THEY LOVE..AS AN EMPIRE ROCKS!
1936-11-25
$0.8M
113 min
Norfolk, England, 1770. The nephew of an innkeeper and the son of a reverend maintain a very close friendship until, after living a great adventure, they must separate their paths. The former will head his footsteps to London and bound his destiny to Lloyd's, a thriving insurance company; the latter will eventually become one of the greatest heroes in the history of the British Empire.
This is quite an interesting tale that shows us some of a very young Tyrone Power's potential and also tells us a little about the establishment of Lloyd's of London - the world's largest maritime insurance operation. The story starts in rural Norfolk where two boys decide to run away together - one is Horatio Nelson (Douglas Scott) the other "Jonathan Blake" (Freddie Bartholomew). Their plan is thwarted, though, and "Blake" ends up serving on a ship with his uncle - and on returning from his escapades at sea, visits Lloyd's Coffee House with some secret information on dodgy insurance fraudsters. He is taken under the wing of the honest and reputable "Mr. Angerstein" (Sir Guy Standing) and is soon learning the ropes of the insurance business. What follows is quite an engaging tale of his life and loves as he spars with the duplicitous George Sanders ("Lord Stacy") over his wife, whom "Blake" has fallen head over heels for - Madeleine Carroll; and his ambition to make his own fortune by insuring just about anything - including lives - against a background of the war between Britain and Napoleon! The film offers only a slight nod to fact, but the personification of "Blake" as a patriot determined to help his childhood friend and his country at all costs is at times quite brave and rousing - and the ensemble, including cameos from C. Aubrey Smith and Una O'Connor help to keep this interesting for a slightly over-long 2 hours.
