The Winslow Boy

The Winslow Boy is an English play by Terence Rattigan based on an actual incident in the Edwardian era, which took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne House. The play was later made into a famous film in 1948 which was directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Robert Donat as Sir Robert Morton, Cedric Hardwicke as Arthur Winslow, and Margaret Leighton as Catherine Winslow. The film was remade in 1999, this time directed by David Mamet, starring Nigel Hawthorne and Jeremy Northam as Arthur Winslow and Sir Robert Morton KC, respectively.

Plot

Ronnie Winslow, a cadet at the Royal Naval College, is accused of the theft of a postal order. An internal enquiry finds him guilty and his father, Arthur Winslow, is requested to remove his son from the college. Unwilling to accept the verdict, Winslow institutes his own enquiries and engages a friend and family solicitor, to assist him, including the briefing of a top barrister, Sir Robert Morton, should the case come to court.

Related Topics:
Cadet - Royal Naval College - Solicitor - Barrister

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The government is unwilling to allow the case to proceed, but after heated debates in the House of Commons, the government yields, and the case does come to court. Morton is able to discredit much of the supposed evidence and the government finally withdraws the charges against Ronnie. Although the family win the case, each of them has lost something along the way: Dickie Winslow has been forced to pull out of Oxford due to the shortness of money, Catherine loses her relationship with a fiancée, and Arthur Winslow loses his good health.

Related Topics:
Government - House of Commons

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