The Madness of King George
Encyclopedia
The Madness of King George is a 1994 film directed by Nicholas Hytner
and adapted by Alan Bennett
from his own play, The Madness of George III
. It tells the true story of George III
's deteriorating mental health
, and his equally declining relationship with his son, the Prince of Wales
, particularly focusing on the period around the Regency Crisis of 1788. Modern medicine has suggested the King's symptoms were the result of acute intermittent porphyria
.
Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales has been schieming to have himself made Prince Regent- at which point he will effectively be King- and allies with the opposition- lead by Charles Fox- to Prime Minister William Pitt's increasingly unpopular government. Tensions rise as the day of the Prince's appointment as Regent draws near; however, Dr Willis is making good progress with the King, managing to restore him from his raving and violent state of mind back to a level of normality.
As he improves, the King becomes less eccentric, and even manages to recite Shakespeare. Once the Lord Chancellor, Lord Thurlow, hears of the King's rapid recovery, the race begins to get the King to Parliament in time to stop the Prince of Wales being appointed Regent. They arrive just in time, and the Prince's plans are thwarted, and King George returns once more to the throne- and to the loving company of his wife the Queen.
and on location at:
The film won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction
(Ken Adam
, Carolyn Scott
), and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role
(Nigel Hawthorne), Best Actress in a Supporting Role
(Helen Mirren) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
.
BAFTA Awards
The film was nominated for a total of 14 BAFTA Awards and won three: the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, the Best Actor
(Nigel Hawthorne) and the Award for Best Make Up/Hair (Lisa Westcott).
Cannes Film Festival
Helen Mirren won the Best Actress
Award and Nicholas Hytner was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1995 festival
.
Nicholas Hytner
Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...
and adapted by Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
from his own play, The Madness of George III
The Madness of George III (play)
The Madness of George III is a 1991 play by Alan Bennett. It is a fictionalised biographical study of the latter half of the reign of George III of Great Britain, his battle with mental illness and the inability of his court to handle his condition...
. It tells the true story of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
's deteriorating mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
, and his equally declining relationship with his son, the Prince of Wales
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, particularly focusing on the period around the Regency Crisis of 1788. Modern medicine has suggested the King's symptoms were the result of acute intermittent porphyria
Acute intermittent porphyria
Acute intermittent porphyria is a rare autosomal dominant metabolic disorder affecting the production of heme, the oxygen-binding prosthetic group of hemoglobin. It is characterized by a deficiency of the enzyme porphobilinogen deaminase. Acute intermittent porphyria is the second most common...
.
Plot
The film depicts the relatively primitive medical practices of the time and the suppositions that physicians made in their efforts to understand the human body. After King George III begins to go mad, his doctors attempt cures such as blistering and purges, lead on particularly by the Prince of Wales' personal physician, Dr Warren. Meanwhile, another of the King's physicians, Dr. Pepys, analyzes the King's stool and urine believing that body wastes may contain some clue to the Royal malady; of course, none of these attempts to cure the King actually work. Finally, Lady Pembroke, attendant to the Queen, recommends Dr. Willis, an ex-minister who attempts to cure the insane through behavior modification, who begins his restoration of the King's mental state by enforcing a strict regime of strapping the King into a waistcoat and restraining him whenever he misbehaves.Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales has been schieming to have himself made Prince Regent- at which point he will effectively be King- and allies with the opposition- lead by Charles Fox- to Prime Minister William Pitt's increasingly unpopular government. Tensions rise as the day of the Prince's appointment as Regent draws near; however, Dr Willis is making good progress with the King, managing to restore him from his raving and violent state of mind back to a level of normality.
As he improves, the King becomes less eccentric, and even manages to recite Shakespeare. Once the Lord Chancellor, Lord Thurlow, hears of the King's rapid recovery, the race begins to get the King to Parliament in time to stop the Prince of Wales being appointed Regent. They arrive just in time, and the Prince's plans are thwarted, and King George returns once more to the throne- and to the loving company of his wife the Queen.
Cast
- Nigel HawthorneNigel HawthorneSir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
as King George IIIGeorge III of the United KingdomGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death... - Helen MirrenHelen MirrenDame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
as Queen CharlotteCharlotte of Mecklenburg-StrelitzCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III... - Ian HolmIan HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
as Dr. Willis - Anthony CalfAnthony CalfAnthony Calf is a British actor, born in Hammersmith, London, England. He studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . He has recurring roles in the television medical drama Holby City, as Michael Beauchamp, and New Tricks as Strickland...
as Fitzroy - Amanda DonohoeAmanda DonohoeAmanda Donohoe is an English film and television actress. She is known for her 1980s relationship with popstar Adam Ant and her later work on television — including L.A. Law and Emmerdale — and her roles in successful movies including Liar, Liar.-Early life:Donohoe was born in London, the daughter...
as Lady PembrokeElizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and MontgomeryElizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery was the daughter of Charles Spencer and Elizabeth Trevor.-Biography:Born Elizabeth Spencer to Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough and Elizabeth Trevor.... - Rupert GravesRupert GravesRupert Graves is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as DI Lestrade in the critically acclaimed television series Sherlock.-Early life:...
as GrevilleRobert Fulke GrevilleLieutenant-Colonel Robert Fulke Greville FRS MP was a British Member of Parliament and courtier.The son of Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick and Elizabeth Hamilton, and brother to Charles Francis Greville, he was educated at Edinburgh University... - Geoffrey PalmerGeoffrey Palmer (actor)Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
as Warren - Julian WadhamJulian Wadham-Career:He has appeared on television as both Charles II and George V...
as an MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and George III's Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
William Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806... - John WoodJohn Wood (English actor)John Wood, CBE was an English actor.-Biography:Wood was born in Derbyshire and studied law at Jesus College, Oxford where he was president of the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Changing to drama, Wood became known as a stage actor, appearing in numerous West End productions as well as on...
as ThurlowEdward Thurlow, 1st Baron ThurlowEdward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow PC, KC was a British lawyer and Tory politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain for fourteen years and under four Prime Ministers.- Early life:...
, Lord ChancellorLord ChancellorThe Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign... - Rupert EverettRupert EverettRupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
as The Prince of WalesGeorge IV of the United KingdomGeorge IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later... - Jim Carter as WhigBritish Whig PartyThe Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and leader of the opposition Charles James FoxCharles James FoxCharles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
. - Cyril ShapsCyril Shaps-Biography:Shaps was born in Highbury, London; he was of Polish ancestry and his father was a tailor.He was a child broadcaster, providing voices for radio commercials at the age of 12. After grammar school and Army service he trained at RADA and then worked for two years as an announcer, producer...
as Dr. Pepys - Selina CadellSelina CadellSelina Cadell is an English actress. She is the sister of the late actor Simon Cadell and granddaughter of the actress Jean Cadell.....
as Mrs. Cordwell - Matthew Lloyd Davies as Arthur Papendiek
- Julian Rhind-TuttJulian Rhind-TuttJulian Alistair Rhind-Tutt is an English actor. He is best known for his starring role as "Mac" McCartney in the comedy television series Green Wing, the second series of which finished on Channel 4 in May 2006...
as The Duke of YorkPrince Frederick, Duke of York and AlbanyThe Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
Title change
In adapting the play to film, the title was changed from The Madness of George III to The Madness of King George. An urban myth has developed that the title change derives from the fear that American audiences would think the film was a sequel, because of the use of Roman numerals in its title. However, Hytner has stated that the principal reason was to clarify that this was a film about a king, particularly in America as it is a country that has always been without royalty. The film's star, Nigel Hawthorne, confirmed this in interviews.Filming locations
The film was shot at Shepperton StudiosShepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
and on location at:
- Arundel CastleArundel CastleArundel Castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England is a restored medieval castle. It was founded by Roger de Montgomery on Christmas Day 1067. Roger became the first to hold the earldom of Arundel by the graces of William the Conqueror...
, Arundel, West SussexWest SussexWest Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming... - Bodleian LibraryBodleian LibraryThe Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through... - Broughton CastleBroughton CastleBroughton Castle is a medieval manor house located in the village of Broughton which is about two miles south-west of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England on the B4035 road ....
, Banbury, OxfordshireOxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire .... - Eton CollegeEton CollegeEton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, EtonEton, BerkshireEton is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The parish also includes the large village of Eton Wick, 2 miles west of the town, and has a population of 4,980. Eton was in Buckinghamshire until...
, BerkshireBerkshireBerkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and... - Royal Naval College, Greenwich
- St. Paul's Cathedral, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- Syon HouseSyon HouseSyon House, with its 200-acre park, is situated in west London, England. It belongs to the Duke of Northumberland and is now his family's London residence...
, BrentfordBrentfordBrentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
, MiddlesexMiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time... - Thame ParkThameThame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
, OxfordshireOxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire .... - Wilton HouseWilton HouseWilton House is an English country house situated at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire. It has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years....
, WiltonWilton, WiltshireWilton is a town in Wiltshire, , England, with a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. Today it is dwarfed by its larger and more famous neighbour, Salisbury, but still has a range of notable shops and attractions, including Wilton House.The confluence of the rivers Wylye and Nadder is at...
, WiltshireWiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
Awards and honors
Academy AwardsThe film won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(Ken Adam
Ken Adam
Sir Kenneth Adam, OBE, born Klaus Hugo Adam , is a motion picture production designer most famous for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Childhood in Germany:...
, Carolyn Scott
Carolyn Scott
Carolyn Scott is a art director and set decorator. She won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film The Madness of King George.-External links:...
), and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Nigel Hawthorne), Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Helen Mirren) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
.
BAFTA Awards
The film was nominated for a total of 14 BAFTA Awards and won three: the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, the Best Actor
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...
(Nigel Hawthorne) and the Award for Best Make Up/Hair (Lisa Westcott).
Cannes Film Festival
Helen Mirren won the Best Actress
Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * ....
Award and Nicholas Hytner was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1995 festival
1995 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jeanne Moreau *Gianni Amelio *Jean-Claude Brialy *Nadine Gordimer *Gaston Kabore *Michele-Ray Gavras *Emilio Garcia Riera *Philippe Rousselot *John Waters...
.