
Prime Minister.
Prime Minister,
the situation in France.
Uh, is it true
we're in full retreat?
Is France lost?
"The Spanish ships
I cannot see,
for they are out of sight. "
If you will sit here...
at your desk.
And speak slowly and clearly.
Into the microphone.
So...
if you're ready,
on the stroke of 9:00,
the red light will come on,
and we shall go live
to the nation.
9:00, red light...
you begin.
Yes?
Uh, one moment.
Prime Minister, are we ready?
Uh... uh, one moment,
one moment.
We are going live...
One moment, damn you!
And four, three,
two, one.
I speak to you
for the first time
as prime minister
in a solemn hour
for the life of our country,
of our empire, of our allies
and, above all,
of the cause of freedom.
A tremendous battle
- is raging in France and Flanders.
- Shh.
The Germans,
by a remarkable combination
of air bombing
and heavily armored tanks,
have broken through
the French defenses
north of the Maginot Line...
...and strong columns
of their armored vehicles
are ravaging
the open country...
...which,
for the first day or two,
was without defenders.
However,
I have invincible confidence
in the French Army
and its leaders.
Only a very small
part of that splendid army
has yet been heavily engaged,
and only a very small part
of France has yet been invaded.
Side by side,
the British and French peoples
have advanced.
- "Advanced"?
- To rescue not only Europe.
- How bloody dare he.
- But mankind
from the foulest and most
soul-destroying tyranny
which has ever darkened
and stained the pages
of history.
But now one bond
unites us all.
To wage war until victory
is won,
and never to surrender
ourselves
to servitude and shame.
Whatever the cost
and the agony may be,
conquer we must,
as conquer we shall.
Well done, sir.
Oh, I thought you did
marvelously.
The last ten years,
I was the only one
who told them the truth.
Until tonight.
There is no advance.
It's a shambles.
We're in full retreat.
But would you be
serving them tonight
by denying them
their sleep and...
and terrifying their children?
What, even if
the terror is coming?
Because the terror is coming.
There's time enough
for the truth.
Mm.
Have you seen this?
- What's so funny?
- Oh.
Prime Minister. Sir.
Yes, what is it?
Um... perhaps...
Um... look, I'm...
I'm not sure
if you know this, but, um...
uh, but the way you're doing
your "V for Victory" sign...
Hmm?
Well, in the poorer quarters,
that gesture means
something else.
What does it mean?
Well, I wouldn't like
to say, sir.
I was captured by the Boer.
I spent time
in a South African prison.
Up your bum.
Sir.
Up your bum?
Bum. Up your...
The way you're doing it, sir,
yes, sir.
But if you
turn it around, that's fine.
I wouldn't like
millions of people
to take it the wrong way.
Indeed.
- Sir.
- Sir.
And up your bum!
Your Majesty.
Don't want to take
too much of your time.
I heard you on the wireless.
Huh. Was I comprehensible?
The public need to be led,
not misled.
Not left to work it out
for themselves.
Right.
Will that be all, Your Majesty?
Yes.
Good day, Prime Minister.
Good day.
I believe I have just received
a royal rap on the knuckles.
Hmm.
As of 2000 hours last night,
the Germans have encircled
60 British,
Belgian and French divisions.
On our part, all our forces
under Lord Gort have withdrawn
or are trying to withdraw to
the French coast, to Dunkirk,
where we cannot reach them.
How many of our men
are trapped?
All of them.
Our country's entire
professional soldiery.
And we can see no clear way
to rescue them.
General, are-are you telling me
that we shall have lost
the entire British Army
by the next few days?
That's correct.
The German force
is superior in every regard
and only 50 miles
from the coast.
They are pushing us
into the sea.
No, the Germans
must not reach the sea.
Not... not before
we evacuate our-our men.
Ismay, what have you got
for us?
As it stands, I cannot see
we have much hope of getting
any of our forces out in time.
Not a man?
Well, we...
well, we cannot be so,
uh, totally at their mercy.
Wh-What's our next step?
Anyone?
Come on, speak!
We still have a garrison
at Calais.
25 miles to the west.
Well, how many men
do we have there?
4,000, more or less.
Then why...
why didn't you say so?
Yes. Then we, uh...
we have them go east,
engage with the German columns
moving on Dunkirk,
buy us some time.
Dr-Draw the... the Nazi focus
away from Dunkirk
whilst we execute a...
a-a maritime evacuation
of our forces.
Is that, uh, possible?
It would mean a huge sacrifice.
4,000 young men.
To save 300,000.
Under whose command
is the, uh, Calais garrison?
Uh, Brigadier Nicholson.
Very well.
Huh.
Tell Nicholson it is
of the greatest importance
to this island that...
that his garrison
draw the enemy's tanks
and artillery and bombers
away from Dunkirk.
Invite their wrath, and...
...well, and to fight on
if needs be...
...i-if needs be, until the
destruction of his command.
It's suicide.
Prime Minister,
I have reservations.
Well, who is free
of reservations?
About unnecessary sacrifice,
when there is
an available alternative.
What alternative?
Italy has offered
to mediate peace talks
between ourselves and Germany.
I already indicated that,
provided the liberty
and independence
of the British Empire
was assured,
we would consider any proposal.
With, uh... with Hitler
holding the... the whip hand.
Do you really think
he would honor
our liberty and independence?
It would be in his interest
to do so, sir.
- Because the British Empire...
- The only thing to do
is to show that maniac
that he cannot conquer
this island,
and for that we need an army.
General,
tell Brigadier Nicholson
the Germans must not
reach the sea.
Not before
we-we-we get our boys
off of that bloody beach!
I take full responsibility.
Really?
Really! Yes, sir.
It is the reason...
I sit in this chair!
Well, surely, before you take
full responsibility
for the deaths of 4,000 men,
you'd wish to consider
every available avenue.
What... what is this?
What is your mind
on the principle
of peace talks, sir?
Do we take it, for example,
that you preclude yourself
from even considering taking
part in such negotiations?
I should like to speak
to Viscount Halifax
and, uh, Mr. Chamberlain.
Alone.
Issue the order
to the Calais garrison.
Confirm it has been done.
Dismissed.
Now, you two... come on.
Out.
Bridges!
You... come on, hop it!
Out. Out!
Winston...
we are facing
certain defeat on land,
the annihilation of our army,
and imminent invasion.
We must be rational.
We are a seagoing nation.
Have been since the Bronze Age.
The Channel is ours.
It's our moat, our battlement,
and the German doesn't
recognize an expanse of water
greater than a bloody lake.
They have first to reach
this island, Edward.
Where men, women and children,
whom we will have failed
despicably
in our duty of protection,
will be entirely defenseless...
And whose fault is that?
...against the largest army
the world has ever seen.
Furthermore, once France falls,
Germany can concentrate
on aircraft production.
They will then have
the French fleet as well.
What is to stop Herr Hitler
then, Winston?
Words, words, words alone.
If you will not permit
any talk of peace,
then I shall be forced...
Might we not allow Edward
simply to meet the
Italian Ambassador Bastianini,
discuss a possible role
as mediators
between us and Germany,
and find out their price?
Sir.
- Mr. President.
- Winston.
Franklin.
- How are you?
- Fine. Fine.
How are you, Prime Minister?
Oh, I-I'm in fine fettle.
Fine fettle.
Uh... uh, listen.
I'm, uh, uh, telephoning
about your, uh, navy ships.
If you could loan us
just, uh...
uh, 50 older destroyers.
- Ah, yes.
- Or even 40 would do.
Well, I, uh...
I did ask around,
but just not possible,
I'm afraid.
The Neutrality Act we signed
last year has tied my hands.
Just can't swing it.
I tried.
Uh, well, can I, uh, um...
Do I have your, uh, permission,
uh, to send, uh,
an aircraft carrier
to pick up the P-40
fighter planes
we purchased from you?
Mr. President?
Well, you-you've
got me there again.
New law preventing
transshipment
of military equipment.
Uh, but we paid for them.
We-we paid for them
with the money that we...
that we borrowed from you.
I'm so, so sorry, Winston.
I need not impress
upon you the...
the trouble faced
by the Western Hemisphere,
uh, without your support
in some fashion.
I know. I know.
You are on my mind
day and night.
Look, we could possibly...
Uh, Mr. President...
Uh, I-I mean to say...
We are facing, uh,
the gravest odds.
We could take your planes
to about a mile
from the Canadian border.
- Hmm?
- And then, if you send across
a team of horses from Canada...
nothing motorized...
then you could pull them
over the border yourself.
How does that sound?
Horses?
Um, you-you did say, uh,
a-a team of horses?
Well, I guess you could
push them yourself.
Damn things have wheels.
Up to you.
We could do that,
Prime Minister.
Prime Minister?
Uh, uh, anything you could do
at this time,
uh, Franklin,
would be most welcome.
Good night to you, Winston.
It must be late there.
In more ways
than you could possibly know.
- Prime Minister.
- Prime Minister.
Uh, get me Admiral Ramsay
on one of these, will you?
Uh, yes, Prime Minister.
Put me through
to Admiral Ramsay.
Admiral Ramsay.
It's the prime minister.
Bertie?
Bertie, I, uh,
hope I didn't wake you.
Not at all.
I was just reading the Bible.
Exodus?
Uh, listen, Bertie.
Uh, we need
to evacuate our boys.
Uh, the Navy is saying
that with one cruiser
and six destroyers
and with the...
the Luftwaffe
controlling the skies above,
we-we'll be lucky
to get ten percent out.
I want you to order
a-an assembly of boats.
Boats?
Uh, yes. Um...
Civilian boats.
Uh, as many as you
can get your hands on.
Uh, Longley's clipper,
Fearnley's gin palace,
anyone with a pleasure craft
bigger than 30 foot
that can get to France.
Bertie, you still there?
Um, right.
Help me stage this thing,
Bertie. Huh?
We must at least try to bring
some of our boys home.
Well, I'll have the BBC
issue the order.
Good.
Oh, and-and, Bertie...
you still there?
- Sir.
- We need a name...
for this operation.
Good morning, Prime Minister.
Prime Minister, do you have
anything you'd like to say
to our readers this morning?
Prime Minister.
Mr. Churchill, sir.
Prime Minister, do you have
anything you'd like to say?
Prime Minister? Prime Minister,
are you going to...
Prime Minister, would you
like to... Prime Minister?
How do you manage
drinking during the day?
Practice.
I...
should like to discuss...
I have been asked
if plans should be drawn
to evacuate myself
and my family to Canada.
I would like to know the
opinion of our prime minister.
Well, my opinion would be
that you must do
what you feel
is right for yourself,
your family and the nation.
I mean, your survival
is paramount.
Prime ministers... huh,
well, we seem to come and go
at an astonishing rate.
Your position
in Parliament, I...
I'm told, is not strong.
Uh, my party...
resents the way Chamberlain
was pushed aside.
And many others doubt me.
They want Halifax still,
but why get rid
of the organ grinder
and replace him
with the monkey?
Lord Halifax is a close
personal friend of mine.
I am unwanted.
I-I've never been trusted
since the Gallipoli campaign.
Unwanted.
Perhaps it's because
you scare people.
Who?
You scare me.
What nonsense.
What could possibly
be scary about me?
One never knows what's going
to come out of your mouth next.
Something that will flatter,
something that will wound.
My emotions are unbridled.
A wildness in the blood,
I share with my father.
And my mother also.
We lacked, uh,
the gift of temperance.
Were you close to your parents?
M-My mother was glamorous,
but perhaps too widely loved.
My father was like God...
busy elsewhere.
Hmm.
Good day, gentlemen.
- Prime Minister.
- I have, uh, asked the...
uh, minister for war
to join us.
Um, uh, Neville,
would you, um...
Anthony.
Obviously, uh, we are in
a dangerous situation.
But I am assured
by the French premier
that while some, uh,
German tank units
have reached the sea,
the situation generally seems
to be well in hand.
What news from Calais?
The garrison attacked
but was forced back
and is now surrounded
on all sides.
They're being shelled
and bombed mercilessly.
Casualties are at 60%.
Hmm.
Prime Minister.
The question of peace talks.
Oh, we must hold our nerve.
Signal only that we intend
to fight it out until the end.
A peace offer, uh,
- telegraphs our weakness.
- Agreed.
And even if we were beaten,
we should be no worse off
than we should be if we were
now to abandon the struggle.
Let us therefore avoid
being dragged
down the slippery slope
with talk
of a negotiated peace.
Slippery slope? The only...
- I suspect Italy and Germany...
- The only slippery slope...
...wish to get us so deeply
involved in negotiations
- that we should be unable to turn back.
- Nonsense.
- Bastianini informed me...
- I propose...
- The only slippery slope...
- Would you stop interrupting me
while I am interrupting you?
When I chose my War Cabinet,
I took great care
to surround myself
with old rivals.
I may have overdone it.
Viscount Halifax,
the approach you propose is...
it's-it's not only...
it's futile,
but it involves us
in a deadly danger.
The deadly danger here
is this romantic fantasy
of fighting to the end.
What is the end,
if not the destruction
of all things?
There's nothing heroic
in going down fighting
if it can be avoided.
Nothing even remotely patriotic
in death or glory
if the odds are firmly
on the former.
Nothing inglorious in trying
to shorten a war
that we are clearly losing.
Losing?!
Europe is still...
Europe is lost.
And before our forces
are wiped out completely,
now is the time to negotiate,
in order to obtain
the best conditions possible.
Hitler will not insist
on outrageous terms.
He will know
his own weaknesses.
He will be reasonable.
When will the lesson
be learned?
When will
the lesson be learned?!
How many more dictators
must be, uh, wooed, appeased...
good God,
given immense privileges...
before we learn?
You cannot reason with a tiger
when your head is in its mouth!
Prime Minister.
Winston. Winston.
Yesterday,
you gave permission...
What permission?
For me to meet Bastianini.
- I sanctioned the theoretical exploration...
- Theoretical?
...of what price Italy
would ask. Nothing more.
- I did not sanction any...
- If you will not permit
further exploration
of a peace agreement,
then you will have
my resignation.
Oh, don't be absurd, Edward.
- I need you. You know I do.
- I will not stand by
to watch another generation
of young men die
at the bloody altar
of your hubris.
Oh, and you would have us
die as lambs!
Was Gallipoli
not enough for you?
How dare you!
Our troops were chewing
barbed wire in Flanders,
and I saw it!
Opening a second front,
outflanking the Turks
was a... a serious
military idea,
and it could have
damn well worked if the...
if the admirals
and the First Sea Lord
hadn't dithered away
our element of surprise.
Choice is yours, Winston.
You have 24 hours
to enter into peace talks,
or I shall resign.
I told him.
It shook him.
I imagine it did.
Gave him 24 hours.
I don't expect he'll agree,
so I shall resign first.
You then follow...
that's critical if we're
to trigger a vote
of no confidence in the House.
I shall announce it.
The king will back us.
Prime Minister.
I wonder
if we might schedule you
to address the Outer Cabinet.
Today, the Admiralty
have made an order
requesting all owners
of self-propelled
pleasure craft
between 30 and 100 feet
in length
to send all particulars
to the Admiralty immediately...
To Brigadier Nicholson.
30 Infantry Brigade, Calais.
Every hour
you continue to exist
is of the greatest help
to our forces at Dunkirk.
Have the greatest possible
admiration
for your splendid stand.
Your evacuation, however,
will not take place.
I repeat...
will not take place.
Sign.
Here. Here.
May I be excused?
You may not.
What is this about?
No one tells us anything.
It's all classified.
We hear scraps, and it's worse
than knowing nothing.
What would you like to know?
How many men will survive?
Come with me.
I'm not allowed
in the Map Room.
- Well, you are now.
- Prime Minister.
At ease, gentlemen.
Now...
The German army controls
every French port
except Dunkirk here
and Calais here to the west,
where the garrison
under Brigadier Nicholson
is drawing fire and delaying
the German advance on Dunkirk.
At both points,
our troops are encircled.
Now, we are still trying
to clear Dunkirk Harbor
of wrecked ships
so that we can then land
the boats we need to get our...
our boys off those beaches.
But enemy aircraft
is attacking us constantly.
Our-our only hope in Dunkirk
is thick cloud cover
to thwart these attacks,
but the skies remain clear.
And even then,
I am told we will need a...
a miracle to get even
ten percent of our men out.
Courage, Miss Layton.
Courage.
General.
How... how long have they got
if we don't rescue them?
One... maybe...
two days.
News from Calais,
the 30th Infantry, sir.
They've retreated
to the town's citadel
as a last
and probably hopeless stand.
The order,
"every man for himself,"
has been given.
- Thank you, thank you.
- Brigadier Nicholson.
- There's a telegram, sir.
- Thank you.
Good show, chaps.
Well done, lads. Well done.
All right.
He's losing too much blood.
We need another
transfusion here.
All right, men?
All right?
Your evacuation, however,
will not take place.
I repeat...
will not take place.
Oh, go to bed, Pig.
You must sleep.
Leave me, Clemmie.
The opportunity for doing so
passed a long time ago.
Operator.
How may I direct your call?
- Give me Ramsay.
- One moment, please.
Bertie?
- Sir?
- What's been the response?
It will take time.
It's too soon to judge.
How many boats so far?
Winston, it will take time.
The request for civilian boats,
Bertie, was not a request.
It was an order!
- Ah. Uh, Miss Layton.
- Sir.
I-I, uh...
I need to reach, um...
to reach, uh...
to speak to, uh...
To?
3:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m., sir?
Y-Yes. Uh, uh, yes.
Ask Bridges to summon
the, um...
Oh, God.
The War Cabinet, uh,
at 3:00 p.m.
Thank you!
Sir.
From Lord Gort in France, sir.
Belgium has fallen.
They will surrender
at midnight.
France will soon follow suit.
We have received reports
that the most probable method
of attack
which Germany might employ
against this country
is a large fleet
of fast motorboats,
possibly up to 200,
carrying a hundred men apiece,
to carry out a seaborne raid
on a large scale.
By these means, a considerable
force of the enemy
could be landed at many points
on the coast
simultaneously
with airborne raids inland.
We do not feel
that by naval or air action,
we could prevent
such a landing.
Could you repeat that?
We must prepare
for the imminent invasion
of our island.
We must prepare for
the imminent invasion
of our island.
We recommend that the country
should be warned and roused
to the immediate danger,
and that all personnel
required to put Britain
in a state of defense
should be mobilized
without a moment's delay.
Lights.
Uh, thank you, General.
Let all preparations be made.
Let the record state,
I have received word
from the Italian embassy
in London.
Italy is prepared
to mediate a resolution
between Britain,
its allies and Germany.
Oh. P-Perhaps then, uh...
...uh, the time
for such an offer from us
is-is when, um...
Well, is when, uh...
is when Germany has made
a-an unsuccessful attempt
- to invade this country.
- Unsuccessful?
Then you leave me
no other option but to offer...
Winston. Winston!
You are refusing
to grasp the realities
of how precarious
our position is.
Our entire army
is about to be wiped out.
Terms must be struck.
Anthony.
Then it seems we...
we-we have no choice
but to at least consider the...
path of negotiation.
If-if Hitler's peace terms are,
um, overlordship
of Central Europe,
return of certain
German colonies,
a-and if he will leave us
our independence,
th-then I-I'd be grateful
to get out of our present...
difficulties.
But it is unlikely
that he will make
such an offer.
But-but if I were told
what the German terms were...
...well, then I-I'd be prepared
to-to consider them.
Thank you, Prime Minister.
We shall prepare
a draft memorandum at once.
I-I have, uh, come to wonder,
uh, in-in-in recent days...
...uh, uh, wh-whether it was...
...uh, part of my duty...
...uh, part of my...
part of my duty to...
...uh, uh, t-to consider...
...to consider, um...
...to consider...
...whether it-it was...
Will that be all
for tonight, sir?
...whether it was, uh,
part of my duty
e-e-entering into...
...into negotiations
with, um...
...that...
...that corporal...
...uh, that child.
Monster of wickedness.
That butcher.
That savage.
Monstrous savage.
That wicked...
Housepainter.
Housepainter!
Oh.
Uh, uh, where... where were we?
Well?
I didn't understand you, sir.
You were...
Were?
You were mumbling.
"Mumbling. "
Th-Th-The right words...
...won't come.
They will come, sir.
No one can put words together
like you.
Oh.
Uh, your beau?
My brother.
Where is he now?
He was falling back on Dunkirk.
But he never made it.
What?
Just looking at you.
Shall I read back what we have?
Y-Y-Yes, please.
"I have come to wonder
in recent days
"whether it was my duty
to consider
entering
into negotiations with... "
With?
I've just been standing,
imagining never
being here anymore,
whether it is because
I'm no longer alive
or that the palace itself
is gone.
Canada.
You must decide, sir.
You could rule in exile.
Truly?
Is that to be my fate?
You know something?
I'm aware in this moment
of feeling angry.
Bloody angry.
Darling.
Winston, darling.
There's someone to see you.
You have a visitor.
My darling,
you have the full weight
of the world on your shoulders.
- I... I...
- No, I know, I know.
But these inner battles
have actually trained you
for this very moment.
You are strong
because you are imperfect.
You are wise
because you have doubts.
Now, shall I let him in?
Uh, who?
The king.
Which king?
Our king?
Well, if it isn't him,
it's a marvelous impersonation.
Mr. Churchill.
I hope you can forgive
the late hour, but...
your wife thought tonight
would be a good time.
Shall we sit?
Oh, yes.
Uh, uh, please. Um...
Some-Something to drink,
perhaps?
No.
I...
received a visit.
From?
Viscount Halifax.
It appears that the prospect
of a peace deal
has increased dramatically.
The-the War Cabinet is drafting
a letter to Mussolini,
asking him to broker talks
with Herr Hitler.
Then Halifax was correct.
I-I should like
to know your mind.
It would be helpful
to know yours first.
I should like
to know it myself.
Nations...
which go down fighting
rise again, and those...
that surrender tamely
are finished.
Belgium?
- Collapsed.
- Norway?
Holland.
France any hour.
And the mood of Parliament?
Fear. Panic.
And you?
Are you not afraid?
I am, most terribly.
Support in the War Cabinet
for the campaign of resistance
has collapsed.
Uh, later today, I-I will
address the House accordingly.
You have my support.
Your Majesty?
You have my support.
I confess, I...
had some reservations
about you at first, but...
while some in this country
dreaded your appointment,
none... none dreaded it
like Adolf Hitler.
Whomever can strike fear
into that brute heart
is worthy of all of our trust.
We shall work together.
You shall have my support
at any hour.
Beat the buggers.
I will go to Parliament.
But without support
in my own party,
I must sue for peace.
You once gave me some advice.
Perhaps I can...
I can give you some.
Go to the people.
Let them instruct you.
Quite silently,
they usually do.
But tell them...
the truth unvarnished.
If invasion is imminent,
if our troops in France
are lost,
they must be prepared.
On certain matters,
I-I have very few people
with whom I can...
talk frankly.
Perhaps now we have each other.
And I no longer scare you?
A little.
But I can cope.
We are ready. More or less.
More or less what, Bertie?
Give me a number.
In total, 860 vessels.
The biggest civilian fleet
ever assembled.
Operation Dynamo waits
on your command.
Admiral...
initiate Dynamo.
And may God watch
over them all.
We've lost the prime minister.
Do you know how
to use this thing?
Yes, sir.
How do I get to Westminster?
Westminster. Um...
The District Line, east.
One stop.
District Line. East. One stop.
Well, that doesn't sound
so hard.
No, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
The memorandum is titled
"Suggested Approaches to Italy"
and is as follows.
"If Signor Mussolini
will cooperate with us
"in securing a settlement
of all European questions
"which safeguard
the independence
"and security of the allies,
and could be the basis
"of a just and durable peace
for Europe,
"we will undertake
at once to discuss,
"with the desire
to find solutions, the matters
"in which Signor Mussolini
"is primarily interested.
"We understand
that he desires the solution
"of certain
Mediterranean questions,
"and if he will state
in secrecy what these are,
"France and Great Britain
will at once
do their best
to meet his wishes. "
So, this is the Underground.
Thank you.
Uh, does anyone have a match?
Uh, thank you.
Thank you.
What are you all staring at?
Have you never seen, uh,
the prime minister
ride the Underground before?
What is your name?
- Oliver Wilson, sir.
- Hmm.
And what do you do, Mr. Wilson?
- Bricklayer, sir.
- Ah! Bricklayer.
We shall have great need
of bricklayers soon.
Uh, business
will be looking up.
Ah!
Progress.
How old?
Five months, sir.
He looks like you.
Madam, all babies look like me.
Well, uh, what is your name?
Uh, Mrs. Jessie Sutton.
Ah, Mrs. Sutton.
It's a pleasure.
Abigail.
Abigail Walker.
- Marcus Peters.
- Marcus Peters.
- Agnes Dillon.
- Agnes.
- Maurice Baker.
- Mr. Baker.
- Alice Simpson.
- Alice Simpson.
Miss Margaret Jerome.
Oh, a Jerome.
Ah. Uh, my mother was a Jerome.
I-I expect we
are closely related.
Please, please. Uh, sit.
Sit, everyone.
Thank you, Mr. Baker.
So, how are you all, uh...
how are you all bearing up?
Uh, good... good spirits?
- Yes.
- Yes?
Uh, just as well.
We shall need them.
I... Uh, let me ask you
something
that's been, uh,
weighing on my mind.
Perhaps you can provide me
with an answer.
You, uh, the British people,
what is your mood?
Is it, uh... is it confident?
- Yeah.
- If confident, how confident?
- Very.
- Some people say it's a lost cause.
Oh, lost causes
are the only ones
- worth fighting for.
- Too right.
Yes.
Now let me ask you this.
If the worst came to pass
and-and the enemy
were to appear on those...
those streets above,
what would you do?
- Fight.
- Fight the fascists.
Fight them with anything
we can lay our hands on.
- Broom handles if we must.
- Street by street.
They will never take
Piccadilly.
Never take Piccadilly, indeed.
And what if I put it to you all
that we might...
if we, uh... if we ask nicely...
get very favorable terms
from Mr. Hitler
if we enter into a peace deal
with him right now?
What would you say to that?
Never! Never! Never!
Never! Never!
Never.
Never.
Will you never give up?
No. Never.
"Then out spake brave Horatius,
"Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth
"Death cometh soon or late.
"And how can man die better
"Than facing fearful odds
- For the ashes... "
- "For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his Gods. "
Are you crying?
I, uh...
Yes, yes. I, um...
I blub a lot, you know.
You'll-you'll have
to get used to it.
Uh, what-what stop is this?
It's Westminster, sir.
Westminster. It's my stop.
Prime Minister.
Sir.
The War Cabinet.
Sir, they're waiting.
I'm due to address
the Outer Cabinet.
- When?
- Now.
I haven't spoken to them
since the formation
of the new government.
- Prime Minister.
- Good day, gentlemen.
- Prime Minister...
- Oh.
I'm about to, uh, speak to
my Outer Cabinet in my rooms,
and I extend the invitation
to any of you
who would care to join them.
- Let's go.
- Let's go.
This afternoon,
I shall address the House
on the matter
of our nation's security.
At this very moment,
the War Cabinet
is drafting papers
that lay out a willingness
to enter into peace talks
with Herr Hitler,
via his, uh...
his lackey, Mussolini.
I have thought very carefully
in these last days
whether it was part
of my duty
to consider entering
into negotiations with...
...with that man.
Uh, but-but then I, uh...
I spoke with, um... mm...
um...
Oliver Wilson,
Mrs. Jessie Sutton,
Mrs. Abigail Walker,
Marcus Peters,
Maurice, uh, Baker,
Alice Simpson
and Miss Margaret Jerome.
Brave, good, true citizens
of this kingdom.
And they argued strongly
that it was, uh, idle to think,
if we tried to make peace now,
we should get better terms
than if we fought it out.
The Germans, Mr. Baker felt,
uh, would demand,
in-in the name of disarmament,
our naval bases and much else,
and I think he's right.
Jessie Sutton,
speaking for many,
uh, believes
we would then become a...
a slave state.
A... a British government
which would be Hitler's puppet.
A... a government set up
under... under Mosley
- or some such person.
- No, no.
And I join with them in asking
a... a further question.
A question I-I now put to you.
Where should we be
at the end of all that?
Some might benefit.
I mean, the powerful might
be able to parlay good terms,
uh, preserved
in their country redoubts,
out of sight of the swastika
flying over...
over Buckingham Palace!
Over Windsor!
And, uh, draped
on these very buildings!
- Never! Never!
- No! No!
So I come to you...
I come to you
to learn your minds
in this grave hour.
You see,
it was pointed out to me
by my new friends
th-that you might even rise up
and-and... and tear me down
were I for one moment
to contemplate parlay
or surrender.
Huh?
Were they wrong?
No!
- Were they wrong?
- No!
Were they wrong?
- No!
- Thank you. Thank you.
Then I have heard you.
I have heard you.
It appears to be your will also
that if this long island story
of ours is to end at last,
then let it end only
when each one of us
lies choking in his own blood
upon the ground!
- Yes!
- Bravo!
Yes.
And when I asked
to know their minds,
there occurred
a demonstration which,
considering the character
of the gathering,
quite surprised me.
There is no doubt
that if we falter at all
in the leading of the nation,
we should all be hurled
out of office.
I am sure now
that every minister
on both sides of the House
is... is ready
to be killed quite soon,
and have all his family
and possessions destroyed,
rather than give in.
In this, they represent
almost all the people.
And it falls to me
in these coming days and months
to express their sentiments.
There shall be
no negotiated peace.
And you must each do now
as you see fit.
If you will excuse me,
gentlemen...
I believe I am due
to address Parliament.
And I have yet to write a...
a word of my speech.
Ah, there's the buggers.
- Tiny.
- Sir.
- Miss Layton.
- Sir.
I am in need of you.
We must both now resign,
force a vote of no confidence.
Well, let us go
to the Commons first, uh...
join our colleagues.
Then speak after
the prime minister's address.
Here is a woman
who's always tired,
for she lives a life
where too much is required.
The Prime Minister.
Turning once again
to the question of invasion,
I would observe that there
has never been a period
in all these long centuries
of which we boast
when an absolute guarantee
against invasion
could have been given
to our people.
Hear, hear.
But I have myself
full confidence
that if all do their duty,
if nothing is neglected,
and the best arrangements
are made,
as they are being made,
we shall prove ourselves
once more able
to defend our island home.
To ride out the storm of war
and to outlive
the menace of tyranny.
If necessary...
for years, if necessary...
alone.
At any rate,
that is what we are...
are going to try to do.
That is the resolve
of His Majesty's Government,
every man of them.
To your right
a little more, please.
That is the will
of Parliament and the nation.
Hear, hear.
The British Empire
and the French Republic,
linked together in their cause
and in their need,
will defend to the death
their native soil.
Hear, hear!
Aiding each other
like good comrades
to the utmost
of their strength.
Hear, hear.
Even though
large tracts of Europe
and many old and famous states
have... have fallen
or may fall into the...
the grip of the Gestapo
and all the odious apparatus
of the Nazi rule,
we shall not flag or fail.
We shall go on to the end!
Hear, hear!
We shall fight in France.
We shall fight on the seas
and the oceans.
We shall fight with...
with growing confidence
and growing strengths
in the air.
Hear, hear!
We shall defend our island,
whatever the cost may be.
Hear, hear.
We shall fight on the beaches.
We shall fight
on the landing grounds.
We shall fight in the fields
and in the streets.
We shall fight in the hills.
We shall never surrender!
- Hear, hear.
- Hear, hear.
And if...
And if...
And if...
which I-I-I do not
for a moment believe,
this island
or large part of it were...
were-were subjugated
and starving,
then our empire
beyond the seas,
armed and guarded
by the British fleet,
- would carry on the struggle.
- Hear, hear!
Until, in God's good time,
the New World,
with all its power and might,
steps forth to the rescue
and the liberation of the old!
Bravo!
Victory!
Victory! Victory!
Changed your mind?
Those who never change
their mind
never change anything.
What just happened?
He mobilized
the English language
and sent it into battle.
Order! Order!
Mr. Speaker! Mr. Speaker!
Order! The leader...
Order.
The leader of the Opposition,
Clement Attlee.
Mr. Speaker.
It seems that I have not been
clear enough.
Then let me leave no doubt
about my feelings regarding
Mr. Chamberlain's future
as prime minister.
All right, honorable gentlemen!
Give way! Give way!
Give way!
Owing to his years
of inactivity
and incompetence,
we find him
personally responsible...
...personally responsible
for leaving this nation
ruinously unprepared
to face the present Nazi peril.
- Order! Order!
- Sit down!
Shame on you! Shame!
We are at war, Mr. Speaker...
at war... and leaving aside
whether he is fit
to be a leader in peacetime,
he has proved himself incapable
of leading us in wartime!
Sit down!
Order! Order!
I said, "Order!"
Therefore,
in the national interest,
we, the Opposition,
are willing to enter into
a grand coalition with
the ruling Conservative Party...
so-called...
- Order! Order!
- ...but not...
and I stress never...
under the leadership
of Mr. Chamberlain,
who has lost
the confidence of this House.
In the country's interest, man,
resign, step down,
and let us find a new leader.
Sit down. Shame on you.
- Shame.
- You've got some nerve!
Where's Winston?
Ensuring his fingerprints
are not on the murder weapon.
Order!
As the Opposition refuse
to join any government
headed by me,
we must now select
my successor,
someone with new strength
to form a coalition government.
I will step down tomorrow,
but, uh,
I did want my own party,
the gentlemen I most respect,
to know first.
Yeah.
- And it must be Halifax.
- Hear, hear.
There's no question.
- Our foreign secretary.
- Halifax.
Yeah, of course.
No contest. Halifax.
Thank you, gentlemen.
I appreciate
your confidence in me.
However,
my time has not yet come.
Then who?
But, on whomever
the task may fall,
he shall be required
to explore every avenue.
Including that
of diplomatic talks.
Indeed. Towards the restoration
of peace in Europe.
- Absolutely.
- Hear, hear.
Well, gentlemen,
there is only one candidate...
only one man...
the Opposition will accept.
- Oh, no. Oh, surely not.
- God, has it come to that?
No, no, no.
No, this is totally absurd.
And if he
stretches out his hand
and says, "Gimme,"
you need to anticipate
what he wants.
Black pen, red pen, paper
or "clop"...
that's his hole punch.
How selfish to resign,
time like this.
Do you think they'll take me
to Downing Street
if he gets the job?
Not after that spotted dick
you served last week, eh?
He mumbles,
so it's almost impossible
to catch everything.
Be prepared to type fast...
short bursts and double-spaced.
He hates single-spaced.
Hates it.
Good luck.
To the French ambassador.
With German forces...
...crossing into Holland...
H-Holland alone...
- Come on. Telegram.
- Oh.
...Holland alone...
requests reassurance
that French forces
will now move...
uh, move at once
uh, into, uh...
to protect Belgium.
Stop.
French ambassador, sir.
Uh, Monsieur Ambassador.
Oh.
Oh.
Uh, they've already
invaded Belgium?
Holland and Belgium?
Uh... I-I will convey your plea
to the prime minister at once.
Uh, yes. Uh, the situation
is still very confused.
Yes.
Uh, good-bye.
"To the French ambassador.
- With German... "
- No, scrap that.
Uh, new telegram.
Uh, to General Ismay.
In...
- What is it now?
- Your son.
Randolph, quickly.
No, last night, they said
I might be made
prime minister today,
but that-that was yesterday.
Let's see what happens today.
Yeah? Let's see what, uh...
let's see what Neville
does today.
Yes.
Oh, thank you, my boy.
Yes. Um...
Yes. Keep buggering on.
Um... um...
Where, uh... now...
"To General Ismay. "
Ah, General Ismay.
Yeah. Uh, Sawyers.
- Oh.
- Get rid of this, will you?
To General Ismay.
In, uh, light
of today's events,
the time is, uh, ripe...
...for, uh, many preparations
to be...
Are you, uh, uh...
uh, striking those keys
in a normal fashion?
It's awfully loud. I can't...
I can't hear myself think.
Read it back.
Uh... "To General Ismay.
In the light of today's events,
the time is right... "
"Ripe"! Not "right"!
God's teeth, girl.
I said "ripe"!
Ripe! Ripe! Puh, puh, puh!
Last sentence.
Uh, "The time is ripe. " Puh.
- For...
- "For... "
- For...
- "Man-Many, many, many... "
Many, many, many, many, many.
How many "many" s did you write,
you nincompoop?
One "many. " For...
"For many
preparations to be made. "
Single-spaced. Single-spaced!
Were you not briefed,
young lady?
Single-spaced!
Someone set it
on single-space, and...
Then why did you persist?
- Well, I...
- Oh, goddamn! Tell...
Tell Evans to send me someone
who can get it right
the first time!
Go on! Out!
"Right"!
Tuh, tuh, tuh!
He shouted at you.
- Did he shout at you?
- No.
- He can be an awful brute!
- I'm...
- I made too many mistakes.
- I think you were nervous,
and he has a knack
for drawing out the very worst
in those who are trying
to help him the most.
No, no, it's not...
it's not him.
It's me. He's... he's...
He's a man, like any other.
Come on. What you doing?
Dearest.
Uh, the War Cabinet's
been called.
- Bloody cat's under the bed again.
- My darling?
- Tango.
- May I tell you something
I feel you really ought
to know?
I have noticed a recent
deterioration in your manner.
You're not as kind
as you used to be.
You've become rough.
And sarcastic
and overbearing and rude.
Oh, is this about the new girl?
If the king does ask you
to become prime minister...
We don't know that for sure.
I don't want you
to be disliked.
More than I already am?
Oh! My darling,
you are on the brink
of having tremendous power,
surpassed only by that
of the king,
and with such power you really
must try and be more kind.
And, if possible, calm.
I want others to love
and respect you, as I do.
Telegram for Mr. Churchill.
Excuse me?
I'm not...
...troops
have destroyed all bridges
of the Isle and Meuse rivers.
This is the BBC Home Service.
Here is a short news bulletin.
The German army invaded
Holland and Belgium
early this morning, by land...
- There's a telegram.
- ...and by landings
- from parachutes.
- Shh.
The armies of the Low Countries
are resisting.
An appeal for help
has been made
to the Allied governments...
- It's from the Palace.
- ...and Brussels says
that Allied troops
are moving to their support.
A hundred war planes
were seen over Brussels,
and it is now reported
that in the first raid
over Brussels,
several hundred people
were killed and wounded,
and several buildings
destroyed.
Five minutes ago,
the Air Ministry announced
that in the early hours
of this morning...
Thank you, uh, Miss...?
Layton.
- You're shaking.
- So are you.
Oh, you... you from excitement;
I from terror.
You've wanted this
your entire adult life.
No. Since the nursery.
But do the public want me?
It's your own party to whom
you'll have to prove yourself.
Ah, I'm getting the job only
because the ship is sinking.
It-it's not a gift;
it's revenge.
Let them see your true
qualities, your courage.
- My poor judgment.
- No, your lack of vanity.
- And my iron will.
- Your sense of humor.
Ho, ho, ho.
Now go.
- Go?
- Be...
Be what?
Be yourself.
Myself?
Hmm.
Which self should I...
be today?
Hmm.
One should have had power
when a young man.
When wits were sharp.
Sinews strong.
Oh, well.
Uh, uh, lead on, Macduff.
When youth departs,
may wisdom prove enough.
Mm.
Hardly seems like
there's a war on at all.
Do you know
I've never ridden a bus?
Sir?
I've never queued for bread.
I believe I can boil an egg.
But only because
I've seen it done.
The only time I tried
riding the Underground
was during the General Strike.
Clemmie dropped me off
at South Kensington station.
I went down but got lost.
I came straight back up!
It was awful.
Why not Halifax?
I favor Halifax.
I wanted Halifax.
The Lords wanted Halifax.
Perhaps, uh,
Halifax wanted Halifax.
Then why have I been forced
to send for Churchill?
Because he is
the only member of our party
who has the support
of the Opposition.
His record is a litany
of catastrophe.
Gallipoli, 25,000 dead,
the India policy,
the Russian Civil War,
the Gold Standard,
the abdication,
and now this Norway adventure.
What's that, 1,800 men?
One aircraft carrier,
two cruisers,
seven destroyers
and a submarine.
- Winston lacks judgment.
- He was right about Hitler.
Well, even a stopped clock
is right twice a day.
First Lord of the Admiralty,
Mr. Winston Churchill.
Early.
Keen.
I accept your resignation,
but I want you to know how...
cruelly I think
you've been treated.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Oh, this way, my lord.
Your Majesty.
Mr. Churchill.
I believe you know...
why I have asked you
here today.
Sir, I simply cannot
imagine why.
It is my duty to invite you
to take up the position
of prime minister
of this United Kingdom.
Will you form a government?
I will.
Very well.
Well, that was quite easy.
Yes, it was.
I believe we are
to meet regularly.
Once a week, I'm afraid.
How is...
How are you for Mondays?
Um, I shall endeavor
to be available
- on Mondays.
- 4:00?
I nap at 4:00.
Is that permissible?
No. But necessary.
I work late.
Oh. Then perhaps lunchtime.
Lunch?
Mondays?
Your Majesty.
Prime Minister.
- Can we get any closer?
- Mr. Churchill!
Good evening, gentlemen.
Mr. Churchill,
welcome to Number Ten.
Thank you, sir.
Mr. Churchill,
what's your agenda?
The agenda?
Uh, a glass of Pol Roger.
- Cheers.
- Over here, sir!
You'll-you'll have
your pictures.
Prime Minister.
Anthony.
How is the king?
Anxious.
He's never forgiven me
for supporting
his brother's marriage
to Wallis Simpson.
You only have to meet him
once a week.
Oh, but that's like saying
you only have to have
your tooth pulled once a week.
Composition
of your War Cabinet.
Who should sit on it?
Yeah.
Uh, Chamberlain, of course.
Uh, the Reverend Holy Fox.
Halifax.
Keeping your enemies close?
Oh, more than that.
Without them, the party
will have rid of me.
Oh, and-and that sheep
in sheep's clothing, Attlee.
Come on, Daddy.
Everyone's waiting.
Yes, I-I'll be there
in a jiffy, my love.
I heard that before
you were asked,
they offered it
to Lord Halifax.
Oh, I doubt that.
Halifax would never
turn it down.
He's the fourth son of an earl.
Fourth sons turn nothing down.
I wish the position had come
your way in better times, sir.
You have an enormous task
ahead of you.
I only hope it's not too late.
I'm very much afraid it is.
But we can only do
our best, hmm?
- Hip-hip!
- Hooray!
- Hip-hip!
- Hooray!
Oh, heavens!
What a... a frightful sight.
- Oh, a toast.
- Yes, a speech.
- Yes.
- Mama.
Oh, um...
Yes.
Uh... my darling husband.
Um... some of you may not know
that on the eve
of our marriage
I got cold feet.
But as I'd already called off
two engagements
by the age of 21
and was in danger of gaining
a reputation
for being a bolter...
...it would have been poor form
- to call off a third.
- Hear, hear.
Lucky for Daddy.
But the real reason
for my wintery feet
was that I knew, even then,
that his priority
would be public life.
But it worried
a young girl greatly,
this wretched thought
of eternally coming second.
But so it has proven to be.
And in due course, our children
would have to make their peace
with this same fact.
We all did, you see.
In our own way.
And now, today,
we are to receive our reward.
Proof that our small sacrifice
was for a far,
far greater good.
I give you your father,
my beloved husband,
the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister.
Here's to, um...
...to not buggering it up.
To not buggering it up.
Belgium was a ploy.
They punched through
the Ardennes into France.
Crossed the Meuse River
in under 24 hours.
No one can cross
the Meuse in 24 hours.
Well, apparently
the Germans can.
Look to Chamberlain's
handkerchief.
If he waves it at the end
of Churchill's speech,
we show approval.
If not, keep quiet.
The Prime Minister.
Here we go.
Mr. Speaker,
on Friday evening last,
I received
His Majesty's commission
to form a new administration.
It was the evident wish
and will
of Parliament and the nation
that this should be conceived
on the broadest possible basis.
And that it should include
all parties.
Hear, hear.
A War Cabinet
has been convened.
Um, uh, no.
Uh, uh, uh, correction.
Has been formed.
"Formed. "
A War Cabinet
has been formed
of five members.
Representing, with the Opposition parties,
the unity of the nation.
Read.
"The three
party leaders have agreed
"to serve either
in the War Cabinet
or in high executive office. "
With this agreement in place,
I now invite the House
by the resolution which,
uh, stands in my name...
...to record its approval
and to declare its confidence
in the new government.
Uh, uh, miss?
Uh, I'm coming out
in a state of nature.
It must be remembered
that we are in
the preliminary stage
of one of the greatest battles
in history.
And that many preparations
have to be made here at home.
Hear, hear.
Sir, I take up my task
with a buoyancy and hope,
and say to the House,
as I have said
to those who have joined
the government,
I have nothing to offer
but blood, toil, tears
and sweat.
We have before us an ordeal
of the most grievous kind.
We have before us
many, many long months
of struggle and of suffering.
You ask, "What is our policy?"
I say it is to wage war
by sea, land and air
with all our might
and with all the strength
that God can give us.
To wage war
against a monstrous tyranny
never surpassed in the dark
and lamentable catalogue
of human crime.
That is our policy.
Oh, you ask, uh,
"What is our aim?"
I can answer in one word.
Victory.
Victory at all costs.
Victory,
in spite of all terror.
Victory, however long
and-and hard the road may be.
For without victory,
there can be no survival.
What's he doing?
Contempt.
We have to start somewhere.
Snap.
"Our policy is to wage war.
"At all costs.
No survival. "
Good God, he's incapable
of even pronouncing
the word "peace,"
let alone entering
into negotiations.
Awful, the thought
that I shall never see
my country at peace again.
I have cancer.
Oh, Neville.
Uh, Winston must be removed
from office.
If we can get him to declare
that he refuses
to even consider peace
negotiations with Germany,
you and I would perhaps
have clear grounds to resign.
That would force a vote
of no confidence.
The party
couldn't countenance that.
You're the chairman,
for heaven's sake.
He'd be finished.
And you would agree
to be prime minister.
Well...
with Winston out of the way,
who can say?
But the important thing,
Neville,
is that your policies
would be back on the table.
Peace and the protection
of our nation.
On record.
I beg your pardon.
He must declare, on record,
his refusal to engage
in peace talks.
We must have it in writing.
Thank you.
- Miss Layton.
- Morning.
Follow me.
Morning.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, ma'am.
What goes on down here?
That's need-to-know,
and you don't.
- The lavatory?
- For the PM's use only.
- Ah.
- Sleeping quarters,
for when you miss
the last train.
Ma'am.
That's the Map Room.
- No women allowed.
- What department's this?
Indiscretion in conversation
or any other form,
within or without these rooms
regarding what happens here,
is a statutory offense
punishable by up to
two years imprisonment
with hard labor.
Clear?
Crystal.
Good.
That's the War Cabinet room.
Never.
I don't mean to be rough
on you, but...
them's the rules.
This is the typists' pool.
- Good morning, sir.
- Ladies.
And here's you.
Belgium and Holland
may fall at any hour.
And the French?
The entire French Ninth Army,
some 200,000 men,
have capitulated.
All of them?
Capitulated.
Deserted. It was a rout.
All our land forces,
roughly 300,000 men,
are now in full retreat.
Air cover?
For our troops?
The Luftwaffe
control the skies.
We simply don't have enough
planes to challenge them.
In fact, I strongly recommend
we stop sending
our precious fighter planes
to be wasted in France.
Save them for our own defense.
And our navy sits idle,
neutralized, useless.
Our fleets no sooner come
within their range
than we come
under blistering air attack.
Well, their speed
is devastating.
Panzer tanks moving rapidly
westward through the center.
Oh. Well, they will have
to pause for fuel supplies.
This is not the last war, sir.
Their tanks can stop for fuel
at a petrol station.
Petrol station?
The road to Paris
now lies open.
Seven million refugees
are on the move.
Collectively, we are looking
at the collapse
of Western Europe
in the next few days.
Should the public be told?
Not yet.
First, we must rouse
our old friends
to an heroic resistance.
France must be saved.
Premier.
Uh... Bien que notre,
uh, situation,
uh, soit tres grave...
uh, ce n'est pas
la premiere fois, uh...
que nous, um, uh,
faisons face
a une crise ensemble.
Uh... Uh, perhaps, uh,
in English, Prime Minister.
Well...
We have, uh, survived,
uh, crises before,
and I am... I am confident
we will survive this one.
Uh, tell me how you...
you plan to counterattack.
There is no plan.
W-Well...
Well, you must counterattack.
Well, you-you-you-you...
you must.
Um... Vous devoir, uh...
uh, contre-attaquer!
Il le faut!
I do not believe that this...
this, uh...
Panzer breakthrough
is a real invasion.
Not a real invasion?
No. As long as their
tank crews are not supported
by infantry units,
th-they are...
merely little flags
stuck on a map.
Because the tank crews
cannot support themselves.
No. I-I refuse to see,
in this spectacular raid
of the German tank,
a real invasion.
He's an actor,
in love with the sound
of his own voice.
I love to listen to him.
But we must never
take his advice.
Has a hundred ideas a day.
Four of them are good,
the other 96
downright dangerous.
His father was the same...
great orator, but...
Until he lost his mind
to syphilis.
How nations suffer
for the sins of their fathers.
My opinion?
At this critical juncture
for the empire,
we have a drunkard
at the wheel.
Wakes with a scotch,
bottle of champagne for lunch,
another one at dinner.
Brandy and port
until the wee hours.
I wouldn't let him borrow my bicycle.
He's a Conservative
who defects to the Liberals,
lobs grenades at us
for ten years,
then flops Conservative again
as it bloody suits him.
Sorry, but he stands
for one thing.
Himself.
We may have to replace him,
Bertie.
Replace him?
We must strive for peace
so that every son and daughter
of this land
can emerge from this crisis
with something recognizable
as home.
Spoken like a true
prime minister.
"V for Victory. "
You need to reply
to the Lord Privy Seal.
Uh... uh, uh,
tell the Lord Privy Seal
I am sealed in the privy.
And I can only deal
with one shit at a time.
The broadcast is tonight,
so don't spare me, Anthony.
- Be frank.
- Mm.
I don't think so.
You, uh...
you don't think so what?
You're suggesting
we're somehow winning.
We're not.
No, but, uh,
it will inspire them.
- Winston, I know...
- Anthony, Anthony.
I am going to imbue them
with a...
a-a spirit of feeling
they don't yet know they have.
You asked my opinion.
I caution against it.
Cicero.
Cicero!
"If fortune is adverse... "
Uh... uh, something,
uh, something, something.
Well...
Well, it's not there.
I left it there.
Clemmie!
Cat!
Clemmie!
We cannot pay our bills.
My-my-my copy of, uh, Cicero.
- Did-did you shelve it?
- Did you hear what I said?
- What was that?
- We're broke.
Oh. Um...
Out! Uh, out.
Come on. Everybody out.
I dare not write another check.
Well, I'll economize.
Only, uh, four cigars a day.
You are insufferable!
Is there anything else?
Yes.
My love for you.
How much have you had
to drink this morning?
I see you now
as I first saw you
in-in 1904.
And-and I simply stood,
speechless.
Well, I must have been
very beautiful
to achieve
that miraculous effect.
Four years until we saw
each other again.
Went by in an absolute flash.
You didn't lack for admirers.
Your fidele serviteur
in Sidney Peel.
- Brilliant man.
- Lionel Earle.
Wonderful dancer.
And then at Lady St. Helier's
dinner party.
Who should show up?
Pig.
Just the same.
Are we terribly old?
Yes, I'm afraid you are.
Oh, you beast.
Oh, you...
Would you... would you
hear me read my speech
for tonight's broadcast?
Prime Minister.
Prime Minister,
the situation in France.
Uh, is it true
we're in full retreat?
Is France lost?
"The Spanish ships
I cannot see,
for they are out of sight. "
If you will sit here...
at your desk.
And speak slowly and clearly.
Into the microphone.
So...
if you're ready,
on the stroke of 9:00,
the red light will come on,
and we shall go live
to the nation.
9:00, red light...
you begin.
Yes?
Uh, one moment.
Prime Minister, are we ready?
Uh... uh, one moment,
one moment.
We are going live...
One moment, damn you!
And four, three,
two, one.
I speak to you
for the first time
as prime minister
in a solemn hour
for the life of our country,
of our empire, of our allies
and, above all,
of the cause of freedom.
A tremendous battle
- is raging in France and Flanders.
- Shh.
The Germans,
by a remarkable combination
of air bombing
and heavily armored tanks,
have broken through
the French defenses
north of the Maginot Line...
...and strong columns
of their armored vehicles
are ravaging
the open country...
...which,
for the first day or two,
was without defenders.
However,
I have invincible confidence
in the French Army
and its leaders.
Only a very small
part of that splendid army
has yet been heavily engaged,
and only a very small part
of France has yet been invaded.
Side by side,
the British and French peoples
have advanced.
- "Advanced"?
- To rescue not only Europe.
- How bloody dare he.
- But mankind
from the foulest and most
soul-destroying tyranny
which has ever darkened
and stained the pages
of history.
But now one bond
unites us all.
To wage war until victory
is won,
and never to surrender
ourselves
to servitude and shame.
Whatever the cost
and the agony may be,
conquer we must,
as conquer we shall.
Well done, sir.
Oh, I thought you did
marvelously.
The last ten years,
I was the only one
who told them the truth.
Until tonight.
There is no advance.
It's a shambles.
We're in full retreat.
But would you be
serving them tonight
by denying them
their sleep and...
and terrifying their children?
What, even if
the terror is coming?
Because the terror is coming.
There's time enough
for the truth.
Mm.
Have you seen this?
- What's so funny?
- Oh.
Prime Minister. Sir.
Yes, what is it?
Um... perhaps...
Um... look, I'm...
I'm not sure
if you know this, but, um...
uh, but the way you're doing
your "V for Victory" sign...
Hmm?
Well, in the poorer quarters,
that gesture means
something else.
What does it mean?
Well, I wouldn't like
to say, sir.
I was captured by the Boer.
I spent time
in a South African prison.
Up your bum.
Sir.
Up your bum?
Bum. Up your...
The way you're doing it, sir,
yes, sir.
But if you
turn it around, that's fine.
I wouldn't like
millions of people
to take it the wrong way.
Indeed.
- Sir.
- Sir.
And up your bum!
Your Majesty.
Don't want to take
too much of your time.
I heard you on the wireless.
Huh. Was I comprehensible?
The public need to be led,
not misled.
Not left to work it out
for themselves.
Right.
Will that be all, Your Majesty?
Yes.
Good day, Prime Minister.
Good day.
I believe I have just received
a royal rap on the knuckles.
Hmm.
As of 2000 hours last night,
the Germans have encircled
60 British,
Belgian and French divisions.
On our part, all our forces
under Lord Gort have withdrawn
or are trying to withdraw to
the French coast, to Dunkirk,
where we cannot reach them.
How many of our men
are trapped?
All of them.
Our country's entire
professional soldiery.
And we can see no clear way
to rescue them.
General, are-are you telling me
that we shall have lost
the entire British Army
by the next few days?
That's correct.
The German force
is superior in every regard
and only 50 miles
from the coast.
They are pushing us
into the sea.
No, the Germans
must not reach the sea.
Not... not before
we evacuate our-our men.
Ismay, what have you got
for us?
As it stands, I cannot see
we have much hope of getting
any of our forces out in time.
Not a man?
Well, we...
well, we cannot be so,
uh, totally at their mercy.
Wh-What's our next step?
Anyone?
Come on, speak!
We still have a garrison
at Calais.
25 miles to the west.
Well, how many men
do we have there?
4,000, more or less.
Then why...
why didn't you say so?
Yes. Then we, uh...
we have them go east,
engage with the German columns
moving on Dunkirk,
buy us some time.
Dr-Draw the... the Nazi focus
away from Dunkirk
whilst we execute a...
a-a maritime evacuation
of our forces.
Is that, uh, possible?
It would mean a huge sacrifice.
4,000 young men.
To save 300,000.
Under whose command
is the, uh, Calais garrison?
Uh, Brigadier Nicholson.
Very well.
Huh.
Tell Nicholson it is
of the greatest importance
to this island that...
that his garrison
draw the enemy's tanks
and artillery and bombers
away from Dunkirk.
Invite their wrath, and...
...well, and to fight on
if needs be...
...i-if needs be, until the
destruction of his command.
It's suicide.
Prime Minister,
I have reservations.
Well, who is free
of reservations?
About unnecessary sacrifice,
when there is
an available alternative.
What alternative?
Italy has offered
to mediate peace talks
between ourselves and Germany.
I already indicated that,
provided the liberty
and independence
of the British Empire
was assured,
we would consider any proposal.
With, uh... with Hitler
holding the... the whip hand.
Do you really think
he would honor
our liberty and independence?
It would be in his interest
to do so, sir.
- Because the British Empire...
- The only thing to do
is to show that maniac
that he cannot conquer
this island,
and for that we need an army.
General,
tell Brigadier Nicholson
the Germans must not
reach the sea.
Not before
we-we-we get our boys
off of that bloody beach!
I take full responsibility.
Really?
Really! Yes, sir.
It is the reason...
I sit in this chair!
Well, surely, before you take
full responsibility
for the deaths of 4,000 men,
you'd wish to consider
every available avenue.
What... what is this?
What is your mind
on the principle
of peace talks, sir?
Do we take it, for example,
that you preclude yourself
from even considering taking
part in such negotiations?
I should like to speak
to Viscount Halifax
and, uh, Mr. Chamberlain.
Alone.
Issue the order
to the Calais garrison.
Confirm it has been done.
Dismissed.
Now, you two... come on.
Out.
Bridges!
You... come on, hop it!
Out. Out!
Winston...
we are facing
certain defeat on land,
the annihilation of our army,
and imminent invasion.
We must be rational.
We are a seagoing nation.
Have been since the Bronze Age.
The Channel is ours.
It's our moat, our battlement,
and the German doesn't
recognize an expanse of water
greater than a bloody lake.
They have first to reach
this island, Edward.
Where men, women and children,
whom we will have failed
despicably
in our duty of protection,
will be entirely defenseless...
And whose fault is that?
...against the largest army
the world has ever seen.
Furthermore, once France falls,
Germany can concentrate
on aircraft production.
They will then have
the French fleet as well.
What is to stop Herr Hitler
then, Winston?
Words, words, words alone.
If you will not permit
any talk of peace,
then I shall be forced...
Might we not allow Edward
simply to meet the
Italian Ambassador Bastianini,
discuss a possible role
as mediators
between us and Germany,
and find out their price?
Sir.
- Mr. President.
- Winston.
Franklin.
- How are you?
- Fine. Fine.
How are you, Prime Minister?
Oh, I-I'm in fine fettle.
Fine fettle.
Uh... uh, listen.
I'm, uh, uh, telephoning
about your, uh, navy ships.
If you could loan us
just, uh...
uh, 50 older destroyers.
- Ah, yes.
- Or even 40 would do.
Well, I, uh...
I did ask around,
but just not possible,
I'm afraid.
The Neutrality Act we signed
last year has tied my hands.
Just can't swing it.
I tried.
Uh, well, can I, uh, um...
Do I have your, uh, permission,
uh, to send, uh,
an aircraft carrier
to pick up the P-40
fighter planes
we purchased from you?
Mr. President?
Well, you-you've
got me there again.
New law preventing
transshipment
of military equipment.
Uh, but we paid for them.
We-we paid for them
with the money that we...
that we borrowed from you.
I'm so, so sorry, Winston.
I need not impress
upon you the...
the trouble faced
by the Western Hemisphere,
uh, without your support
in some fashion.
I know. I know.
You are on my mind
day and night.
Look, we could possibly...
Uh, Mr. President...
Uh, I-I mean to say...
We are facing, uh,
the gravest odds.
We could take your planes
to about a mile
from the Canadian border.
- Hmm?
- And then, if you send across
a team of horses from Canada...
nothing motorized...
then you could pull them
over the border yourself.
How does that sound?
Horses?
Um, you-you did say, uh,
a-a team of horses?
Well, I guess you could
push them yourself.
Damn things have wheels.
Up to you.
We could do that,
Prime Minister.
Prime Minister?
Uh, uh, anything you could do
at this time,
uh, Franklin,
would be most welcome.
Good night to you, Winston.
It must be late there.
In more ways
than you could possibly know.
- Prime Minister.
- Prime Minister.
Uh, get me Admiral Ramsay
on one of these, will you?
Uh, yes, Prime Minister.
Put me through
to Admiral Ramsay.
Admiral Ramsay.
It's the prime minister.
Bertie?
Bertie, I, uh,
hope I didn't wake you.
Not at all.
I was just reading the Bible.
Exodus?
Uh, listen, Bertie.
Uh, we need
to evacuate our boys.
Uh, the Navy is saying
that with one cruiser
and six destroyers
and with the...
the Luftwaffe
controlling the skies above,
we-we'll be lucky
to get ten percent out.
I want you to order
a-an assembly of boats.
Boats?
Uh, yes. Um...
Civilian boats.
Uh, as many as you
can get your hands on.
Uh, Longley's clipper,
Fearnley's gin palace,
anyone with a pleasure craft
bigger than 30 foot
that can get to France.
Bertie, you still there?
Um, right.
Help me stage this thing,
Bertie. Huh?
We must at least try to bring
some of our boys home.
Well, I'll have the BBC
issue the order.
Good.
Oh, and-and, Bertie...
you still there?
- Sir.
- We need a name...
for this operation.
Good morning, Prime Minister.
Prime Minister, do you have
anything you'd like to say
to our readers this morning?
Prime Minister.
Mr. Churchill, sir.
Prime Minister, do you have
anything you'd like to say?
Prime Minister? Prime Minister,
are you going to...
Prime Minister, would you
like to... Prime Minister?
How do you manage
drinking during the day?
Practice.
I...
should like to discuss...
I have been asked
if plans should be drawn
to evacuate myself
and my family to Canada.
I would like to know the
opinion of our prime minister.
Well, my opinion would be
that you must do
what you feel
is right for yourself,
your family and the nation.
I mean, your survival
is paramount.
Prime ministers... huh,
well, we seem to come and go
at an astonishing rate.
Your position
in Parliament, I...
I'm told, is not strong.
Uh, my party...
resents the way Chamberlain
was pushed aside.
And many others doubt me.
They want Halifax still,
but why get rid
of the organ grinder
and replace him
with the monkey?
Lord Halifax is a close
personal friend of mine.
I am unwanted.
I-I've never been trusted
since the Gallipoli campaign.
Unwanted.
Perhaps it's because
you scare people.
Who?
You scare me.
What nonsense.
What could possibly
be scary about me?
One never knows what's going
to come out of your mouth next.
Something that will flatter,
something that will wound.
My emotions are unbridled.
A wildness in the blood,
I share with my father.
And my mother also.
We lacked, uh,
the gift of temperance.
Were you close to your parents?
M-My mother was glamorous,
but perhaps too widely loved.
My father was like God...
busy elsewhere.
Hmm.
Good day, gentlemen.
- Prime Minister.
- I have, uh, asked the...
uh, minister for war
to join us.
Um, uh, Neville,
would you, um...
Anthony.
Obviously, uh, we are in
a dangerous situation.
But I am assured
by the French premier
that while some, uh,
German tank units
have reached the sea,
the situation generally seems
to be well in hand.
What news from Calais?
The garrison attacked
but was forced back
and is now surrounded
on all sides.
They're being shelled
and bombed mercilessly.
Casualties are at 60%.
Hmm.
Prime Minister.
The question of peace talks.
Oh, we must hold our nerve.
Signal only that we intend
to fight it out until the end.
A peace offer, uh,
- telegraphs our weakness.
- Agreed.
And even if we were beaten,
we should be no worse off
than we should be if we were
now to abandon the struggle.
Let us therefore avoid
being dragged
down the slippery slope
with talk
of a negotiated peace.
Slippery slope? The only...
- I suspect Italy and Germany...
- The only slippery slope...
...wish to get us so deeply
involved in negotiations
- that we should be unable to turn back.
- Nonsense.
- Bastianini informed me...
- I propose...
- The only slippery slope...
- Would you stop interrupting me
while I am interrupting you?
When I chose my War Cabinet,
I took great care
to surround myself
with old rivals.
I may have overdone it.
Viscount Halifax,
the approach you propose is...
it's-it's not only...
it's futile,
but it involves us
in a deadly danger.
The deadly danger here
is this romantic fantasy
of fighting to the end.
What is the end,
if not the destruction
of all things?
There's nothing heroic
in going down fighting
if it can be avoided.
Nothing even remotely patriotic
in death or glory
if the odds are firmly
on the former.
Nothing inglorious in trying
to shorten a war
that we are clearly losing.
Losing?!
Europe is still...
Europe is lost.
And before our forces
are wiped out completely,
now is the time to negotiate,
in order to obtain
the best conditions possible.
Hitler will not insist
on outrageous terms.
He will know
his own weaknesses.
He will be reasonable.
When will the lesson
be learned?
When will
the lesson be learned?!
How many more dictators
must be, uh, wooed, appeased...
good God,
given immense privileges...
before we learn?
You cannot reason with a tiger
when your head is in its mouth!
Prime Minister.
Winston. Winston.
Yesterday,
you gave permission...
What permission?
For me to meet Bastianini.
- I sanctioned the theoretical exploration...
- Theoretical?
...of what price Italy
would ask. Nothing more.
- I did not sanction any...
- If you will not permit
further exploration
of a peace agreement,
then you will have
my resignation.
Oh, don't be absurd, Edward.
- I need you. You know I do.
- I will not stand by
to watch another generation
of young men die
at the bloody altar
of your hubris.
Oh, and you would have us
die as lambs!
Was Gallipoli
not enough for you?
How dare you!
Our troops were chewing
barbed wire in Flanders,
and I saw it!
Opening a second front,
outflanking the Turks
was a... a serious
military idea,
and it could have
damn well worked if the...
if the admirals
and the First Sea Lord
hadn't dithered away
our element of surprise.
Choice is yours, Winston.
You have 24 hours
to enter into peace talks,
or I shall resign.
I told him.
It shook him.
I imagine it did.
Gave him 24 hours.
I don't expect he'll agree,
so I shall resign first.
You then follow...
that's critical if we're
to trigger a vote
of no confidence in the House.
I shall announce it.
The king will back us.
Prime Minister.
I wonder
if we might schedule you
to address the Outer Cabinet.
Today, the Admiralty
have made an order
requesting all owners
of self-propelled
pleasure craft
between 30 and 100 feet
in length
to send all particulars
to the Admiralty immediately...
To Brigadier Nicholson.
30 Infantry Brigade, Calais.
Every hour
you continue to exist
is of the greatest help
to our forces at Dunkirk.
Have the greatest possible
admiration
for your splendid stand.
Your evacuation, however,
will not take place.
I repeat...
will not take place.
Sign.
Here. Here.
May I be excused?
You may not.
What is this about?
No one tells us anything.
It's all classified.
We hear scraps, and it's worse
than knowing nothing.
What would you like to know?
How many men will survive?
Come with me.
I'm not allowed
in the Map Room.
- Well, you are now.
- Prime Minister.
At ease, gentlemen.
Now...
The German army controls
every French port
except Dunkirk here
and Calais here to the west,
where the garrison
under Brigadier Nicholson
is drawing fire and delaying
the German advance on Dunkirk.
At both points,
our troops are encircled.
Now, we are still trying
to clear Dunkirk Harbor
of wrecked ships
so that we can then land
the boats we need to get our...
our boys off those beaches.
But enemy aircraft
is attacking us constantly.
Our-our only hope in Dunkirk
is thick cloud cover
to thwart these attacks,
but the skies remain clear.
And even then,
I am told we will need a...
a miracle to get even
ten percent of our men out.
Courage, Miss Layton.
Courage.
General.
How... how long have they got
if we don't rescue them?
One... maybe...
two days.
News from Calais,
the 30th Infantry, sir.
They've retreated
to the town's citadel
as a last
and probably hopeless stand.
The order,
"every man for himself,"
has been given.
- Thank you, thank you.
- Brigadier Nicholson.
- There's a telegram, sir.
- Thank you.
Good show, chaps.
Well done, lads. Well done.
All right.
He's losing too much blood.
We need another
transfusion here.
All right, men?
All right?
Your evacuation, however,
will not take place.
I repeat...
will not take place.
Oh, go to bed, Pig.
You must sleep.
Leave me, Clemmie.
The opportunity for doing so
passed a long time ago.
Operator.
How may I direct your call?
- Give me Ramsay.
- One moment, please.
Bertie?
- Sir?
- What's been the response?
It will take time.
It's too soon to judge.
How many boats so far?
Winston, it will take time.
The request for civilian boats,
Bertie, was not a request.
It was an order!
- Ah. Uh, Miss Layton.
- Sir.
I-I, uh...
I need to reach, um...
to reach, uh...
to speak to, uh...
To?
3:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m., sir?
Y-Yes. Uh, uh, yes.
Ask Bridges to summon
the, um...
Oh, God.
The War Cabinet, uh,
at 3:00 p.m.
Thank you!
Sir.
From Lord Gort in France, sir.
Belgium has fallen.
They will surrender
at midnight.
France will soon follow suit.
We have received reports
that the most probable method
of attack
which Germany might employ
against this country
is a large fleet
of fast motorboats,
possibly up to 200,
carrying a hundred men apiece,
to carry out a seaborne raid
on a large scale.
By these means, a considerable
force of the enemy
could be landed at many points
on the coast
simultaneously
with airborne raids inland.
We do not feel
that by naval or air action,
we could prevent
such a landing.
Could you repeat that?
We must prepare
for the imminent invasion
of our island.
We must prepare for
the imminent invasion
of our island.
We recommend that the country
should be warned and roused
to the immediate danger,
and that all personnel
required to put Britain
in a state of defense
should be mobilized
without a moment's delay.
Lights.
Uh, thank you, General.
Let all preparations be made.
Let the record state,
I have received word
from the Italian embassy
in London.
Italy is prepared
to mediate a resolution
between Britain,
its allies and Germany.
Oh. P-Perhaps then, uh...
...uh, the time
for such an offer from us
is-is when, um...
Well, is when, uh...
is when Germany has made
a-an unsuccessful attempt
- to invade this country.
- Unsuccessful?
Then you leave me
no other option but to offer...
Winston. Winston!
You are refusing
to grasp the realities
of how precarious
our position is.
Our entire army
is about to be wiped out.
Terms must be struck.
Anthony.
Then it seems we...
we-we have no choice
but to at least consider the...
path of negotiation.
If-if Hitler's peace terms are,
um, overlordship
of Central Europe,
return of certain
German colonies,
a-and if he will leave us
our independence,
th-then I-I'd be grateful
to get out of our present...
difficulties.
But it is unlikely
that he will make
such an offer.
But-but if I were told
what the German terms were...
...well, then I-I'd be prepared
to-to consider them.
Thank you, Prime Minister.
We shall prepare
a draft memorandum at once.
I-I have, uh, come to wonder,
uh, in-in-in recent days...
...uh, uh, wh-whether it was...
...uh, part of my duty...
...uh, part of my...
part of my duty to...
...uh, uh, t-to consider...
...to consider, um...
...to consider...
...whether it-it was...
Will that be all
for tonight, sir?
...whether it was, uh,
part of my duty
e-e-entering into...
...into negotiations
with, um...
...that...
...that corporal...
...uh, that child.
Monster of wickedness.
That butcher.
That savage.
Monstrous savage.
That wicked...
Housepainter.
Housepainter!
Oh.
Uh, uh, where... where were we?
Well?
I didn't understand you, sir.
You were...
Were?
You were mumbling.
"Mumbling. "
Th-Th-The right words...
...won't come.
They will come, sir.
No one can put words together
like you.
Oh.
Uh, your beau?
My brother.
Where is he now?
He was falling back on Dunkirk.
But he never made it.
What?
Just looking at you.
Shall I read back what we have?
Y-Y-Yes, please.
"I have come to wonder
in recent days
"whether it was my duty
to consider
entering
into negotiations with... "
With?
I've just been standing,
imagining never
being here anymore,
whether it is because
I'm no longer alive
or that the palace itself
is gone.
Canada.
You must decide, sir.
You could rule in exile.
Truly?
Is that to be my fate?
You know something?
I'm aware in this moment
of feeling angry.
Bloody angry.
Darling.
Winston, darling.
There's someone to see you.
You have a visitor.
My darling,
you have the full weight
of the world on your shoulders.
- I... I...
- No, I know, I know.
But these inner battles
have actually trained you
for this very moment.
You are strong
because you are imperfect.
You are wise
because you have doubts.
Now, shall I let him in?
Uh, who?
The king.
Which king?
Our king?
Well, if it isn't him,
it's a marvelous impersonation.
Mr. Churchill.
I hope you can forgive
the late hour, but...
your wife thought tonight
would be a good time.
Shall we sit?
Oh, yes.
Uh, uh, please. Um...
Some-Something to drink,
perhaps?
No.
I...
received a visit.
From?
Viscount Halifax.
It appears that the prospect
of a peace deal
has increased dramatically.
The-the War Cabinet is drafting
a letter to Mussolini,
asking him to broker talks
with Herr Hitler.
Then Halifax was correct.
I-I should like
to know your mind.
It would be helpful
to know yours first.
I should like
to know it myself.
Nations...
which go down fighting
rise again, and those...
that surrender tamely
are finished.
Belgium?
- Collapsed.
- Norway?
Holland.
France any hour.
And the mood of Parliament?
Fear. Panic.
And you?
Are you not afraid?
I am, most terribly.
Support in the War Cabinet
for the campaign of resistance
has collapsed.
Uh, later today, I-I will
address the House accordingly.
You have my support.
Your Majesty?
You have my support.
I confess, I...
had some reservations
about you at first, but...
while some in this country
dreaded your appointment,
none... none dreaded it
like Adolf Hitler.
Whomever can strike fear
into that brute heart
is worthy of all of our trust.
We shall work together.
You shall have my support
at any hour.
Beat the buggers.
I will go to Parliament.
But without support
in my own party,
I must sue for peace.
You once gave me some advice.
Perhaps I can...
I can give you some.
Go to the people.
Let them instruct you.
Quite silently,
they usually do.
But tell them...
the truth unvarnished.
If invasion is imminent,
if our troops in France
are lost,
they must be prepared.
On certain matters,
I-I have very few people
with whom I can...
talk frankly.
Perhaps now we have each other.
And I no longer scare you?
A little.
But I can cope.
We are ready. More or less.
More or less what, Bertie?
Give me a number.
In total, 860 vessels.
The biggest civilian fleet
ever assembled.
Operation Dynamo waits
on your command.
Admiral...
initiate Dynamo.
And may God watch
over them all.
We've lost the prime minister.
Do you know how
to use this thing?
Yes, sir.
How do I get to Westminster?
Westminster. Um...
The District Line, east.
One stop.
District Line. East. One stop.
Well, that doesn't sound
so hard.
No, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
The memorandum is titled
"Suggested Approaches to Italy"
and is as follows.
"If Signor Mussolini
will cooperate with us
"in securing a settlement
of all European questions
"which safeguard
the independence
"and security of the allies,
and could be the basis
"of a just and durable peace
for Europe,
"we will undertake
at once to discuss,
"with the desire
to find solutions, the matters
"in which Signor Mussolini
"is primarily interested.
"We understand
that he desires the solution
"of certain
Mediterranean questions,
"and if he will state
in secrecy what these are,
"France and Great Britain
will at once
do their best
to meet his wishes. "
So, this is the Underground.
Thank you.
Uh, does anyone have a match?
Uh, thank you.
Thank you.
What are you all staring at?
Have you never seen, uh,
the prime minister
ride the Underground before?
What is your name?
- Oliver Wilson, sir.
- Hmm.
And what do you do, Mr. Wilson?
- Bricklayer, sir.
- Ah! Bricklayer.
We shall have great need
of bricklayers soon.
Uh, business
will be looking up.
Ah!
Progress.
How old?
Five months, sir.
He looks like you.
Madam, all babies look like me.
Well, uh, what is your name?
Uh, Mrs. Jessie Sutton.
Ah, Mrs. Sutton.
It's a pleasure.
Abigail.
Abigail Walker.
- Marcus Peters.
- Marcus Peters.
- Agnes Dillon.
- Agnes.
- Maurice Baker.
- Mr. Baker.
- Alice Simpson.
- Alice Simpson.
Miss Margaret Jerome.
Oh, a Jerome.
Ah. Uh, my mother was a Jerome.
I-I expect we
are closely related.
Please, please. Uh, sit.
Sit, everyone.
Thank you, Mr. Baker.
So, how are you all, uh...
how are you all bearing up?
Uh, good... good spirits?
- Yes.
- Yes?
Uh, just as well.
We shall need them.
I... Uh, let me ask you
something
that's been, uh,
weighing on my mind.
Perhaps you can provide me
with an answer.
You, uh, the British people,
what is your mood?
Is it, uh... is it confident?
- Yeah.
- If confident, how confident?
- Very.
- Some people say it's a lost cause.
Oh, lost causes
are the only ones
- worth fighting for.
- Too right.
Yes.
Now let me ask you this.
If the worst came to pass
and-and the enemy
were to appear on those...
those streets above,
what would you do?
- Fight.
- Fight the fascists.
Fight them with anything
we can lay our hands on.
- Broom handles if we must.
- Street by street.
They will never take
Piccadilly.
Never take Piccadilly, indeed.
And what if I put it to you all
that we might...
if we, uh... if we ask nicely...
get very favorable terms
from Mr. Hitler
if we enter into a peace deal
with him right now?
What would you say to that?
Never! Never! Never!
Never! Never!
Never.
Never.
Will you never give up?
No. Never.
"Then out spake brave Horatius,
"Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth
"Death cometh soon or late.
"And how can man die better
"Than facing fearful odds
- For the ashes... "
- "For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his Gods. "
Are you crying?
I, uh...
Yes, yes. I, um...
I blub a lot, you know.
You'll-you'll have
to get used to it.
Uh, what-what stop is this?
It's Westminster, sir.
Westminster. It's my stop.
Prime Minister.
Sir.
The War Cabinet.
Sir, they're waiting.
I'm due to address
the Outer Cabinet.
- When?
- Now.
I haven't spoken to them
since the formation
of the new government.
- Prime Minister.
- Good day, gentlemen.
- Prime Minister...
- Oh.
I'm about to, uh, speak to
my Outer Cabinet in my rooms,
and I extend the invitation
to any of you
who would care to join them.
- Let's go.
- Let's go.
This afternoon,
I shall address the House
on the matter
of our nation's security.
At this very moment,
the War Cabinet
is drafting papers
that lay out a willingness
to enter into peace talks
with Herr Hitler,
via his, uh...
his lackey, Mussolini.
I have thought very carefully
in these last days
whether it was part
of my duty
to consider entering
into negotiations with...
...with that man.
Uh, but-but then I, uh...
I spoke with, um... mm...
um...
Oliver Wilson,
Mrs. Jessie Sutton,
Mrs. Abigail Walker,
Marcus Peters,
Maurice, uh, Baker,
Alice Simpson
and Miss Margaret Jerome.
Brave, good, true citizens
of this kingdom.
And they argued strongly
that it was, uh, idle to think,
if we tried to make peace now,
we should get better terms
than if we fought it out.
The Germans, Mr. Baker felt,
uh, would demand,
in-in the name of disarmament,
our naval bases and much else,
and I think he's right.
Jessie Sutton,
speaking for many,
uh, believes
we would then become a...
a slave state.
A... a British government
which would be Hitler's puppet.
A... a government set up
under... under Mosley
- or some such person.
- No, no.
And I join with them in asking
a... a further question.
A question I-I now put to you.
Where should we be
at the end of all that?
Some might benefit.
I mean, the powerful might
be able to parlay good terms,
uh, preserved
in their country redoubts,
out of sight of the swastika
flying over...
over Buckingham Palace!
Over Windsor!
And, uh, draped
on these very buildings!
- Never! Never!
- No! No!
So I come to you...
I come to you
to learn your minds
in this grave hour.
You see,
it was pointed out to me
by my new friends
th-that you might even rise up
and-and... and tear me down
were I for one moment
to contemplate parlay
or surrender.
Huh?
Were they wrong?
No!
- Were they wrong?
- No!
Were they wrong?
- No!
- Thank you. Thank you.
Then I have heard you.
I have heard you.
It appears to be your will also
that if this long island story
of ours is to end at last,
then let it end only
when each one of us
lies choking in his own blood
upon the ground!
- Yes!
- Bravo!
Yes.
And when I asked
to know their minds,
there occurred
a demonstration which,
considering the character
of the gathering,
quite surprised me.
There is no doubt
that if we falter at all
in the leading of the nation,
we should all be hurled
out of office.
I am sure now
that every minister
on both sides of the House
is... is ready
to be killed quite soon,
and have all his family
and possessions destroyed,
rather than give in.
In this, they represent
almost all the people.
And it falls to me
in these coming days and months
to express their sentiments.
There shall be
no negotiated peace.
And you must each do now
as you see fit.
If you will excuse me,
gentlemen...
I believe I am due
to address Parliament.
And I have yet to write a...
a word of my speech.
Ah, there's the buggers.
- Tiny.
- Sir.
- Miss Layton.
- Sir.
I am in need of you.
We must both now resign,
force a vote of no confidence.
Well, let us go
to the Commons first, uh...
join our colleagues.
Then speak after
the prime minister's address.
Here is a woman
who's always tired,
for she lives a life
where too much is required.
The Prime Minister.
Turning once again
to the question of invasion,
I would observe that there
has never been a period
in all these long centuries
of which we boast
when an absolute guarantee
against invasion
could have been given
to our people.
Hear, hear.
But I have myself
full confidence
that if all do their duty,
if nothing is neglected,
and the best arrangements
are made,
as they are being made,
we shall prove ourselves
once more able
to defend our island home.
To ride out the storm of war
and to outlive
the menace of tyranny.
If necessary...
for years, if necessary...
alone.
At any rate,
that is what we are...
are going to try to do.
That is the resolve
of His Majesty's Government,
every man of them.
To your right
a little more, please.
That is the will
of Parliament and the nation.
Hear, hear.
The British Empire
and the French Republic,
linked together in their cause
and in their need,
will defend to the death
their native soil.
Hear, hear!
Aiding each other
like good comrades
to the utmost
of their strength.
Hear, hear.
Even though
large tracts of Europe
and many old and famous states
have... have fallen
or may fall into the...
the grip of the Gestapo
and all the odious apparatus
of the Nazi rule,
we shall not flag or fail.
We shall go on to the end!
Hear, hear!
We shall fight in France.
We shall fight on the seas
and the oceans.
We shall fight with...
with growing confidence
and growing strengths
in the air.
Hear, hear!
We shall defend our island,
whatever the cost may be.
Hear, hear.
We shall fight on the beaches.
We shall fight
on the landing grounds.
We shall fight in the fields
and in the streets.
We shall fight in the hills.
We shall never surrender!
- Hear, hear.
- Hear, hear.
And if...
And if...
And if...
which I-I-I do not
for a moment believe,
this island
or large part of it were...
were-were subjugated
and starving,
then our empire
beyond the seas,
armed and guarded
by the British fleet,
- would carry on the struggle.
- Hear, hear!
Until, in God's good time,
the New World,
with all its power and might,
steps forth to the rescue
and the liberation of the old!
Bravo!
Victory!
Victory! Victory!
Changed your mind?
Those who never change
their mind
never change anything.
What just happened?
He mobilized
the English language
and sent it into battle.