×

To Catch a King (1984) – Slow burn thriller

All Clickable links in Red

 

Genre – Spy + International Intrigue

Time: 1 Hour 53 minutes

Platform: You Tube (Free)  

Director: Clive Donner

Cast: Robert Jackson. Teri Garr. Horst Janson. John Standing. Barbara Parkins.

 

Facts: 

 

  1. Edward the VIII, King of England abdicated the throne as he was not allowed to marry a commoner and that too a two-time divorcee Wallis Simpson.
  2. He and his brother George had a bitter fallout during the course of WW2

 

TCAK-1

3. Edward and Wallis traveled to Germany where they were received by Hitler . He even gave the Nazi salute and was very sympathetic to Nazi ideology

TCAK-3

 

TCAK-2

4. By June 1940 it looked as if Britain was finished and it was just a matter of time before she surrendered.

5. Germany planned to replace George with Edward. It even had a plan to kidnap him while he was holidaying in Portugal. Full details of Operation Willi are available at Wikipedia. 

 

Naturally, history has not been kind to Edward VIII as increasing evidence is available which shows that he distinctly contemplated siding with Hitler, if Hitler invaded Britain.  And for those interested the complex behind the scenes action and competition between Edward and his brother George , who would have been replaced if Hitler won, is told in the video in this link – a 2 part TV series Edward vs George.

 

Fiction / Film 

tcak-4Jack Higgins , the author of The Eagle has Landed, wrote a cracking good ‘what if’ thriller story combining all the historical facts and placing an American man and woman, in the course of the events in Berlin and Portugal, who are forced to work together to prevent the kidnapping.

 

 

The Film is translated well from the book ; it takes off on these events and does so admirably. It is one of those slow and steady paced thrillers that keeps you absorbed till the last minute. It is also a great ‘what if’ film based on a real ‘what if” (see above Operation Willi link)

 

 

tcak-5Edward the VIII, the Duke of Windsor, (John Standing) is upset that the British Government and its servants including the British Legation do not refer to his wife Wallis (Barbara Pakrins) as Her Royal Highness, as befitting her, due to his marriage to her.  He lays down conditions for his return to Britain and to “make himself useful” ; these conditions clearly mean that he would overshadow his brother, the King. The message is conveyed back to Britain and is intercepted by German intelligence. Walter Schellenburg (Horst Janson), the head of the SD,  is given a Gestapo sidekick by Heinrich Himmler, to set in motion a plot to kidnap the Duke and his wife, so that they can replace George on the throne ; after all this was June 1940 and victory was just around the corner. (Everyone, including the British thought so).

 

Meanwhile Hannah Winter (Teri Garr), a jazz singer in Berlin, escapes with a document, obtained by her uncle Max’s girlfriend,  working at  Gestapo HQ, which details the kidnapping of the Duke. Arriving in Paris without any papers and on the run, she is picked up by Schellenburg and escorted to Portugal via Spain. On the outskirts of Lisbon, Hannah jumps the train and is chased by the Gestapo all the way to the O Fado café run by Joe Jackson (Robert Wagner). Wagner gets in touch with head of the Portuguese secret police Colonel da Cunha (Marcel Bozuffi) who gives him information of how to get to the Duke but that plan backfires. There are only two days left before the Duke leaves Portugal and during which Schellenburg will kidnap the Duke.

 

This is an excellent mix of fact and fiction  and makes an absorbing thriller. It isn’t necessarily a spy thriller as much it’s a story of international intrigue set in the somewhat bucolic locations of Portugal, where the real events happened.

 

Lead Performances by Robert Wagner and Terri Garr are somewhat stodgy and perhaps that is what mars what could have been a unique film, though John Standing as Edward VIII is good. Despite that the film is still a good watch as it is a good mix of fact and fiction.

 

 

Its free on You tube

 

Script – 4 out of 5

Story – 4 out of 5

Direction – 4 out of 5

Photography – 4 out of 5

 

Total – 4 out of 5

3 Comments

  1. Robin Bhat on December 30, 2024 at 2:00 am

    Hi Rammesh,

    A fascinating what-if tale in your always-excellent writing. A subject I have not come across, earlier, in books or films.

    Edward the VIII – a bit of British history goes with him. If there were not a Wallis Simpson in his life, there would most likely not be a King Charles III today.

    This fork in history – the abdication of the throne to marry the ‘commoner’ Wallis, and thus the accidental enthronement of his brother George (King George VI) (as also shown in Colin Firth’s award winning ‘The King’s Speech’) would not have resulted in the British monarchy passing on later to his daughter Elizabeth.

    Hitler’s other sympathizer, at a time, Charles Lindbergh is another tale for another time.


    Incidentally, for some time now, your reviews have not only keeping making my Amazon/Netflix Watchlists keep growing, but you have now also infiltrated my bookshelf !

    Interestingly, the 2010-published paperback is titled under author Jack Higgins.
    I found an inexpensive hard cover, published in 1980 under (probably) his earlier moniker – Harry Patterson.

    Thanks!

    Robin

    • Rammesh on December 30, 2024 at 12:37 pm

      Hi Robin

      On the topic of Edward, I too am a latecomer. I read the Jack Higgins novel sometime in the early 1980s – as an aftermath of discovering The Eagle has landed. I thought “what a wonderful what if story’. Its only in the 21st century that I came to know this was not fiction but fact – the SD had a plan to kidnap and install him on the throne, since everyone that Britain would sue for peace any day.

      Even during the height of WW2, there were some voices asking for ‘peace with Germany’ – Churchill just threw them into the political wilderness. The BUF – British Union of Fascists – who imitated the German SS ,and their leader Leonard Mosley , were all thrown into jails. Tough times tough people tough acts – etc .

      In this context , Edward was also a huge supporter of fascist way of life. HE of course missed the pomp and splendor which Hitler provided aplenty during Edward’s 1937 Germany visit. All available information points to that it turned his head and he saw himself as the King. So his appointment as Governor of Bermuda was like being sent to Siberia . Which it was. He compounded his situation by publishing a kiss all tell all autobiography after the end of the war which was not received well by the British people as it was felt that King George had led the country well during the war.

      At first I used to look at Edward only from the ‘romantic’ angle – man who gave up the throne for love (in fact I used to think of the line ulfat me taaj chootey, ye bhi tumhey yaad hoga. That was a rather naive 20 year old’s view. As with everything, we learn over the years that these kind of events are not black and white .

      KVR

      • Robin Bhat on December 31, 2024 at 12:35 am

        Rammesh,

        “ulfat me taaj chootey, ye bhi tumhey yaad hoga.”

        THAT IS IT !!! In a single phrase, sums up the life and times of Edward the VIII.

        As a small extension to my understanding, I read a bit about Wallis Simpson. Now, here is a biography made for a film script, especially a Hindi version!

        She is reported to have summed up her life in a sentence whose sentiments have been reflected in at least a hundred Hindi film songs:

        “”You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance.”


        Also, great to get reintroduced to Jack Higgins and recall all those books of the 1980s/90s. A prolific author – over 70 books, 11 of them made into movies, including one with an interesting premise: ‘The Windsor Protocol”.


        Thanks,

        Robin

Leave a Comment