University of Virginia Library

Screen Stereotype

The supporting cast is not very
exciting. Dorothy Tutin as Charles'
queen stumbles into the screen
stereotype of every English queen
of French blood, namely she's very
bitchy and gives her husband bad
advice. Timothy Dalton gives a very
uneven performance as Prince
Rupert. We first see him riding to
battle with a white poodle, and
later in the film, his character has
changed considerably. Perhaps after
having been wounded at Bristol,
young Rupert changed his ways.

One of the biggest problems
with "Cromwell" is its size. The
subject is too large for a movie, and
consequently this film suffers from
it. I couldn't believe thirteen years
had passed since the first scene of
the film. "Cromwell" seems to be
the longest picture I've ever seen.
There should be an intermission,
and it's very obvious where it
should have gone. But even with
the break, the film would still be
too long. There is no flow of the
material, which gives the film its
feeling of length.

There is, however, a redeeming
element in the script that should
have been explored in greater
detail. Cromwell's overthrow of the
crown is not an actively pursued
goal. It is when the king attempts
to create another civil war that
Parliament establishes a court to try
the king for treason against the
people and nation of England.
Later, Cromwell dismisses
Parliament when it becomes

corrupt, and he assumes control of
the government. He says he will
return decent government, "if I
have to do it myself." The audience
chuckles, but the narrator tells us
that for the next five years, he did
establish himself as Protector of
England.

Quite obviously, Cromwell's
revolution could conceivably be
pulled from history as another
example of the people taking the
rule from incompetent rulers. I
have to admit that this could easily
be interpreted as a "Right On! All
Power to the People!" approach.
Rather than fall into this trap of
relevance, I am suggesting that
Hughes should have spent more of
his energies dealing with Cromwell's
conflict of religious and political
beliefs and his feelings toward
realistic action on the part of the
king, Parliament, and ultimately
himself.