Dear Antoine, Tom Leonard is either the driver of Winston's car, or a member of his security team, on the occasion when Winston jumps out and disappears on his infamous Underground trip. It is his one and only mention in the script.
WIDE SHOT of - WINSTON’s CAR, moving slowly through the rainy street. WINSTON, in the back seat, looks out the window at the human traffic - seems like he’s in a gold-fish bowl, disconnected. He watches as - MEN IN BOWLER HATS and YOUNG WOMEN in SUMMER DRESSES walk to work. As they rush through the rain shielding themselves with umbrellas and newspapers. WINSTON, with an UNLIT CIGAR in his mouth, searches his pockets for a MATCH. But he can’t find his matches. When the CAR stops at a RED LIGHT - - TOM LEONARD hears the car door slam. He turns, looks back, WINSTON has jumped out of his car. Tom Leonard opens his door and stands looking around for Winston, as crowds rush past in the pouring rain. I agree with you that John Evan was probably John Martin under a different name. Given the way his attitude towards Miss Layton is described I'm not really surprised they would change it. It could also be simply an attempt to provide a generic picture of a member of Churchill's private office - which, as I recall, comprised many more than just Martin. Best, Dave -----Original Message----- From: 'Antoine Capet' via ChurchillChat [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, December 23, 2019 4:07 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ChurchillChat] Re: Mysterious young man in _Darkest Hour_ film : thanks Dear All, Many thanks for your most helpful answers. Yes - the cast identifies the young man as "John Evans". A fictitious name, as Richard points out : John Martin in real life ? There may be legal reasons why the producers did not use his real name (though they do not hesitate to give that of 'real' politicians). Who 'Tom Leonard' is in the film will have to remain clouded in mystery for the time being. All very puzzling, as I said initially. As for what Richard writes : "The subway/underground scene and the private visit of the King to WSC are pure fiction, but so beautifully done you can forgive them", they form (especially the underground scene) the core of my discussion in the article, entitled (in French) 'What do the "invented scenes" in _Darkest Hour_ tell us ?' And I duly refer to Gary Oldman's interview and the Hillsdale review in it. Thanks again, A. Capet ============== From: Richard Langworth Sent: Monday, December 23, 2019 9:47 PM To: ChurchillChat Subject: Re: [ChurchillChat] Re: Mysterious young man in _Darkest Hour_ film Dave- Good grub on the filmscript. I cannot find a "John Evans" in the literature, including Colville's and Martin's memoirs, but "John Evans'" instructions about WSC's requests are on the money. They show how carefully the film was scripted. (The subway/underground scene and the private visit of the King to WSC are pure fiction, but so beautifully done you can forgive them.) On a visit to Hillsdale College, Gary Oldman explained how he noticed ridges worn into the arms of the chair in the War Rooms, where WSC constantly drummed his fingernails, and how he tried to work that into his own portrayal--which was masterful. The video of Oldman's talk at Hillsdale is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyenAuy7wgg Our review of the film is at: http://bit.ly/2FMlryZ On Monday, December 23, 2019 at 12:08:10 PM UTC-8, Dave Turrell wrote: You can find the script for the film at https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/uploads/scripts/darkest-hour-2017.pdf A quick search seems to indicate that the character in question is John Evans - Churchill's private secretary. (Not sure if that's a 'real' character - I bet Richard knows :-). Played by Joe Armstrong. the TRAY passes by - WINSTON’s PRIVATE SECRETARY, JOHN EVANS (35), as he schools the NEW YOUNG SECRETARY, ELIZABETH LAYTON. Evans, an immaculately-groomed rake, snobbishly thinks himself infinitely superior to the Elizabeth Laytons of the world. JOHN EVANS(to ELIZABETH)...and if he stretches out his hand and says, “Gimme”, you need to anticipate what he wants - black pen, red pen, paper, or “Clop”, that’s his hole punch. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/churchillchat/d9454a5c-982e-45a9-9b67-7b4da96d5a01%40googlegroups.com. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/churchillchat/FC40B87F29974009ACE8A5C2975D5D37%40PCAntoine. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/churchillchat/008c01d5b9d8%240865ee30%241931ca90%24%40verizon.net.
