Cultural depictions of Winston Churchill

Named the Greatest Briton of all time in a 2002 poll, and widely regarded as being among the most influential people in British history, Winston Churchill has been regularly portrayed in film, television, radio and other media. The depictions range from minor character to the biographical centerpiece, exceeding 30 films, more than two dozen television shows, several stage productions, and countless books.

Winston Churchill in his honorary air commodore's uniform, c. 1940

Film

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Major biographical films

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Below are films which serve as major biographical portrayals of Churchill, as opposed to other films which mention Churchill only as one part of a separate or secondary plotline.

Table of films

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Year Country Title Actor Notes
1935   Royal Cavalcade C.M. Hallard
1941   Ohm Kruger Otto Wernicke
1943   Mission to Moscow Dudley Field Malone
1949   Stalingradskaya bitva I Viktor Stanitsyn
1950 The Lights of Baku
The Fall of Berlin
1951   An American in Paris Dudley Field Malone
1952   Nezabyvaemyy god 1919 (Unforgettable 1919) Viktor Stanitsyn
1956   The Man Who Never Was Peter Sellers Voice only
1960 The Siege of Sidney Street Jimmy Sangster
1965 Operation Crossbow Patrick Wymark
1970           Liberation Yuri Durov
1972   Young Winston Simon Ward
1973   The Battle of Sutjeska Orson Welles
  Days of Betrayal Jan Vitek
1976   The Eagle Has Landed Leigh Dilley Plays a stand-in for the real Churchill
1978   Picassos äventyr Sune Mangs
1979   Sekret Enigmy Józef Zacharewicz
1983   Le Bourreau des cœurs René Douglas
1984   Katastrofa w Gibraltarze Wlodzimierz Wiszniewski
1987   Jane and the Lost City Richard Huggett
1989   Casablanca Express John Evans
1990         Stalingrad Ronald Lacey
1994   Caro dolce amore John Evans
2000   Shaheed Uddham Singh: Alais Ram Mohammad Singh Azad Joe Lamb
2002   Two Men Went to War David Ryall
2004 Churchill: The Hollywood Years Christian Slater
2005 Allegiance Mel Smith
2009     Inglourious Basterds Rod Taylor
2010   The King's Speech Timothy Spall
  Paradox Alan C. Peterson
2012   FDR: American Badass! Paul Willson
The ABCs of Death Torgny Gerhard Aanderaa "H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion"
Bad Ass Tyler Tuione
2015 Queen of the Desert Christopher Fulford
2017   Churchill Brian Cox
    Darkest Hour Gary Oldman Won Academy Award for Best Actor
   Viceroy's House Gerry George
2018   Suffragette Ray Burnet
The Battle for Britain's Heroes Gerry George
2019      The Professor and the Madman Brendan Patricks
  Operation Cicero Gerry George
2020   The Good Traitor Nicholas Blane
2021   Sardar Udham Tom Hudson
  Audience u královny Vladislav Benes
  Operation Mincemeat Simon Russell Beale
2024   The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Rory Kinnear

Television

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Major biographical tv shows and tv movies

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Below are shows and films on television which serve as major biographical portrayals of Churchill, as opposed to other films which mention Churchill only as one part of a separate plotline.

Table of television films

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Year Country Title Actor Notes
1960–1963    The Valiant Years Richard Burton Documentary
1974   Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill Warren Clarke Episode "Lady Randolph"
   The Gathering Storm Richard Burton
1975   Days of Hope Leo Britt this is a relatively negative portrayal of Churchill that highlights his attitude towards the coal miners during the strikes of 1921 and 1926
Edward the Seventh Christopher Strauli
1977   Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years Arthur Gould-Porter
1978   Edward & Mrs. Simpson Wensley Pithey
1979 Churchill and the Generals Timothy West
1981 The Life and Times of David Lloyd George William Hootkins
1983 Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years Robert Hardy
  The Winds of War Howard Lang
1983   Number 10 Terence Harvey
1984   The Last Bastion Timothy West
1986   Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy Malcolm Terris
1988 The Woman He Loved Robert Hardy
  War and Remembrance
1989   Bomber Harris
1991 'Allo 'Allo! John James Evanson Episode "Up the Crick Without a Piddle"
  The Treaty Julian Fellowes
1992   A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia Michael Cochrane
  The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Julian Fellowes
1994 World War II: When Lions Roared Bob Hoskins
1995    Hiroshima Timothy West
  Annie: A Royal Adventure! David King
1998   Mosley Hugh Simon
2002 Bertie and Elizabeth David Ryall
   The Gathering Storm Albert Finney Won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
2004   Dunkirk Simon Russell Beale
  Ike: Countdown to D-Day Ian Mune
2005   Wallis and Edward David Calder
2006 Agatha Christie's MarpleThe Sittaford Mystery Robert Hardy
2006   Above and Beyond Joss Ackland
2008   Family Guy Seth MacFarlane Episode "Road to Germany"
2009    Into the Storm Brendan Gleeson Won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
2009–present Horrible Histories Jim Howick, Jalaal Hartley
2010–2011   Doctor Who Ian McNeice Episodes "The Beast Below", "Victory of the Daleks", "The Pandorica Opens", "The Wedding of River Song"
2012     Titanic Colm Gormley
     Titanic: Blood and Steel Robert Whitelock
2013   Murdoch Mysteries Thomas Howes Episode "Winston's Lost Night"
2013–2014   Peaky Blinders Andy Nyman, Richard McCabe, Neil Maskell
2014 37 Days Nicholas Asbury
  The World Wars Ian Beyts, Tom Vickers
2015   Up the Women Harry Peacock Episode "Train"
2016   Churchill's Secret Michael Gambon
   The Crown John Lithgow Won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series[2]
  Super Science Friends Adam Shaheen
Drunk History Louie Anderson Episode "The Roosevelts"

Theatre

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Music

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Radio

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  • Peter Sellers included Churchill as his standard PM for The Goon Show. Churchill is depicted as he was during World War II. In The Goon Show, he is of course treated humorously, having a very African foreign secretary called Basil (played by Ray Ellington in Red Bladder mode). In addition he is responsible for supporting Neddie Seagoon's harebrained plans for long-range, jet-propelled guided NAAFI's, atomic dustbins, and throwing batter puddings at Clement Attlee.
  • Churchill's Other Lives, documentary series, played by Roger Allam (2011)

Literature

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There are various alternative history works depicting a Nazi German victory or an otherwise widely different course of WWII posit various ultimate fates for Churchill:

Miscellaneous

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References

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  1. ^ "World War II: When Lions Roared". Fandango.com. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  2. ^ Barsanti, Sam (18 June 2015). "John Lithgow will play Winston Churchill on Netflix's The Crown". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  3. ^ Gilbey, Ryan (2016-07-04). "Robin Hardy obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  4. ^ "Donmar Warehouse reveals complete cast for "When Winston Went to War with the Wireless"". WhatsOnStage.com. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  5. ^ Theodore Roosevelt vs Winston Churchill. Epic Rap Battles of History, 2016-12-26, retrieved 2023-01-02
  6. ^ The Shape of Things to Come references Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, telelib.com; accessed 3 July 2014.
  7. ^ Fleiner, Carey; October, Dene (2017). Doctor Who and History: Critical Essays on Imagining the Past. McFarland. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-4766-2981-0.
  8. ^ Dunlop, Paul H. (2013) Baccarat Paperweights : two centuries of beauty ISBN 978-0-9619547-2-7
  9. ^ Arena, Broadmoor World. "Churchill starring David Payne | Broadmoor World Arena". www.broadmoorworldarena.com. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  10. ^ Grubb, Jeffrey (June 23, 2014). "Civilization Revolution 2 hits iOS on July 2 — it's no longer a console series". GamesBeat. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
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