Lloyd's of London (film)
Encyclopedia
Lloyd's of London is a 1936 American drama film
directed by Henry King
. It stars Tyrone Power
, Madeleine Carroll
, and Guy Standing
. The supporting cast includes Freddie Bartholomew
, George Sanders
, Virginia Field
, and C. Aubrey Smith. Loosely based on history, the film follows the dealings of a man who works for Lloyd's of London
during the Napoleonic Wars
. A box-office bonanza, Lloyd's of London proved that 23-year-old Tyrone Power, in his first starring role, could carry a picture—and that the recently-formed 20th Century Fox was truly a major Hollywood studio.
) overhears two sailors discussing something suspicious in his aunt's ale-house in a Norfolk
fishing village. He persuades his more respectable best friend, Horatio Nelson (Douglas Scott), to sneak aboard the sailors' ship with him. They overhear a plot involving insurance fraud. Each of the boys had vowed to do anything that the other did. But when Jonathan decides to warn the insurers, the 12-year-old Horatio cannot accompany him, because that same day he is invited to be a midshipman in the Navy.
Jonathan walks all the way to London to Lloyd's Coffee House, where the insurers conduct their business. At first, no one can be bothered with him, but eventually Mr. Angerstein (Guy Standing
), the head of one of the syndicates that make up Lloyd's of London, listens to him. Instead of a monetary reward, Jonathan asks to work at Lloyd's in an entry level position. Angerstein teaches him that news is the lifeblood of the insurance industry.
By 1784, Jonathan (now played by Tyrone Power
) has become an assistant to Angerstein. Jonathan shows him a semaphore telegraph apparatus he has invented, which can send messages instantly across the English Channel. While on a news-gathering mission to France, Jonathan rescues Lady Elizabeth Stacy (Madeleine Carroll
) after Napoleon orders the arrest of all English people. On the two-day boat trip back to England, they fall in love. However, she sneaks away before he can find out who she is or where she lives.
Eventually, Jonathan finds out that Elizabeth is married to Lord Everett Stacy (George Sanders
), who insults him as being a mere laborer. Stung, Jonathan decides to make himself so rich and powerful that even the aristocracy will have to pay him respect. He succeeds, setting up his own syndicate.
Jonathan and Elizabeth meet again. She confesses that she loves him, and the two see each other secretly. This does not escape the attention of Lord Stacy. With heavy gambling losses and hounded by creditors, he inveigles Jonathan to give him a share of the profits of his syndicate.
Meanwhile, Horatio Nelson has risen to the rank of Admiral of the British Fleet. But the war with Napoleon results in terrible losses to England's merchant fleet, which threatens to bankrupt Lloyd's. The insurers raise their rates accordingly, but the merchants complain that the charges are ruinously high and that they will not sail unless the old rate is restored.
Angerstein decides the old rate could be restored if the British Admiralty could be persuaded to provide armed escorts to the merchant vessels. But Jonathan realizes that such a course would reduce Nelson's fleet by half, putting England's survival in the balance. He commits his syndicate to the old rate without asking for escorts, singlehandedly keeping British commerce going and Nelson's force intact. As the losses mount, he runs out of money, and is abandoned by his syndicate members. Over his protests, Elizabeth puts her vast, newly inherited fortune at his disposal, but even that runs out.
Lord Drayton, head of the Admiralty, agrees to order half of Nelson's fleet to convoy the merchant ships. That same day, Jonathan receives a letter from Nelson urging him to do whatever possible to protect his fleet from being divided, no matter what the cost. In desperation, Jonathan secretly goes to Calais and sends a message to England by the semaphore, falsely reporting a victory by Nelson. The entire nation celebrates, and Drayton cancels the order to Nelson.
Lord Stacy, however, learns the truth from his spies. He goes to Angerstein and threatens to expose the lie, but Angerstein tells him that he himself would be ruined if Jonathan's syndicate is destroyed since, unbeknownst to Stacy, Elizabeth's fortune is tied up in it. When Lord Stacy finds Jonathan and Elizabeth in each other's arms, he shoots his rival in the back.
Fortunately for Jonathan, he has bought enough time for Nelson to win the Battle of Trafalgar
, though at great cost. A recovering Jonathan watches sadly from the window as his childhood friend's funeral procession passes by.
by William S. Darling
and the other for Film Editing
by Barbara McLean
. Lloyd's of London was the second of the twenty-nine films directed by Henry King that McLean edited.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Henry King
Henry King (director)
Henry King was an American film director.Before coming to film, King worked as an actor in various repertoire theatres, and first started to take small film roles in 1912. He directed for the first time in 1915, and grew to become one of the most commercially successful Hollywood directors of the...
. It stars Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
, Madeleine Carroll
Madeleine Carroll
Edith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular in the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:Carroll was born at 32 Herbert Street in West Bromwich, England. She graduated from the University of Birmingham, England with a B.A. degree...
, and Guy Standing
Guy Standing
Commander Sir Guy Standing KBE RNVR was an English actor.-Biography:Standing served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve throughout the First World War, reaching the rank of Commander. In 1918, he was part of the British War Mission to the United States...
. The supporting cast includes Freddie Bartholomew
Freddie Bartholomew
Frederick Cecil Bartholomew , known for his acting work as Freddie Bartholomew, was an English-American child actor. One of the most famous child actors of all time, he became very popular in 1930s Hollywood films...
, George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
, Virginia Field
Virginia Field
Virginia Field was a British-born film actress.Born Margaret Cynthia Field in London, her father was the judge of England's Leicester County Court Circuit. Her mother was a cousin of Robert E...
, and C. Aubrey Smith. Loosely based on history, the film follows the dealings of a man who works for Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. A box-office bonanza, Lloyd's of London proved that 23-year-old Tyrone Power, in his first starring role, could carry a picture—and that the recently-formed 20th Century Fox was truly a major Hollywood studio.
Plot
In 1770, youngster Jonathan Blake (Freddie BartholomewFreddie Bartholomew
Frederick Cecil Bartholomew , known for his acting work as Freddie Bartholomew, was an English-American child actor. One of the most famous child actors of all time, he became very popular in 1930s Hollywood films...
) overhears two sailors discussing something suspicious in his aunt's ale-house in a Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
fishing village. He persuades his more respectable best friend, Horatio Nelson (Douglas Scott), to sneak aboard the sailors' ship with him. They overhear a plot involving insurance fraud. Each of the boys had vowed to do anything that the other did. But when Jonathan decides to warn the insurers, the 12-year-old Horatio cannot accompany him, because that same day he is invited to be a midshipman in the Navy.
Jonathan walks all the way to London to Lloyd's Coffee House, where the insurers conduct their business. At first, no one can be bothered with him, but eventually Mr. Angerstein (Guy Standing
Guy Standing
Commander Sir Guy Standing KBE RNVR was an English actor.-Biography:Standing served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve throughout the First World War, reaching the rank of Commander. In 1918, he was part of the British War Mission to the United States...
), the head of one of the syndicates that make up Lloyd's of London, listens to him. Instead of a monetary reward, Jonathan asks to work at Lloyd's in an entry level position. Angerstein teaches him that news is the lifeblood of the insurance industry.
By 1784, Jonathan (now played by Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
) has become an assistant to Angerstein. Jonathan shows him a semaphore telegraph apparatus he has invented, which can send messages instantly across the English Channel. While on a news-gathering mission to France, Jonathan rescues Lady Elizabeth Stacy (Madeleine Carroll
Madeleine Carroll
Edith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular in the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:Carroll was born at 32 Herbert Street in West Bromwich, England. She graduated from the University of Birmingham, England with a B.A. degree...
) after Napoleon orders the arrest of all English people. On the two-day boat trip back to England, they fall in love. However, she sneaks away before he can find out who she is or where she lives.
Eventually, Jonathan finds out that Elizabeth is married to Lord Everett Stacy (George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
), who insults him as being a mere laborer. Stung, Jonathan decides to make himself so rich and powerful that even the aristocracy will have to pay him respect. He succeeds, setting up his own syndicate.
Jonathan and Elizabeth meet again. She confesses that she loves him, and the two see each other secretly. This does not escape the attention of Lord Stacy. With heavy gambling losses and hounded by creditors, he inveigles Jonathan to give him a share of the profits of his syndicate.
Meanwhile, Horatio Nelson has risen to the rank of Admiral of the British Fleet. But the war with Napoleon results in terrible losses to England's merchant fleet, which threatens to bankrupt Lloyd's. The insurers raise their rates accordingly, but the merchants complain that the charges are ruinously high and that they will not sail unless the old rate is restored.
Angerstein decides the old rate could be restored if the British Admiralty could be persuaded to provide armed escorts to the merchant vessels. But Jonathan realizes that such a course would reduce Nelson's fleet by half, putting England's survival in the balance. He commits his syndicate to the old rate without asking for escorts, singlehandedly keeping British commerce going and Nelson's force intact. As the losses mount, he runs out of money, and is abandoned by his syndicate members. Over his protests, Elizabeth puts her vast, newly inherited fortune at his disposal, but even that runs out.
Lord Drayton, head of the Admiralty, agrees to order half of Nelson's fleet to convoy the merchant ships. That same day, Jonathan receives a letter from Nelson urging him to do whatever possible to protect his fleet from being divided, no matter what the cost. In desperation, Jonathan secretly goes to Calais and sends a message to England by the semaphore, falsely reporting a victory by Nelson. The entire nation celebrates, and Drayton cancels the order to Nelson.
Lord Stacy, however, learns the truth from his spies. He goes to Angerstein and threatens to expose the lie, but Angerstein tells him that he himself would be ruined if Jonathan's syndicate is destroyed since, unbeknownst to Stacy, Elizabeth's fortune is tied up in it. When Lord Stacy finds Jonathan and Elizabeth in each other's arms, he shoots his rival in the back.
Fortunately for Jonathan, he has bought enough time for Nelson to win the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, though at great cost. A recovering Jonathan watches sadly from the window as his childhood friend's funeral procession passes by.
Cast
- Freddie BartholomewFreddie BartholomewFrederick Cecil Bartholomew , known for his acting work as Freddie Bartholomew, was an English-American child actor. One of the most famous child actors of all time, he became very popular in 1930s Hollywood films...
- Young Jonathan Blake - Madeleine CarrollMadeleine CarrollEdith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular in the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:Carroll was born at 32 Herbert Street in West Bromwich, England. She graduated from the University of Birmingham, England with a B.A. degree...
- Lady Elizabeth Stacy - Guy StandingGuy StandingCommander Sir Guy Standing KBE RNVR was an English actor.-Biography:Standing served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve throughout the First World War, reaching the rank of Commander. In 1918, he was part of the British War Mission to the United States...
- John Julius Angerstein (as Sir Guy Standing) - Tyrone PowerTyrone PowerTyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
- Jonathan Blake - C. Aubrey Smith - Old 'Q'
- Virginia FieldVirginia FieldVirginia Field was a British-born film actress.Born Margaret Cynthia Field in London, her father was the judge of England's Leicester County Court Circuit. Her mother was a cousin of Robert E...
- Polly, a waitress at the coffee house who loves Jonathan - Douglas Scott - Young Horatio Nelson
- George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
- Lord Everett Stacy - J. M. KerriganJ. M. KerriganJoseph Michael Kerrigan , better known as J. M. Kerrigan, born in Dublin, Ireland, was an Irish character actor.-Life:Kerrigan worked as a newspaper reporter until 1907 when he joined the famous Abbey Players...
- Brook Watson - Una O'ConnorUna O'ConnorUna O'Connor was an Irish actress who worked extensively in theatre before becoming a notable character actress in film.-Life and work:...
- Widow Blake, Jonathan's aunt - Forrester HarveyForrester HarveyForrester Harvey was an Irish-born film actor. He appeared in 117 films between 1922 and 1946, including two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.He was born in County Cork, Ireland and died in Laguna Beach, California....
- Percival Potts - Gavin MuirGavin MuirGavin Muir , was a British actor and musician probably best known for his role in the 1983 Television version of Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Muir had small parts in various television programmes including The Bill, Thieftakers, Cracker, Jo Brand and Our Friends in the North...
- Sir Gavin Gore - E. E. CliveE. E. CliveEdward E. Clive was a Welsh actor in the early 20th century.- Biography :Born in Monmouthshire, Clive studied for a medical career, having four years of medical course at St Bartholomew's Hospital before switching his focus to acting at age 22...
- Magistrate - Miles ManderMiles ManderMiles Mander , born Lionel Henry Mander , was a well-known and versatile English character actor of the early Hollywood cinema, also a film director and producer, and a playwright and novelist.-Early life:Miles Mander was the second son of Theodore Mander, builder of Wightwick Manor, of the prominent...
- Jukes - Montagu LoveMontagu LoveMontagu Love , also known as Montague Love, was an English screen, stage and vaudeville actor.Born Harry Montague Love in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and educated in Great Britain, Love began his career as an artist and military correspondent. His first important job was as a London newspaper...
- Hawkins
Awards
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Art DirectionAcademy 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...
by William S. Darling
William S. Darling
William S. Darling was a Hungarian-born art director. He was born as Wilhelm Sándorházi. He won three Academy Awards and was nominated for a further four in the category Best Art Direction...
and the other for Film Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
by Barbara McLean
Barbara McLean
Barbara McLean was an American film editor with 62 film credits. In the period Darryl F. Zanuck was dominant at the 20th Century Fox Studio, from the 1930s through the 1960s, McLean was the Studio's most conspicuous editor and ultimately the head of its editing department.She won the 1944 Academy...
. Lloyd's of London was the second of the twenty-nine films directed by Henry King that McLean edited.