As you might have guessed from the release date, this is a work of wartime propaganda. The Napoleonic Wars are used as a metaphor for World War II, with Pitt filling the role of Winston Churchill and Napoléon Bonaparte filling the role of Adolf Hitler.
This film provides examples of:
- Head-in-the-Sand Management: The British politicians who seek peace with Napoleon are portrayed this way. The analogy to the appeasement of Hitler is not subtle.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: Britain is portrayed as acting purely defensively against the threat of an aggressive warmongering Napoleon. In reality, Britain was not quite so blameless in the Napoleonic Wars.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Yes, Napoleon was a dictator who conquered most of Europe, but that's about where his similarities with Hitler end. Without getting too into it, Napoleon's legacy is... complicated.
- Identical Grandson: Robert Donat also plays William Pitt The Elder.
- A Minor Kidroduction: The film starts off showing Pitt as a kid, back when his father was an ardent opponent of Britain's war against the American colonies.
- A Nazi by Any Other Name: Napoleonic France is just like Nazi Germany, but we'll defeat Hitler like we defeated Boney! For King and country! And remember to buy war bonds!
- Unreliable Voiceover: Following the Treaty of Amiens, Addington gives an optimistic speech about Europe moving towards peace. This speech plays over a montage of France building up its military and preparing for another war.
