Young Winston
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Richard Attenborough
Written by	Carl Foreman
Produced by	Carl Foreman
Starring	Simon Ward Robert Shaw Anne Bancroft Anthony Hopkins John Mills
Cinematography	Gerry Turpin
Edited by	Kevin Connor
Music by	Alfred Ralston (includes original music and his arrangements of works by Edward Elgar)[1]
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	28 July 1972 (UK) 10 October 1972 (USA)
Running time	157 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$2,150,000 (US/ Canada rentals)[2]

Young Winston is a 1972 British film covering the early years of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, based in particular on his book, My Early Life: A Roving Commission. The first part of the film covers Churchill's unhappy schooldays, up to the death of his father. The second half covers his service as a cavalry officer in India and the Sudan, during which he takes part in the cavalry charge at Omdurman, his experiences as a war correspondent in the Second Boer War, during which he is captured and escapes, and his election to Parliament at the age of 26.

Churchill was played by Simon Ward, who was relatively unknown at the time but was supported by a distinguished cast including Robert Shaw (as Lord Randolph Churchill), John Mills (as Lord Kitchener), Anthony Hopkins (as David Lloyd George) and Anne Bancroft as Churchill's mother Jennie. Other actors included Patrick Magee, Robert Hardy, Ian Holm, Edward Woodward and Jack Hawkins.

The film was written and produced by Carl Foreman and directed by Richard Attenborough. It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction (Donald M. Ashton, Geoffrey Drake, John Graysmark, William Hutchinson, Peter James) and Best Costume Design.^[3]

Carl Foreman was invited to meet Winston Churchill after he had seen and enjoyed Foreman's 1961 production of The Guns of Navarone. At their meeting Churchill suggested that his book My Early Life would make an excellent film.^[4]

In 1967 Foreman announced James Fox would play Churchill.^[5]

Foreman was impressed by Richard Attenborough's Oh! What a Lovely War and at first wanted him to both direct and play Lord Randolph Churchill; Attenborough declined the latter offer.^{[citation needed]}

The film was made in Morocco and the United Kingdom, with several scenes shot at Penwyllt and Coelbren, Powys, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons, and the scene where Churchill learnt to ride at the Cavalry Riding School building at Beaumont Barracks in Aldershot.^{[citation needed]}

The film was one of the most popular movies in 1972 at the British box office.^[6]

As of July 2009, the longest edition available on DVD is Young Winston: Special Edition at 146 minutes, cut from the original U.S. theatrical release which was 157 minutes. VHS tapes cut the film to just 124 minutes. The fully unabridged version is currently unavailable on DVD.

• Lough, David (2015). No More Champagne: Churchill and His Money. New York: Picador. ISBN 978-1-78408-181-2.

• Young Winston at IMDb
• Young Winston at Rotten Tomatoes