The Scarlet Tunic

Opening with swathes of Dorset countryside, men in military uniforms and the requisite curly-headed English rose, The Scarlet Tunic sets itself up to be a proper historical romance.

The film was released in 1998, a couple of years after Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Pride and Prejudice made us all Darcy-mad. The Scarlet Tunic was made on a very modest budget and was based around a more obscure short story by Thomas Hardy called The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion.

Without the material and cache of a Jane Austen novel behind it, and without the financial freedom other adaptations have had, it would perhaps be unfair to expect it to compete with the unprecedented acclaim and hysteria that surrounded the BBC production. Nevertheless this is a pretty good film in its own right and a perfectly acceptable choice to accompany a cup of tea and biscuits on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon.

The film opens with Frances, our English rose, accepting a proposal from a man who is definitely not our hero; Humphrey Gould is a cringing awkward man, played well by John Sessions. Sure enough Frances soon finds herself falling in love with one of the German hussars who are camped on her father’s land. He is terribly good looking, reads poetry and is, of course, the hero of the piece. Their love, unsurprisingly, is forbidden – if they were to be found out she would be branded a whore and he a disgrace to his regiment and Captain, which is overacted by an overbearing Simon Callow.

Frances soon hears rumours that Gould, who is away on business, has begun courting another woman. Meanwhile, her romantic trysts with the Hussar, Matthaus Singer, continue and they plan to run away together. And after all of this preamble, finally the intrigue and action begins.

The second half of the film especially is well acted, tense and absorbing. It’s easy to soon tire of the beautiful landscapes and romantic dialogue, but with this film it’s definitely worth pursuing it until the bitter end, because this is when it turns the clichés on their heads.

Also worth noting is the relationship between Frances’ father and the housekeeper played by Jack Shepherd and Linda Bellingham. The hypocrisy of their love, which has produced a child, does not go unnoticed by the housekeeper, who helps Frances to meet with Singer. The older pair’s relationship provides an excellent counterpoint, highlighting the inequality between men and women and the various class structures operating in the narrative.

This film will go down in the annals of history as being a classic costume drama. It is beautifully shot and well acted for the most part, but the lack of budget does show. The plot meanders at the beginning far too much, which is probably indicative of the problems inherent in adapting a short story into a feature film.

Taking all that into account however, this is still an entertaining film that is well suited to that cosy, late afternoon slot.

Last edited: 30th July 2009