The Madness of King George

Plot

King George III's bout of madness in 1788 touched off the Regency Crisis of 1788 and triggered a power struggle between factions of Parliament under the Tory Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and the reform-minded Leader of the Opposition Charles James Fox.

At first, the King's behaviour appears mildly eccentric. He is deeply concerned with the wellbeing and productivity of Great Britain and exhibits an encyclopaedic knowledge of the families of even the most obscure royal appointments. He is devoted to his loving wife, Queen Charlotte, and their large brood of 15 children. However, he is growing more unsettled, partly over the loss of America. His memory fails, his behaviour becomes erratic and hypersexual, he talks and talks, and his urine turns blue.

George, Prince of Wales, aggravates the situation, knowing that he will be named regent if the King becomes incapacitated. George chafes under his father's relentless criticism, and yearns for greater freedom, particularly when it comes to choosing a wife. He married the woman everyone believes to be his mistress, Mrs. Fitzherbert, in a secret ceremony in 1785. Without his father's consent, the marriage is illegal. Even with consent, it would remove him from the succession, because Fitzherbert is a Catholic. He knows that he has the moral support of Fox, whose agenda includes abolition of the slave trade and friendlier relations with America. Knowing how to exacerbate the King's behaviour, the Prince arranges a concert of music by Handel. The King reacts as expected, interrupting the musicians, speaking lasciviously to Lady Pembroke, and finally assaulting his son.

In a private moment, the King tells Charlotte that he knows something is wrong. They are brutally interrupted when the Prince has them separated, supposedly on the advice of physicians. Led by the Prince of Wales' personal physician, Dr. Warren, the King is treated using the medical practices of the time, which focus on the state of his urine and bowel movements and include painful cupping and purgatives.

Lady Pembroke recommends Dr. Francis Willis, who cured her mother-in-law. Willis uses novel procedures. At his farm in Lincolnshire, patients work to gain "a better opinion of themselves." He observes to an equerry "To be curbed, thwarted, stood up to, exercises the character." When the King insults him, foully, he is strapped into a chair and gagged. He will be restrained whenever he "swears and indulges in meaningless discourse" and "does not strive every day and always towards his own recovery".

When the Prince has the King transferred to Kew, Charlotte watches as her beloved, bearded and wearing a soiled diaper and a straitjacket, struggles against being put in the coach. "Until you can govern yourself, you're not fit to govern others. And until you do so, I shall govern you," Willis says. At Kew, the King spits soup at Willis, but gains control under the physician's intractable gaze. Later, the King, properly dressed, feeds himself to a round of applause from staff—but the delusions persist.

The Whig opposition confronts Pitt's increasingly unpopular Tory government with a proposal that would give the Prince powers of regency. Baron Thurlow, the Lord Chancellor, obtains and suppresses proof of the marriage. Fox wins, and the Regency Bill is printed. Thurlow comes to see the King and joins in a moving reading of King Lear. "I have remembered how to seem..." the King muses. "What, what!" an expression he has not used in six months. His urine is yellow.

Thurlow and the King arrive at Parliament in time to thwart the bill. The King forces the Prince to admit his marriage and to put away Fitzherbert. With the crisis averted, all those who have witnessed his suffering are summarily dismissed, including Captain Greville, the King's equerry. Fitzroy, another equerry, observes to the sacked Greville: "To be kind does not commend you to kings."

Cheering crowds welcome the royal family to St. Paul's Cathedral. Willis stands by, but the King dismisses him.

"We must be a model family," he declares; George wants "something to do." "Smile at the people, wave at them. Let them see that we're happy. That's why we're here." Saluting, Willis disappears into the crowd, where Mrs. Fitzherbert also smiles, wistfully.

Cast

• Nigel Hawthorne as King George III
• Helen Mirren as Queen Charlotte
• Ian Holm as Francis Willis
• Amanda Donohoe as Lady Pembroke, Lady of the Bedchamber
• Rupert Graves as Captain Greville
• Geoffrey Palmer as Doctor Warren
• Rupert Everett as George, Prince of Wales
• Jim Carter as Charles James Fox, Leader of the Opposition
• Julian Rhind-Tutt as Frederick, Duke of York
• Julian Wadham as William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister
• Anthony Calf as Lord Charles FitzRoy
• Adrian Scarborough as Fortnum
• Matthew Lloyd Davies as Papendiek
• John Wood as Lord Chancellor Lord Thurlow
• Jeremy Child as Black Rod
• Struan Rodger as Henry Dundas
• Barry Stanton as Sheridan
• Janine Duvitski as Margaret Nicholson
• Caroline Harker as Mrs. Fitzherbert
• Roger Hammond as Baker
• Cyril Shaps as Pepys
• Selina Cadell as Mrs. Cordwell
• Alan Bennett as a backbench MP
• Nicholas Selby as Speaker

Production

Alan Bennett insisted that director Nicholas Hytner and actor Nigel Hawthorne should be cast in the film version, after having acted in the play.

Title change

In adapting the play to film, the director Nicholas Hytner changed the name from The Madness of George III to The Madness of King George for American audiences, to clarify George III's royalty. A popular explanation developed that the change was made because there was a worry that American audiences would think it was a sequel and not go to see it, assuming they had missed "I" and "II". An interview revealed: "That's not totally untrue," said Hytner, laughing. "But there was also the factor that it was felt necessary to get the word King into the title."

Filming locations

Principal photography took place from 11 July to 9 September 1994. The film was shot at Shepperton Studios and on location at:

• Arundel Castle, Arundel, West Sussex
• Divinity School, Oxford
• Broughton Castle, Banbury, Oxfordshire
• Eton College, Eton, Berkshire
• Royal Naval College, Greenwich
• St Paul's Cathedral, London
• Syon House, Brentford, Middlesex
• Thame Park, Oxfordshire
• Wilton House, Wilton, Wiltshire

Reception

Box office

The Madness of King George was the second highest-grossing British film of the year, behind Shallow Grave, with a gross of £4.6 million in the UK. It debuted strongly at the US box office and went on to gross $15,238,689 in the United States and Canada and $27.4 million worldwide.

Critical response

The film received largely positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 94% score based on 47 reviews, with an average of 7.8/10. The site's consensus states: "Thanks largely to stellar all-around performances from a talented cast, The Madness of King George is a funny, entertaining, and immensely likable adaptation of the eponymous stage production."

Reviewing for Variety, Emanuel Levy praised the film, writing: "Under Hytner's guidance, the cast, composed of some of the best actors in British cinema, rises to the occasion... Boasting a rich period look, almost every shot is filled with handsome, emotionally charged composition".

John Simon of The National Review wrote, "The Madness of King George III has survived the transfer from stage to screen, and emerges equally enjoyable on film." Simon praised the leading actors and most of the supporting cast, except for Carter's portrayal of Fox, which he said lacked charisma.

Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic wrote, "For those who, like myself, were disappointed in the play, the film contains pleasant surprises, all of them resulting from differences between the two arts."

Year-end lists

• 2nd – Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times
• 8th – National Board of Review
• 10th – Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
• Top 10 runner-ups (not ranked) – Janet Maslin, The New York Times
• Best of the year (not ranked) - Michael Medved, Sneak Previews

Accolades

Notes

References

References

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2. (23 January 1995). "''THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE'' (PG)". [[British Board of Film Classification]].
3. Klady, Leonard. (February 19, 1996). "B.O. with a vengeance: $9.1 billion worldwide".
4. Act IV, scene 7
5. "Record:The Madness of King George".
6. "The Madness of King George".
7. DAVID GRITTEN. (8 January 1995). "Late-Blooming Nigel Hawthorne Enjoys 'Madness' of King-Size Role in Hytner's Film".
8. (8 January 1995). "PROFILE: Life on an Artistic Carousel: Nicholas Hytner, director of 'Miss Saigon' and 'Carousel,' and 'Madness of King George' on film, is the hottest British import. Is he ready for America's Pop Icon Machine?". Los Angeles Times.
9. (26 January 1996). "UK Top 100 Films Dec 1, 1994-Nov 26, 1995".
10. Natale, Richard. (3 January 1995). "New Year Box Office Starts Off With Bang Movies: At $15.5 million, 'Dumb' stole the show during the long holiday weekend. But many other movies filled the seats as well.". [[The Los Angeles Times]].
11. "The Madness of King George (1994)". [[Internet Movie Database]].
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14. (2005). "John Simon on Film: Criticism 1982-2001". Applause Books.
15. [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/stanley-kauffmann/movies?page=8 Stanley Kauffmann at rottentomatoes.com]
16. Turan, Kenneth. (December 25, 1994). "1994: YEAR IN REVIEW : No Weddings, No Lions, No Gumps". Los Angeles Times.
17. "Awards for 1994".
18. Maslin, Janet. (December 27, 1994). "CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; The Good, Bad and In-Between In a Year of Surprises on Film". The New York Times.
19. (January 6, 1995). "Best & Worst of 1994".
20. "The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
21. "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1996". [[British Academy Film Awards]].
22. "Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film". [[British Society of Cinematographers]].
23. "The Madness of King George". [[Cannes Film Festival]].
24. "1994 Award Winners". [[National Board of Review]].
25. "Awards Winners". [[Writers Guild of America Awards]].
26. "Writers' Guild Awards 1994". [[Writers' Guild of Great Britain]].