Cromwell

Disgusted with the policies of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell plans to take his family to the New World…

• Director:Ken Hughes
• Genre:Biography | Drama | History | War
• Runtime:134 minutes

Cast

Richard Harris : Oliver Cromwell
Alec Guinness : King Charles I
Robert Morley : The Earl of Manchester
Dorothy Tutin : Queen Henrietta Maria
Frank Finlay : John Carter

Oliver Cromwell, a devout, God-fearing country squire, magistrate and former Member of Parliament. Disgusted with the policies of King Charles I — which includes the enclosing of common land for the use of wealthy landowners, and introducing “Papist” rituals into the Church of England. In fact Charles regards himself as a devout Anglican, tolerating the right of his French Queen to practice Roman Catholicism in private but forbidding her to bring up the young Prince of Wales in that faith. Cromwell plans to take his family to the New World, but, on the eve of their departure, he is persuaded by his friends to stay and resume a role in politics.

Charles has recalled Parliament for the first time in eleven years as he needs money in order to fight wars against the Scots and the Irish. Although Charles reluctantly agrees to execute his hated adviser the Earl of Strafford, the Parliament of England still will not grant him his requests unless he agrees to reforms that could lead to a constitutional monarchy. Committed to the Divine Right of Kings, and under pressure from the Queen to stand firm, Charles refuses. When he attempts to arrest five members of Parliament (in reality Cromwell was not one of them), war breaks out in England itself, Parliament against the King, both sides convinced that God is on their side.

When the Parliamentary forces in which Cromwell is a cavalry officer prove ineffective, he sets up the New Model Army and soon turns the tide against the King. Charles goes so far as to call on help from Catholic nations, which disgusts his Protestant supporters. He is finally defeated but, a brave man in his own way, he still refuses to give in to the demands of Cromwell and his associates for a system of government in which Parliament will have as much say in the running of the country as the King. Read more

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