The Cinema
"Nell Gwynn." At the Leicester Square Theatre IT is almost a solo performance, this pleasant tale of a weary king and his irrepressible mistress. Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Charles II makes the most of his part ; he draws a clear-cut picture of an intelligent man with little taste for State affairs and little belief in human nature, who is surprised and touched to encounter a loyal woman. But the part is very limited in range ; Charles managed to enjoy far more varied pleasures than he is here allowed. However, this treatment has the useful effect of throwing into relief the high spirits of Nell Gwynn, who is evidently just the girl for such a monarch. And Miss Anna Neagle proves herself to be just the girl for this handsome but difficult part, contriving most skilfully to suggest a good-hearted vulgarity of manner without vulgarity of mind. Indeed, this Nell Gwynn—somewhat idealized, perhaps, but not grotesquely so—is a most attractive char- acter, who laughs and talks and romps and dances and sings and quarrels, all with equal vigour and spontaneity.
The story is very slight, concerning itself almost entirely with the relations of Charles and Nell against the background of a jealous but appreciative Court ; and when it does try to be a little more dramatic—in the efforts of the Duchess of Portsmouth (Jeanne de Casalis) to brand Nellie as a French spy—it is at once unconvincing. The background, I think, would have been improved by a few touches indicating con- temporary events and the King's part in public affairs ; but the contemporary atmosphere, in a narrower social sense, is neatly conveyed, and the settings and the incidental music are both unusually effective. The chief reason, however, for the success of this British production is to be found in one word—zest. It is a rare quality, hard to analyse and hard to achieve, especially in historical films, where the characters so often appear to be weighted down by a sense of period as stiff as their costumes. In Nell Gwynn they really seem to be enjoying themselves ; and Miss Neagle, in particular, throws herself into her part with infectious enthusiasm. Of this Nelly it is easy to believe that James II paid her debts from the Secret Service Fund and gave her an estate ; and that Thomas Tenison, preaching as Vicar of St. Martin- in-the-Fields at her funeral service in 1687, said " much to her praise."
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