Film - The Duke

The Duke, starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, finally gets a UK cinema release next month. Watch the trailer...

Press Release

The Duke, is the true story of Kempton Bunton, a 60-year old taxi driver, who stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly - he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television. 

What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge - Kempton had spun a web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage - how and why he used the Duke to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale.

Also starring Fionn Whitehead, Matthew Goode and Anna Maxwell Martin, The Duke is directed by BAFTA award winner Roger Michell (My Cousin Rachel, Notting Hill) from a script written by Richard Bean (One Man, Two Guvnors) and Clive Coleman. The film is produced by Nicky Bentham (Moon) of Neon Films.

The Duke comes to UK cinemas from 25th February thanks to Pathé UK

Image - Pathé UK