The Gathering Storm (2002) Movie Script

[pensive instrumental music
playing]
[engine revving]
[bird chirping]
[engine revving]
[music continues playing]
[music continues playing]
[music intensifies]
[music continues playing
majestically]
[horse neighing]
[instrumental music playing]
[indistinct yelling]
[gunfire]
[indistinct yelling]
[screaming]
[choir singing]
Rule Britannia
Britannia, rule the waves
Britons never
Never, never
Will be slaves
Rule Britannia
Britannia rule the waves
Britons never, never
Will be slaves
[groans]
[sighs]
[sighs]
[groans]
[sighs]
[urinating]
Mr. Speaker,
will the '30s
go down as the decade
which witnessed the destruction
and downfall
of the British Empire?
That witnessed
the wanton self-destruction...
[toilet flushing]
...of the British Empire?
If India were granted, uh,
self-government,
it would mark the downfall
of the British Empire.
And it will mark
and, and consummate
the downfall
of the British Empire.
[dog barking]
[lively band music playing]
[bell buzzing]
Mr. Inches, you're wanted!
On my way.
[indistinct song on gramophone]
Happy days are here again
All together shout it now
There's no one who can
- Good morning, Inches.
- Good morning, madam.
Have to do something
about Ms. Sarah's gramophone.
I don't want to start the day
with another family altercation.
- No, madam.
- Hello, Mommy.
Good morning, darling.
[dogs barking]
And troubles
Inches, kindly tell my daughter
to turn off
that bloody gramophone.
Trashy music all over the house.
- There you go, sir.
- Ah.
She knows I can't stand it.
Why does she do it?
Leave it to me, sir, will you?
Oh.
Have you been drinking?
This time of the morning, sir?
Certainly not.
If you have,
I hope it's your damn whiskey
and not mine.
Uh, what time
is Mrs. P coming?
Early afternoon, sir.
Early afternoon?
Why not this morning?
Because you told her not to
come till after lunch, sir.
Pure invention.
I did nothing of the sort.
You said you were going
to town this morning, sir,
so she would not be required
until after lunch.
Well, I've changed my mind.
I need to redraft this speech.
- Get her here now!
- Yes, sir.
[music continues playing]
- Thank you.
- Mrs. Churchill?
- Mrs. Landemare.
- Good morning, madam.
Is something the matter?
What's wrong?
Uh, it's Mr. Monks, madam.
- Butcher?
- Uh, yes, madam.
It seems we haven't paid
his bill for several weeks.
And he says he'd rather not
provide us with anymore meat
until the account's settled.
Oh. Ah.
- [man] Inches!
- I'll write a check.
And you can send one of the
girls to deliver it.
- Thank you, Mrs. Landemare.
- Thank you. Thank you, madam.
Inches, liver salts.
Good morning, sir.
- Good morning.
- Morning.
- Randolph, you look dreadful.
- Thank you, Mama.
All those double brandies
late last night.
I'm not in the same league
as my beloved papa.
It's very bad of a young man
of your age to drink so much.
No, don't start nagging
at this time of the morning,
please?
Let me wake up first.
[knocking on door]
- Who is it?
- Winston.
- Have you paid Mr. Monks?
- Well, what?
The butcher from Westerham,
have you paid his bills?
My dear Clemmie, I'm trying
to save India from Mr. Gandhi
and his gang
of subversive Hindus
to save British imperial power
from a disastrous eclipse
and save the Tory Party from
an act of shame and dishonor.
In other words,
you haven't paid the bill.
For God's sake, woman,
I can't do everything!
[engine revving]
[horse neighing]
- Morning, Mrs. P!
- Good morning, Mary!
- How's she going?
- Fine, thank you.
You look lovely!
I thought he said after lunch.
He did. He's changed his mind.
Oh, I do wish he wouldn't
do that, I'd arranged
to take the girls into
Westerham to buy some shoes.
Heaven knows when I'll get
another opportunity.
[panting]
- Mr. Churchill?
- Ah, Mrs. P.
- At last!
- Good morning.
We have much to do
and very little time
in which to do it.
Inches,
please tell Mr. Churchill
I've decided to go to town
with him.
What time will he be leaving?
11:30, madam. On the dot.
[indistinct chatter]
Uh, we'll revise this speech
and, uh, go on
to the second chapter
on the way up to London.
- Today?
- Anything wrong with that?
No. No, of course not,
Mr. Churchill.
And bring my notes
for the Battle of Blenheim.
There you are, Clemmie.
Did I keep you waiting?
Not more than usual.
Good morning, Mrs. Churchill.
- How are you, Mrs. P?
- Well, I think I'm fine.
Happy as a clam,
aren't you, Mrs. P?
Don't you let him
boss you about.
He's a dreadful bully.
Nonsense. Mrs. P adores me.
[engine revving]
How are you getting on
with the Duke of Marlborough?
Very well.
Volume 2, chapter 20,
the Battle of Blenheim.
We're already on page 800
and something.
I think the publishers hoped
for something a little shorter.
Bugger the publishers,
this is more than a biography.
It's a panegyric, a tribute
to my great
and illustrious ancestor.
Oh, get a move on, Jenner.
Overtake! Overtake!
[car honking]
[Churchill]
Remember when Randolph and I
went off to see the battlefield?
Of course.
Oh, I dreamt about it
last night.
I could see everything, Clemmie.
The enemy being routed,
Europe saved
from those ravaging hordes
and there was Marlborough,
riding into history.
Our eyes met.
I think,
I think he smiled at me.
You shouldn't have had
so much cheese.
Stilton always gives you
nightmares.
[laughs]
[traffic bustling]
[Churchill] "Mr. Speaker,
the loss of India
would mark and consummate
the downfall
of the British Empire.
If we cannot do our duty
in India,
we shall have
shown ourselves unworthy
to preserve the vast empire
which still centers
upon this small island.
It is alarming
and also nauseating
to see Mr. Gandhi, a seditious
Middle Temple lawyer,
now posing as a fakir of
a type well-known in the East,
striding half-naked up the
steps of the Viceregal Palace
to parley on equal terms
with the representative
of the King Emperor."
[speaker] Hendon Council's
Private Member's Bill,
second reading.
[indistinct chatter]
- Thank you, Tom.
- Sir.
What a monstrous speech.
You're his friend, Bracken,
you should tell Winston
to stop making such a fool
of himself. It's pathetic.
Britain is losing her grip
on its imperial affairs.
- He's trying to stop the rot.
- Oh, rubbish.
Winston's
a self-serving opportunist.
That's why nobody trusts him.
No sense of loyalty.
Thanks, Tom. Does his party
count for nothing?
Is it disloyal
to defend something
one believes in passionately?
He's attacking
government policy,
which means he's attacking
his own damn party.
It's about time he toed the line
and stopped being
such a bloody nuisance.
It's the wrong hat, Tom.
Mr. Woods, this is appalling.
You must remember
that your husband
lost a very substantial sum
as a result
of the Wall Street crash.
- We're bankrupt.
- Not exactly.
But I have made it clear
to your husband
that economies are necessary.
What did he say?
He promised to cut down
to three bottles of champagne
in the evening.
[Churchill] There was a time
when people used to rush into
the chamber to hear me speak.
"It's Winston," they'd cry.
"Winston's on his feet."
Now they hurry away
as if to avoid
an, an embarrassing accident.
[sighs] I'm finished, Brendan.
Nonsense.
A ghost...
witnessing my own demise.
[somber orchestral music
playing]
[indistinct chatter]
It's common courtesy, thank you.
It was meant to be. Papa...
- Diana.
- It's just... Desmond.
- Have you met my husband?
- Uh, briefly, at the wedding.
- Good to see you again.
- Desmond. Oh.
- I'm so glad to see you.
- Clemmie, my dear.
Hello, Morton,
how's the spying game?
I'm not a spy, Randolph.
I'm a civil servant.
Where's your father?
I'm afraid he's having
a black-dog day,
we're relying on you
to shake him out of it.
Came back from London
in a terrible mood
and he's been like that
ever since.
Winston!
Come on, Winston,
lunch in five minutes.
Dogs look up to you.
Cats look down on you.
Pigs treat you as equals.
What is it? India?
[sighs] Partly.
- Partly these.
- What about 'em?
Full of Herr Hitler.
Made me think.
At 35, I was Home Secretary,
37, First Lord of the Admiralty.
At 50, Chancellor of the
Exchequer, doing pretty well.
- Not bad.
- Now look at me.
No power, no prospect of power.
Look at Hitler.
From bugger-all to,
to head of state in ten years.
- Come and have some lunch.
- Not hungry.
Everyone's waiting.
Let 'em wait.
Come and have a drink at least.
What have you got there?
- I'll show you indoors.
- Will it cheer me up?
Not exactly.
You may be right about Germany.
What do you mean?
What is all this?
It's a report from
our air attache in Berlin.
He says the Nazis have in
training over 8000 pilots.
Sounds as if Hitler
is creating an air force.
I would say so.
Yes, but the Prime Minister
would not.
God help us, Desmond.
England is lost
in a pacifist dream.
People prefer that
to the nightmare of war.
Passchendaele and the Somme
are all too close for comfort.
Yeah.
People are dreaming,
it means they're asleep.
Time they bloody woke up.
[cars honking]
[lively instrumental music
playing]
- [indistinct chatter]
- But it wasn't at the time.
It wasn't a sentiment then.
Mr. Baldwin?
- Prime Minister.
- Herr Becker.
My government is very displeased
by a number of scurrilous
and totally unfounded attacks
on the Third Reich that seem
to emanate from the office
of your ambassador in Berlin.
- Sir Robert?
- Yes, I'll, uh...
I'll make the
appropriate inquiries.
Oh, if it's true, we shall
take immediate action.
And I deplore any attempt
to create feelings
of doubt and suspicion.
I am anxious
to work closely with Germany
under the new order.
Thank you, Mr. Baldwin.
Mr. Wigram, perhaps
you will let me know
the results of these inquiries.
Our most recent dispatch
from our ambassador reported
that Nazi policy
is intensely anti-Jewish.
Is that "scurrilous
and totally unfounded"?
The Jews have become
far too prominent
in many aspects of German life.
Their influence
is disproportionate.
Our policies are merely
adjusting the balance.
Is that why you built
a concentration camp
outside Munich?
It is a place of protective
custody, Mr. Wigram.
And remember, please, it was
the British who invented
the concentration camp
during the Boer War,
I believe.
We are merely following
your good example.
[indistinct chatter]
Jolly good
what you said in there.
Nothing but bully boys,
these damn Nazis.
Well, they get away with it,
that's the trouble.
Nobody does anything about it.
That's right, they don't.
- Very alarming.
- It is.
- Desmond Morton.
- Ralph Wigram.
Foreign Office,
Central Department.
Oh, dear. I'm sorry,
have we met before?
I'm-I'm terrible at faces.
I'm afraid it's my training,
military intelligence.
I have a filing cabinet
instead of a mind.
I'm going to Charing Cross.
Can I drop you somewhere?
Yes, thank you.
Thank you very much.
[engine revving]
[instrumental music playing]
[feet tapping]
[feet tapping continues]
Deuce.
I think she wants to do it
professionally.
Annoying people?
- No, the stage.
- Nonsense.
Girls go on the stage
to marry into a good family.
Sarah already belongs
to a good family.
Ladies do not become
chorus girls.
There's no cake.
- [maid] Pardon, sir?
- You've forgotten the cake.
There isn't any, sir.
[Churchill] That's what
I'm telling you, silly girl.
We don't have any cake, Winston.
- That's what she means.
- Don't have any cake?
Of course we have cake.
Dundee cake from Fortnum's.
- Thank you, Peggy.
- Yes, ma'am.
What on Earth's going on?
We have to make
economies, Winston.
What are you talking about?
I'm worried about money.
I went to see Mr. Woods.
- Four queens. Why?
- [sighs]
He's my accountant
as well as yours, Winston.
Could've told me,
we could've gone together.
I wanted to see
exactly how bad things are.
Hm. Could be worse,
that's the answer.
We've got
the most enormous overdraft.
- Well, we're paying it off.
- No, we're not.
For God's sake, Clemmie,
I'm working day and night.
All these articles
for The Evening Standard
Marlborough, not to mention
the constituency work.
I know, that's why
we have to economize.
Like, depriving me
of my Dundee cake.
You're paying
all of Randolph's debts.
Randolph is hopeless
with money, we all know that.
Oh, he's irresponsible.
I'll talk to him.
[sighs]
- It's your turn.
- What?
- Oh. It's not.
- It is, come along.
You just won the last trick.
Bezique, double bezique.
Well, score it.
Double bezique, 500 points.
- Winston, I know how to score.
- Well, well, do it.
It's not just Randolph,
it's this house, it's Chartwell.
That's where all the money goes.
- Alright, alright...
- We employ 18 people here.
- Surely not.
- It's ruinously expensive.
- We should never've bought it.
- Don't start again, please.
- You went behind my back.
- I did not.
You knew I didn't like it
and you deliberately
deceived me.
That's not true.
I never saw such an ugly house.
You may find the house ugly,
I do not.
Anyway, that's beside the point.
- Come with me.
- What for?
I want to show you something.
- Don't change the subject.
- I'm not.
Come with me, please.
[birds chirping]
[uplifting instrumental music
playing]
That's why I bought it.
Not because
the house is beautiful,
but because of that,
what you can see
from the house, England.
Look at it, Clemmie.
Nowhere in the world
could you find a landscape
more ravishing than that.
And it's ours
to look at and to cherish
for the rest of our lives.
I would die for it, Clemmie.
[music continues playing]
[chuckles]
Oh, Winston.
[horn blaring]
Thank you.
Thank you.
Ralph!
Some rather unwelcome news,
I'm afraid.
The Cabinet has decided to sell
aircraft engines to the Germans.
- I don't believe it!
- To be precise,
118 Rolls Royce PV-12 Merlins.
- God Almighty!
- Designed for civilian use,
I am told, but we both know
they can be used
for fighter planes.
This is total madness!
"Trade should have no
boundaries,"
says the Chancellor
of the Exchequer,
"If we don't sell
the Germans engines
somebody else will,"
and I suppose
there's some sort
of logic in that.
What are we doing here, Van?
We make recommendations,
write briefing notes,
nobody listens.
Nobody in Downing Street
gives a damn.
Well, they're not
very interested
in uncomfortable things
like political reality.
[indistinct chatter]
[bicycle bell dings]
[instrumental music playing]
[Ava] Surely the Germans
aren't allowed to re-arm.
[Ralph] Try telling that
to Mr. Hitler.
Well, then why doesn't
the government do something?
They don't wanna provoke
another war. Who does?
- And they feel guilty.
- About what?
The Treaty of Versailles,
it was far too punitive.
Robbed the Germans
of their self-esteem.
He's tired out, ma'am.
I'm getting him ready for bed.
[Ava] Thank you, Ethel.
Shall we go up?
Mr. Baldwin believes
a strong Germany
will keep Russia in its place.
The government
regards the Communists
as a greater threat
than the Nazis.
- And are they?
- I think not.
Nazism is more than
just a political movement.
It's a cult, a religion
based on the idea
of racial purity.
Mankind, the Nazis believe,
is divided between
the man-gods and the subhumans
aliens who will be used
as beasts of burden
or merely disposed of.
Those with pure Aryan blood
are the man-gods.
The beasts are the Jews.
You ready for bed?
Yeah, you're ready for bed.
Charley.
Daddy.
[chuckles]
- Daddy.
- Oh, Charley, my boy.
- Hello, beautiful boy.
- You ready for bed?
- Yes.
- Yes. You ready for bed?
[chuckles]
Ah.
Sweet dreams, big man.
There you go.
- [Ava] Goodnight, sweetheart.
- G-goodnight.
[Charley chuckles]
[indistinct chatter]
What part of Germany
are you from, Herr Baron?
Bavaria. Some ten miles
from Munich. Do you know it?
I was there last year
with my family.
- On holiday?
- No.
Researching for my book
on the Duke of Marlborough.
Having a look
at the battlefields.
- How very exciting.
- Hm.
One has to visit
the actual places, uh,
tread the terrain, as it were.
We nearly had tea with Hitler.
In Munich?
[Churchill]
Hm. At the ambassador's hotel.
The Regina Hotel.
The ambassador's in Vienna.
Please don't interrupt me
when I'm trying
to interrupt you!
[laughing]
Oh, Herr Schroder,
have you ever seen Herr Hitler?
- I've met him.
- Really?
- Uh, when was this?
- Quite recently.
I was having dinner
with friends.
Hitler was the principal guest.
What's he like?
My first impression,
insignificance.
Utterly insignificant.
A gray face, slate gray.
Melancholy jet-black eyes,
like raisins.
A figure out of a ghost story.
He talked on and on, endlessly.
"Out of Parsifal," he said,
"I shall make a religion."
[scoffs] His oily hair fell
into his face when he ranted.
Then, uh,
quite suddenly he left.
He bowed to me like a waiter
who has just received
a fair tip.
When he left...
nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
We all sat in silence.
Rather like this.
[laughing]
Alright.
[indistinct chatter]
[typewriter clacking]
"After the Great War,
we were told that Germany
would be a democracy with
parliamentary institutions.
All this has been swept away.
What do you have?
Dictatorship, the most
grim dictatorship.
You have
the persecution of the Jews,
you have militarism,
and appeals to every form
of fighting spirit."
Baldwin won't like that.
He sincerely believes
that Hitler does not want war.
Baldwin.
Not just Baldwin, many others.
- Well, they're wrong.
- You think so, I think so.
But don't underestimate them,
Winston.
They admire Hitler genuinely.
They won't like it.
Well, they can lump it!
- [clamoring]
- [speaker] Order!
Order!
"You have dictatorship,
most grim dictatorship."
- Rubbish!
- Excuse me.
[clamoring]
[Churchill] "You have the..."
[speaker] Order! Order!
"You have the persecution
of the Jews."
[clamoring]
"You have militarism
and appeals to every form
of fighting spirit."
[male 1] Germany wants peace!
"We have
steadily marched backward
since the Great War."
[clamoring]
"Fears are greater,
rivalries are sharper.
Military plans
are more closely concerted.
Let me tell you why,
because disarmament Britain
is weaker."
[clamoring]
Order! Order!
The right honorable gentleman
must be heard!
"The war mentality.
The war mentality
is springing up again.
Britain's hour of weakness
is Europe's hour of danger."
[clamoring]
[speaker] Mr. Pettifer.
Mr. Speaker,
although one is loathe
to criticize anyone
in the evening of his days,
nothing can excuse the right
honorable member for Epping
for having permeated
his entire speech
with the atmosphere
that Germany is arming for war.
May I remind
the right honorable member
that a poll conducted
by the League of Nations
found that over 90 percent
of the British people
favor international disarmament.
- Hear, hear.
- And let us not forget.
That a child born
on the day the Great War ended
is now just old enough
to die in the next Great War.
It is our duty, Mr. Speaker,
to ensure that there is
no next Great War.
This country wants peace!
- Hear, hear!
- Hear, hear!
Hear, hear!
[indistinct chatter]
[male 2] Mr. Speaker.
Oh, people say,
"Oh, Winston won't mind.
He's used
to being shouted at."
They're wrong.
It hurts deeply,
especially from your own party.
The Tories don't want
to be made to think.
What you're saying is right.
That's what matters.
They don't listen,
that's what matters.
Like banging your head
against a brick wall.
[grunts]
One can't go on forever.
Most men of my age have retired.
[panting]
Do a bit of gardening,
enjoy a spot of golf,
enjoy a few years of quietude.
And die.
All those dreams of standing
shoulder to shoulder
with Marlborough
and all the other heroes.
Stupid nonsense!
If you give up now,
then you'll never know.
Give up? Give up what?
There's nothing to give up.
You're depressed,
black dog's barking.
Perhaps he's barking the truth.
Winston, do you remember
last year
when Inches fell ill?
- Ah.
- It wasn't the flu.
It was something more serious.
- Why didn't you tell me?
- Because he told me not to.
The doctor said he should
give up work completely
but he refused.
"Mr. Churchill needs me,"
he said.
[chuckles]
And it's not just Inches,
it's Mrs. P, the staff,
your constituency workers,
me, we're all the same.
You have the ability
to make people carry on,
no matter what.
You're only trying
to cheer me up. Well, don't.
Winston, all these years
I've put up
with the miseries
of political life
because I believe in you
and somehow I survived.
But to have you here
all the time in retirement,
bad-tempered,
getting in everybody's way,
that is something
I just could not survive.
[chuckling]
You're getting pretty good
at this, Winston.
Hm, 90 bricks an hour.
Isn't that right, Harry?
Uh, nearer to 60,
I should say, sir.
Oh, very well. Very well.
Between 60 and 90.
And I,
and I've become a, a member
of the Amalgamated Union
of Building Workers.
- Yeah, fully paid up.
- Very good.
Uh, this, um, material
you're feeding me
about the German air force,
it's, uh, too generalized.
Facts and figures,
that's what I need.
Not easy. That stuff
doesn't come in my direction.
Ah, sure.
How do I get hold of it?
To be honest,
I don't think you can.
Top secret, eyes only.
Goes straight
to the Foreign Office.
Oh, see what you can do.
I got thrashed again
in the House last week.
I need some muscle, Desmond.
Need to fight back.
[knocking on door]
Come in.
Ah, Ralph!
I thought you left ages ago.
Well, I've been reading this.
- Drink?
- Yes.
It's a report from Berlin.
Hitler's cabinet
has approved a new law.
It means, in effect,
the compulsory sterilization
of all those suffering
from hereditary illnesses
which are deemed, and I quote
"to affect
the health of the nation."
Hm. Bad.
Racial purity, this...
This is just the beginning.
I'll have a word
with the Prime Minister.
[sighs] Much good that'll do,
he'll just say
it's German domestic policy
and it has nothing to do
with us.
Which is true.
In all honesty, Ralph,
there's very little
I can do, if anything.
You, on the other hand,
may think otherwise.
Have you brought any of this
to the attention
of the government?
I've tried,
I've sent briefing notes
to Mr. Baldwin and all members
of the cabinet.
Well, have you had any reaction?
Nobody pays any attention.
Hitler's war machine's getting
more powerful every day
and the British public's being
deliberately misinformed.
Or at least
deliberately kept in the dark.
[church bells tolling]
I've made a summary
of the figures
issued by the government
comparing our military
strength with that of Germany.
On the next page
are my own figures
which are much nearer the truth.
Germany will soon
be strong enough
to wage an aggressive war,
which is what I believe
they intend to do.
Your figures are very precise.
Much more so
than the information I have.
Presumably, you have access
to other reports,
other statistics.
All of it as precise
and detailed as this.
Far more detailed. As I say,
this is only a summary.
I don't see how I can help you.
Well, your position.
I may be called
Director of the Industrial
Intelligence Center.
But don't be fooled,
I'm no more
than a civil servant.
I have no public voice,
which is what you need.
Yes, it is.
In that case, I think
you should talk to Winston.
- Winston? Churchill?
- Hm.
- But surely he is...
- Past it?
I don't trust him.
First he joins the Tory Party
and then he switches
to the Liberals.
And now he's back
with the Tories again.
- He has no judgment.
- Maybe.
He has
an extraordinary instinct.
He knows
when something's important
and should be pursued.
He's wrong about India,
of course.
He's been wrong
about a lot of things.
But I believe
he's right about Germany.
I shall be seeing him
at the weekend.
If you'd like me to take
anything down to Chartwell,
I shall be happy to do so.
That would mean...
You're suggesting
that I remove secret documents
from a government office
and show them to someone who
has no right to see them.
Yeah.
It's a criminal act.
But, perhaps, a necessary one.
[instrumental music playing]
[typewriter keys clacking]
- Marjorie?
- Yes, Mr. Wigram?
Uh, an envelope.
I need a-a large envelope.
- An envelope?
- Yes.
Do we have any large envelopes?
- How large?
- Uh...
Just to take some papers.
J-just an ordinary
large-size envelope.
Oh, if you give
the papers to me,
I'll post them for you.
What's the address?
Uh, no, no,
i-it's-it's nothing
to do with work.
Wh-where do we keep
the envelopes?
Is this big enough for you?
It's fine, perfect.
Thank you.
[sighs]
[dramatic music playing]
[music continues playing]
Wigram!
Yup.
They must be back in the office
first thing on Monday morning,
so I need them back by Sunday
evening at the latest.
You have my word.
If it says, "Don't walk
on the grass," I never do.
Never used to.
- Sunday evening, then.
- Sunday evening.
Out! Out! Definitely out.
Can we have some more lemonade?
No, let's finish the set first.
Where did you get this?
A chap in the Foreign Office,
Ralph Wigram.
Head of the Central Department.
Risky business, pinching this.
- Useful?
- Hm.
This'll make the buggers jump.
[chuckling]
Half-past 11:00.
Where the hell is he?
- Morton promised.
- Well...
Perhaps you should telephone.
Telephone who?
Don't they know
how important this is?
[knocking on door]
[engine revving]
[Ralph] Hello?
- Mr. Wigram?
- Yes.
Brendan Bracken.
Just returning that.
Sorry I'm late.
Car broke down, bloody nuisance.
There's a note in there
from Winston.
He'd love to have you
come down for Sunday lunch.
He'll be in touch. Goodnight.
Goodnight.
[speaker] Mr. Churchill.
Mr. Speaker,
before I am derided yet again
and before any further insults
are hurled at me
in the, uh,
evening of my days...
[male 3]
It's nearly midnight, Winston.
Let me give you some facts
and figures,
some food for thought.
Let me describe to you
the method of aircraft
manufacture
in Hitler's Germany.
Sit down, Winston,
we've heard it all before.
This you will not have heard,
I can assure you of that.
[indistinct chatter]
"Airplanes, airplanes
destined for the Luftwaffe
are not manufactured
in one place.
Throughout Germany,
a large number of firms
are making seemingly innocent
component parts
which are then dispatched
to great, central factories
where they are assembled
very rapidly
into fighter and bomber aircraft
like a jigsaw puzzle
or Meccano game.
It's very clever,
very effective.
And above all, it conceals
the true scale
of German rearmament.
I am reliably informed
that the working population
of Dessau,
a small town near Leipzig,
increased last year
by 13,000 people.
And why was that?
What is manufactured
in Dessau that requires
such, such an enormous
influx of workers?
Lager beer? Hm?"
[laughter]
"Lederhosen?"
[laughter]
"Sausages?"
[laughter]
"Aircraft.
That is why I say
we must act decisively.
And we must act now
to put our defenses in order.
If we do not,
history will cast its verdict
with those terrible,
chilling words,
'Too late.'"
- Hear, hear.
- Hear, hear.
[speaker] Mr. Ferguson,
the right honorable gentleman
and member for 18 years...
[dog barking]
[chuckles]
Charley would so love a dog.
I'm sure we could find you one.
Off you go.
[chuckles]
I'm afraid
our garden's too small.
It's the size
of a postage stamp.
Well, we have
an absolute menagerie here.
Winston has cats,
dogs, geese, donkeys,
wild swans, pigs,
not to mention the children.
- I don't know how you manage.
- I've written my own epitaph.
[Clemmie] "Here lies the woman
who was always tired
because she lived in a world
where too much was required."
[both laughing]
[dog barking]
Are landscapes your specialty?
[Churchill]
Hm. On the whole, yes.
Less troublesome
than, uh, portraits.
A tree can't tell me that
I haven't done it justice.
Don't know how you find time
for painting.
I wouldn't do without it.
It keeps me sane. I mean it.
I just couldn't exist without,
uh, paints and brushes.
The black dog will get me.
Are you a worrier?
[chuckles]
Yes, I'm afraid I am.
Well, then you should
definitely take up painting.
It's good for the spirit,
calms the nerves.
What do you worry about?
- Almost everything, really.
- Hm.
My wife, my son.
Are they happy?
Will they be alright?
The state of my finances,
the state of the world,
- the state of my roof.
- Your what?
My roof. We have a leaky roof.
Every time it rains,
it's a nightmare.
But most of all, I'm...
I'm worried about these papers,
these documents I'm showing you.
If anyone were to find out,
I'd be in the most
terrible trouble.
Nobody will find out.
Don't worry, Ralph.
It's all strictly confidential.
May I call you Ralph,
if it's not too sudden?
Please, do.
The, uh...
The recognizing
and acknowledging of fear
is a mark of wisdom.
For example, I can't stand too
near the edge of a platform
when a-an express train
is passing through.
Second's action
would end everything forever.
My doctor says
it's a form of melancholia.
We call it my black dog.
Painting drives it away,
as does, uh, bricklaying.
I'm building a wall.
It goes well with writing.
Two thousand words,
and 200 bricks a day.
What's the time?
I feel peckish.
Um, it's nearly four o'clock.
I knew it! Time for tea!
When we have visitors,
we have Dundee cake.
Yes, it's a great treat
these days.
I'm particularly fond
of Dundee cake.
Come along, Ralph.
I'll take these.
You bring the easel. Hm.
My old man said
follow the van
And don't dilly-dally
Oh, come on, don't try
and fold it up.
It's a bloody nightmare.
And don't dilly-dally
on the way
[Robert] I hear
you went to Chartwell.
Yes.
- Have fun?
- Yes, yes, we did rather.
I didn't know
you were chummy with Winston.
Well, I'm not.
Not, uh, chummy.
Wonder what he wants you for.
- What do you mean?
- Winston's so-called friends
are all people
who're useful to him.
The idea of having a friend
simply because you like someone
has no place in Winston's world.
You have to be very careful.
What of?
He demands total loyalty.
"Thou shalt have
no other gods before me."
Do you know
what Lloyd George said of him?
He said he would make a drum
of his own mother's skin
in order to sound
his own praises.
[laughs]
[gentle instrumental music
playing]
Walk on.
Who's this article for?
The Daily Mail.
Damn good at The Daily Mail.
Big fee, big readership.
What more could a fellow ask?
Walter Guinness
telephoned this morning.
Hm. How is he?
He's very well. He's asked me
to go on a cruise.
Cruise?
Very nice.
More of an expedition, really.
Fine. You'll enjoy
a little rest.
Where's, uh...
Where's Walter planning to go?
South of France?
Komodo.
Komodo? Where the hell's that?
[chuckles]
Just below the Philippines,
near Bali.
Philippines? That's halfway
around the bloody world!
What on Earth
makes him want to go there?
Something to do
with catching dragons.
Dragons?
Well, they're more
lizards, really,
but they're very big.
They're for the zoo.
Wait, wait a minute.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Walter Guinness
is seriously suggesting
going halfway around the world
searching for some damn lizard.
- Is that right?
- Well, yes.
He must be mad.
What's the point of it?
Well, it would be
a great adventure.
You'd be away weeks, months.
About four months.
Who else is going on this trip?
Evelyn, of course,
two of their cousins,
a man called Terence Philip.
- Who's he?
- Art dealer.
We met him at one
of Walter's dinner parties.
Clemmie, you have four children
who require
your love and support
not to mention a husband
who has to work 20 hours a day
to keep this household afloat.
And you think it's alright,
do you, to leave us
to go off chasing lizards
with Walter Guinness?
What am I supposed to say
to that?
Well, don't you think
it just might be construed
as just a little selfish?
[sighs]
Well, don't you, huh?
Winston, do not accuse me
of being selfish. Do not dare!
I spent the last 26 years of
my life trying to please you.
And I've done everything,
and I mean everything!
I put your happiness before
the children's happiness,
before my happiness!
You are the most self-centered
man I've ever, ever met.
[plate clatters]
So...
Don't accuse me
of being selfish, Winston.
Don't you dare!
Sorry, sir.
I-I thought somebody...
The sprouts misbehaved.
Yes, sir.
[instrumental music playing]
[knocking on door]
Mrs. Pussycat,
Mr. Pug is very sorry.
Pussycat, do let me in.
Mr. Pug
is very lonely out here.
Mrs. Pussycat, please.
[door unlocks]
[music continues playing]
Woof.
Woof, woof.
Meow.
[music continues playing]
- Mommy, open the window!
- What, darling?
- Open the window!
- I can't hear you!
That's why you open,
you must open the window!
- The leather strap, pull up!
- It won't budge.
- You'll have to shout!
- We are shouting!
- Bye, Mommy, find a dragon!
- Pull up on the leather strap!
- Goodbye.
- Bye, Mommy.
- Goodbye, Clemmie.
- Goodbye, Winston.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
And how are you
this morning, sir?
Alright, I think.
Thank you for asking.
Missing her, of course,
but that's to be expected.
No point in dwelling
on her absence, we must KBO.
Yes, sir, "keep buggering on"
at all times, sir.
KBO, that's the order
of the day.
We are entering
a period of danger
and of anxiety.
Comma.
Let us stop
and see exactly...
No, no, no, scrub that.
Scrub that.
Um, oh, bugger.
Thank you kindly. Uh...
We are entering upon a period
of danger and of anxiety.
You're repeating yourself.
Alright, alright, don't break
your heart about it.
Uh...
And how do we stand
in this long period of danger?
Pause for emphasis.
Look of doom and foreboding.
"There is no doubt
that the Germans
are superior to us in the air
at the present time.
And it is my belief
that by the end of the year,
they will possibly be three
or even four times
our strength."
Where on Earth did he get
all that information?
Winston makes it his business
to be well-informed.
Well, I don't like it,
it could do immense damage
to our trade
with Germany, not to mention
the cost of rearmament.
I mean, where does he think
the money's coming from?
I want him isolated.
Tell the whips.
[Churchill] Only a short distance
away, there dwells a nation
of-of nearly 70 millions
who are taught from childhood
to think of war and conquest
as a glorious exercise, comma,
and, uh, death in battle
as man's noblest fate. Stop.
Mr. Churchill.
Oh, I beg your pardon, Mrs. P.
"To urge preparation of defense
is not to assert
the imminence of war.
On the contrary,
if war was imminent,
preparations for defense
would be too late.
However calmly surveyed,
the danger of an air attack
on London
must appear most formidable."
- Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Wigram.
- That's alright.
[Churchill] "London is the
greatest target in the world.
The kind of tremendous,
fat, valuable cow
tied up to attract
a beast of prey.
We cannot retreat.
We cannot move London."
Papers. Get your papers here.
This is all a bit
Agatha Christie
wouldn't you say?
Daily Express.
Times.
Get your newspapers.
Get your papers here.
[Churchill] Dearest Clemmie,
thank you for your letter.
I am delighted you had
such an exciting time
in Madras.
Stop. Mr. Phillip
sounds a most agreeable
and adventurous
companion. Stop.
I've decided to make the
Peninsula on the bottom lake
into an island,
thus providing a safe haven
for the geese.
The heavy work will be done
by a great mechanical digger
which does the work of ten men
and will therefore please
the accountant.
As you will have heard,
Randolph was heavily defeated
in the by-election
and lost his deposit.
This resulted, of course,
a setback for him
and should teach him prudence.
[male announcer]
The choice is in your hands.
If I achieve anything, they
all say it's because of you.
- Rubbish.
- And when I fail, they say,
"What a tragedy
for the old man."
- For God's sake, Randolph.
- I'm not a child, Papa.
I'm 23. I want to make
a life of my own.
Alright. Do what you like.
Make a fool of yourself.
- I don't give a damn.
- Go to hell, Papa.
I'm not staying
in this bloody house
a moment longer. Bugger.
- Sprouts again, sir?
- Cauliflower.
[instrumental music playing]
Keep young and beautiful
It's your duty
to be beautiful
[Churchill] Mary and I
went to see the show
that Sarah has got herself
involved in.
Didn't care for it at all.
Not a patch on Gilbert
and Sullivan.
Keep young and beautiful
It's your duty
to be beautiful
Keep young and beautiful
if you want to be loved
Met this wretched man
she keeps talking about.
Rick Oliver, the so-called
star of the show.
If you want to be loved
If you're wise
exercise all the fat off
Take it off off of here
off of there
When you're seen anywhere
with your hat off
Have a marcel wave
in your hair
Can't imagine what she sees
in him, common as dirt.
Diana, I know
has written to you
about her intended divorce.
A sad business, but probably
all for the best.
[sobbing]
I dealt with the situation
very clumsily, I'm afraid.
I wished profoundly
that you'd been there
to offer comfort and advice.
It's getting deeper in, Richard.
The accountant has been
sadly disappointed.
Downpours of rain occurred.
And the mechanical digger
sank into the mud
and finally wallowed himself
into an awful pit.
No good, hopeless.
- Ninety-eight degrees, sir.
- Very good, Inches,
full steam ahead.
Yes, sir, very good, sir.
Aah! Aah!
Dinner jacket tonight, Inches.
Yes, sir, the, uh,
looser trousers?
I'm afraid so.
- Car round at 6:00. [sighs]
- Very good, sir.
- Good morning, Mr. Churchill.
- [hums]
[Churchill] Your dear letters
are the only bright spot
in my life, Clemmie.
I fill my days writing
inflammatory articles
about Germany,
and thus incurring the wrath
of Stanley Baldwin,
which pleases me no end.
Evening Standard.
- Have you seen it?
- Well, yes.
Yes, I don't seem to
have had much luck
as far as Winston is concerned.
He's more voluble than ever.
Germany is his new hobby horse.
- He won't let go of it.
- Well, you've got to make him.
- Excuse me, sir. 10:30?
- What? Yes, yes.
I will not allow him
to interfere
with government policy nor
indeed with the smooth running
of the party machine.
I'll do what I can.
Have a word with someone
in his constituency.
Yes, of course.
But a word about what exactly?
There must be a large amount
of local party members
who were dismayed,
not to say alarmed,
by Winston's behavior.
Encourage them to speak up.
Tell them to make him aware
of their displeasure.
Say he's erratic,
totally unreliable.
[audience applauding]
[indistinct chatter]
- Ralph.
- Hello, Van.
- Enjoying it?
- Oh, very much, you?
Oh, immensely.
Winston's been
very active recently.
- Active?
- Oh, yeah, endless speeches,
all those newspaper articles,
Evening Standard, Daily Mail,
everywhere you look.
- Created a lot of anxiety.
- Yes. Yes, I'm sure.
- Not surprising, really.
- No.
His, um... His information
is remarkably detailed.
I'm starting to wonder
where it comes from.
Of course, a lot of it could
come from your department.
Yes. Yes, it could, I know.
Winston started to make
some real impact.
Slowly but surely,
attitudes are changing.
It would be unfortunate if, um,
something were to go wrong.
Wrong?
Yes, one has to be very careful.
No unnecessary risks,
if you know what I mean.
Yes.
Here we are. Excuse me.
Hello. Here you are,
my darling.
[instrumental music playing]
"We must defend our island
from foreign aggression."
Stop.
All clear.
"We should repudiate all
defeatism and passivism."
- Stop.
- Bugger!
[female 1] West room 93.
It's for you, sir. Mr. Wigram.
"Our country can only be saved
if it is strong."
- Ralph, how are you?
- Winston...
[stammers] ...I can't go
on with this.
I'm sure they know something.
We have to stop this now.
Listen, Ralph,
just, uh, a little longer.
Winston, are you sure we're
not making matters worse?
I don't believe we are.
It's so very important,
what you're doing, Ralph.
You mustn't stop now.
Ralph, KBO, remember our motto.
"Keep buggering on."
[instrumental music playing]
[Churchill] Life is drab
without you, Clemmie.
If it weren't for Mary,
I'd be utterly miserable.
Now, I just want to show you
the scale, the distance.
There's the South of England,
where we live
and there is Austria,
where you went
last Christmas with Mommy.
Yes, and you remember
how far away that was.
Yes.
Now, I'm gonna show you
where Mommy is now.
Let her go!
Miles and miles away.
Your desert-island picnic with
Mr. Phillip sounds idyllic.
I wish I could've been there
with you.
It is over 11 weeks
since you left Chartwell.
And I'm counting the seconds
until you return.
To Komodo,
where the dragons are.
- It really is a long way.
- Yeah, it is. It is.
Paragraph. Ugh.
Diana's gone back
to her husband, comma,
but I fear the marriage
will not last. Stop.
Inches, out!
I'm in the middle of a letter!
- Telephone, sir.
- Out!
The man says it's important.
- Tell him to call back later.
- Really important.
- Who is it?
- Major Sankey, sir.
Who the hell is Major Sankey?
[Pearman] One of your
constituency workers.
I think you should talk to him.
- What, now?
- Yes, Mr. Churchill,
he's been ringing all morning.
Oh, alright, alright.
Inches, you're the most
irritating clug
that ever walked the Earth!
I was in the middle
of a letter to my wife, and now,
I've completely lost
my train of thought, idiot!
Have you no sensitivity
- whatsoever?
- There's no need
to be insulting, sir.
I was merely passing on
a message.
Shut up, Inches. How dare you?
Uh, tell the girl to put
the call through up here.
- She's gone to lunch, sir.
- Well, then do it yourself.
I am not acquainted
with the mechanism, sir.
[sighs] God almighty.
Bloody hell!
You're very rude to me, Inches.
- You're very rude to me, sir.
- Yes, but I'm a great man.
You're a stupid old bugger.
Mr. Churchill's in trouble.
What do you mean?
Mr. Baldwin,
or someone higher up
is trying to get him pushed out.
- Of what?
- The Conservative Party.
Don't be daft. Girl, they
wouldn't do a thing like that.
They don't like all
his speeches about Germany.
They want to shut him up.
Can they do that, Mrs. P?
Just kick him out?
They could, I suppose, yes.
Organize a vote
of no confidence,
something like that.
He'd never get over it.
- I know.
- I'll tell you this, Mrs. P.
If they do kick him out,
I shall never vote Tory again.
Never! Not even Liberal.
Bastards! How dare they?
Buggers!
This is absolutely the worst
day of my whole bloody life!
I'm surrounded by enemies.
They call me a warmonger
because I speak the blunt truth?
Baldwin is behind all this,
Stanley bloody Baldwin!
No better
than an epileptic corpse.
"Who is in charge
of the clattering train?
The axles creek
and the coupling strain.
The pace is hot,
and the points are near.
And sleep has deadened
the driver's ear.
And the signals flash
through the nights in vain.
For Death is in charge
of the clattering train."
[door slams]
He'll be needing
a glass of champagne.
Huh. Possibly two.
[Ava] Charlie,
Mommy's nearly finished.
And I promise,
we'll go out to the park.
There's someone
to see you, ma'am.
- Oh, who?
- Uh, Mr. Pettifer.
Pettifer, to see me?
We'll go in a minute, darling.
What are you reading, Charlie?
[babbling]
Good afternoon, Mr. Pettifer.
Mrs. Wigram.
I'm afraid
my husband's not home.
- It was you I came to see.
- Me?
- Please, do sit down.
- Thank you.
I need your help
in a rather delicate
and confidential matter.
The prime minister feels
it would be advantageous
if your husband did not see
quite so much
of Mr. Churchill.
What do you mean?
It's perhaps not wise,
not good for him.
- Not wise for who?
- Your husband.
Well, then shouldn't you be
telling this to my husband?
I'm quite sure he takes note
of what you say.
[chuckles] What my husband
does is his own business.
I wouldn't dream
of trying to interfere.
No, no, of course not.
But do remember,
your husband is the head
of an important part
of the Foreign Office.
It's not a good idea for him
to tell Mr. Churchill
what's going on.
Why? If indeed he has been.
Please, Mrs. Wigram,
don't let's argue about this.
Please, Mr. Pettifer,
don't treat me like a child.
If your husband persists
in seeing Winston,
he may find himself being posted
somewhere inconveniently distant
which would, of course,
be difficult
with regard to your son.
Difficult for him
to travel, I mean.
Difficult also,
I should imagine,
to find the appropriate
medical assistance
in certain parts of the world.
I dare say, it would mean
your having to stay here.
You've make a foolish mistake,
Mr. Pettifer.
- Oh?
- A tactical error.
When a member
of the government comes
to my house
and threatens me so openly,
it only goes to show
how extremely important it is
that my husband continue
his friendship
with Mr. Churchill.
That is my opinion, anyway.
Please give my regards
to your husband.
- Do tell him what I said.
- I think I'd prefer not to.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Wigram.
What do you want,
Mr. Churchill?
- I'm looking for a letter.
- What letter?
I thought there might be
something from Clemmie.
Not today.
It's not easy to post letters
in that part of the world.
Mm. Mm.
Perhaps tomorrow.
Mm, does the, uh...
Does the name Terrence Phillip
mean anything to you?
Terrence Phillip?
Yes. Art dealer, I think.
- Anything known?
- Good-looking?
Rather dashing, plenty of money.
His father was rich.
- Married?
- No.
Clemmie seems, uh, to be
quite chummy with him.
She keeps mentioning him.
- He's on the boat with her?
- He is.
- I'm idiotically jealous.
- Oh, Winston.
I'm sure she's in love with him.
Rubbish.
She writes about him
in every letter.
"Terrence and I did this,
Terrence and I did that."
They're companions,
friends on holiday together.
I know Clemmie.
I can read between the lines.
I know her thoughts.
Don't be ridiculous.
She loves you, Winston,
very deeply.
- I'm a rotten husband.
- Nonsense.
I suppose
he's the romantic type.
You know,
all that sort of stuff.
Never got much of that from me.
Well, it never seemed important,
even when I was young.
Daisy Fellowes, she tried
to seduce me at the Ritz.
- [chuckling]
- Wasn't interested.
Used to think it was
because I-I smoked too much.
Tobacco is bad for love,
old age is worse.
You're talking
nonsense, Winston.
"I've lived too long,
I'm in the ruck,
I've drunk
too deeply of the cup,
I cannot spend, I cannot fuck,
I'm down and out,
I'm buggered up."
Where did you get that from?
It's a translation
from the Russian.
- Pushkin, I believe.
- [laughing]
Huh, you may laugh,
Desmond Morton,
but I think about it
all the time.
Clemmie and that fellow.
[Desmond sighs] She'll be
home soon, Winston.
[Churchill] Wrap me
up in me tarpaulin jacket
And say
a poor trooper lies low
Get six stalwart lancers
to carry me
With steps silent
Mournful and slow
[humming]
Mr. Churchill! Mr. Churchill,
sir. Mr. Churchill!
Inches, you're drunk.
- She's here, sir. She's here.
- What?
Taxi's coming down
the drive, sir.
What on Earth
are you talking about?
Mrs. Churchill, sir.
- She's here?
- Yes, sir.
She's here! She's here!
She's here!
She's here!
She's here! She's here!
Out of my way! Out of my way!
- Is your wife well?
- Yes, ma'am.
Oh, lovely.
Thanks so much.
Why are you all wet?
I thought I'd never
see you again.
Well, here I am.
Mr. Inches, how are you?
[instrumental music playing]
So, you had a good time?
Wonderful.
I missed you very much.
I missed you, too.
I'm not sure...
that I believe that.
You, uh...
You seem to have seen
a lot of Mr. Terrence Phillip.
Yes.
You like him?
He was good fun.
Good fun?
He's very interesting.
I hear he's much in demand.
All the hostesses in London
want him at their dinner table.
Oh, yes. [laughs]
I'm sure they do.
You should ask him here
for the weekend.
Hmm.
Did you fall in love with him?
[instrumental music playing]
He made me like him.
[music continues playing]
Oh, Mr. Pug...
your new island looks lovely.
[man on screen] At Versailles,
it was laid down,
and at Locarno,
it was confirmed that Germany
was forbidden to take
any armed forces
into the Rhineland zone.
And for 18 years,
the fortresses of Frankfurt,
Koblenz, and the other
garrison cities
on the Rhine have been empty,
but gradually,
under dictator Hitler,
Germany has been
asserting her independence
from treaty obligations.
First, she left
the League of Nations,
then she set about rebuilding
her army, navy, and air force.
Until today, when her forces
play at war and mimic battle,
Germany is seen again
to be one of the great
armed powers of Europe.
[Hitler speaking in German]
[Ralph] We're powerless.
Hitler's preparing
to tear the world apart,
and we can do nothing.
Of course we can, and we shall.
I should never have shown you
those papers.
[Churchill] What do you mean?
Perhaps the
Prime Minister's right.
Perhaps we should try
to find a compromise
with Herr Hitler.
Oh, don't be ridiculous,
you know that's impossible.
Then perhaps...
Perhaps we should let him
have his own way.
For God's sake, Ralph, what
ridiculous nonsense is this?
Ralph, you're tired.
We should go home.
Hundreds of thousands
of people will die.
Millions.
And I shall be responsible.
- Ralph, that's just not true.
- Partly responsible, then.
How would you be
remotely responsible?
By showing those papers
to Winston.
By stirring up public opinion.
By making it impossible
for the government
to reach
a settlement with the Nazis.
Ralph, Ralph, Ralph!
Hitler is unstoppable.
In three years, he's made
himself dictator of Germany,
he's dumped
the Treaty of Versailles,
and rebuilt the armed forces.
He'll march into Austria,
and then Czechoslovakia,
and then...
God knows what,
the whole of Europe.
There may be a war.
I grant you that.
Nevertheless, we shall win.
How can you say that?
It's just mindless optimism.
When I was in school, I had
a friend called Murland Evans,
and one day, we were talking
about what we would do
when we were grown up,
and I don't know why I said this
or why I thought it,
but I said,
"One day in the future,
Britain will be in great danger,
and it will fall to me
to save London
and the Empire."
Schoolboy fantasy.
I wanted to play for England
and go climb Everest.
My destiny.
And I truly believe it.
You're an
extraordinary man, Winston.
I am, I know it.
Nobody but you could say
that sort of thing
and expect people to believe it.
Destiny is what I believe in.
Destiny commands, we must obey.
[somber instrumental music
playing]
Not a very jolly lunch,
I'm afraid.
Look out for yourself, Ava.
Take care of Ralph,
he needs you so much.
I will. Thank you, Clemmie.
Goodbye.
[Churchill] "All over Europe
is the hush of suspense.
And in many lands,
it is the hush of fear.
During these last few years,
the world
has grown gravely darker.
We have steadily disarmed
partly with
a sincere desire to give
a lead to other countries
and partly through the severe
financial pressure of the time.
But a change must now be made.
We must not continue longer
on a course in which we alone
are growing weaker
while Germany
is growing stronger."
Hear, hear.
Prime Minister.
Oh, hello, Winston.
I hear there's
a nonsensical rumor
that you're about to retire.
Please, state that
that isn't the case.
I should be making
an official announcement
in due course.
But please, be discrete,
I don't want everybody to know.
I'm very surprised.
You're much loved
in the country, Stanley.
I've had my day.
I'm exhausted.
You know, some days,
I am so tired,
I can hardly turn over
the pages of a book.
We've had our differences.
Profound differences.
But I've always admired
your great political skills.
Winston, let me
tell you something.
To my mind, war
is the greatest folly
that can afflict mankind.
Absolutely, no question
about it...
Please, don't interrupt.
Now, maybe you're right
about Hitler.
Perhaps this war is inevitable.
But I believe
that I am also right.
I have done everything
in my power to preserve peace,
and I would do exactly the same,
all over again.
Bloodshed, sorrow,
irreparable loss...
that's what I've been
hoping to prevent.
But, as I say...
you may well be right.
So many telegrams today!
German troops are on the march.
Thousands of them.
Hence all the telegrams.
Hitler's planning
to invade the world
and we're planning
to do nothing about it.
What do you make
of that, Marjorie?
Well, I...
Perhaps we should go home?
What do you think?
Or we could take a stroll
in St. James's Park.
It's remarkable weather
we're having for this time
of year
and, well, we're hardly much
use here, are we?
Sorry, sorry, Marjorie.
It's a poor joke.
Thank you.
Thank you for these.
Marjorie, I meant to ask
what time is
the defense meeting tomorrow?
I don't think you're required
at that meeting, Mr. Wigram.
We haven't received
any notification.
Not required?
Fine.
Funny how word gets around.
[Ava] Jingle bells
jingle bells
Thank you very much.
Come on, my little man.
[chuckles] Hello.
Oh, Charlie,
it's snowing, how lovely.
- Ethel, can you manage?
- Yes, thank you, ma'am.
We should go find
Daddy in the garden
and make a snowman.
What do you think?
[babbling]
[gasps] Oh, silly Mommy.
Silly Mommy!
We wish you
a merry Christmas
We wish you
a merry Christmas
We wish you
a merry Christmas
- And a happy New Year
- [babbling]
- Shall I take him?
- [grunts] Thank you.
Come on, young man,
what you need is a bath!
Good bath.
[sighs] Be up in a minute.
Ralph?
What's wrong?
Nothing.
- Drink?
- Please.
Ralph! [gasps]
The snow had settled.
How wonderful.
We must take Charlie
to the park,
he's never seen snow like this.
So beautiful, like a painting.
You must telephone
to the office.
Tell them you won't be in today.
Just for two or three hours.
It is Christmas, after all.
I'm sure they can spare you.
I'm afraid I absolutely
forbid you to go to work
on a day like today.
[Charlie babbling]
Poor turnout from Whitehall.
I know, pretty bloody awful.
We had lunch
with him a few days ago,
and he was very upset then.
I was quite frightened.
Do you think...
It says a pulmonary hemorrhage
on the death certificate.
I think we should leave it
at that.
He said it was all pointless,
everything he tried to do.
Was it pointless?
His life
was very precious to me.
Please, tell me
it wasn't wasted.
Ava, my dear,
you'll be very proud of him.
People often act heroically
because they don't
fully appreciate
the dangers that lie ahead.
Ralph saw all those dangers
and was afraid of them,
but he did what he did,
in spite of his fear.
No man can be braver than that.
Thank you, Winston.
What is it?
[Churchill] Any invading force
would march across
our little bit of England
on their way to London.
I wonder how long we've got.
[man on radio]
This is London.
You will now hear a statement
by the Prime Minister,
the right honorable
Neville Chamberlain.
[Neville]
I am speaking to you
from the cabinet room
at 10 Downing Street.
This morning,
the British ambassador in Berlin
handed the German government
a final note
stating that unless we heard
from them
by 11 o'clock,
that they were prepared at once
to withdraw their troops
from Poland,
a state of war
would exist between us.
I have to tell you now
that no such undertaking
has been received,
and that, consequently,
this country
is at war with Germany.
Mr. Churchill! Mr. Churchill!
Upstairs, Mrs. P.
What's the matter?
Telephone, sir.
The Prime Minister's office.
First Lord of the Admiralty,
back in power!
[all laughing]
Jolly good show,
Winston. Marvelous!
[Churchill] I have been made
a member of the War Cabinet.
Mrs. Churchill and I must now
make our home in London.
Needless to say,
we shall return to Chartwell
whenever possible.
Every one of you
will be looked after
and either retained here
or found good jobs elsewhere.
Mr. Inches
has all the details.
There may be difficult
and painful times ahead.
But now that I'm in charge
of the Navy,
Mr. Hitler and his Nazi thugs
had better look out.
We're going to teach them
a lesson they'll never forget!
[all applauding]
Good luck, sir.
[applauding]
- Goodbye, sir.
- Goodbye, Mr. Churchill.
Mr. Inches, I think a glass of
champagne might be in order.
Well, with respect, sir,
I think we might save that
- for happier days, sir.
- Quite right.
However, there's
a very good claret, sir,
you might be interested in.
It is a very good year.
I can't tell you which year...
[instrumental music playing]
[Churchill] Not the House
of Commons, the Admiralty!
I've got a navy to run!
[music continues playing]
Just before
the Battle of Blenheim...
Marlborough said to his aide,
"Today, I conquer or die."
Now I know how he felt.
Thank you.
For what?
For being rash enough
to marry me,
foolish enough to stay with me,
and for loving me in a way
I thought I'd never be loved.
[music continues playing]
Stand at ease.
- Good evening.
- Good evening, sir.
- I'm the new First Lord.
- Yes, sir, we know that.
How do you know?
A signal was sent
to the fleet this afternoon.
What signal?
"Winston is back," sir.
[laughs] "Winston is back."
And so he bloody well is!
[epic instrumental music
playing]