Movie mogul Alexander Korda was more often producer than director, but this film, made in America, was one he did direct himself. With Laurence Olivier as Nelson and Vivien Leigh as Lady Hamilton, it stands up remarkably well today, with some striking high-key photography by Rudolph Maté, who later turned to directing. From the beginning, Korda had set out to make a quick pro-British propaganda film, whose messages (parallelling Napoleon and Hitler) would hit squarely home to America. One large set - Hamilton's villa in Naples - was utilised as much as possible, naval battle sequences were kept to a minimum, and the film was completed in six weeks. Even at the end, there was a further crisis when the American censor refused to accept the film unless the script emphasised that adultery was not being condoned. To pacify him, Korda shot an extra scene showing Nelson realising his shame after a reprimand by his father. The scene was later cut. FACT: Said to be Sir Winston Churchill's all-time favourite film.

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