This was the theory anyway. In November 1965, however, a 61 year-old former bus driver from Newcastle upon Tyne in Northern England stood up at London’s Central Criminal Court declaring that he had taken it. He said that he never intended to keep it. “My sole objective in all this was set up a charity for the payment of television licences. [which fund the BBC in Britain]Our affluent society seems to neglect the old and poor.
This wasn’t the story of a malevolent Dr No or a glamorous Thomas Crown committing the perfect crime, but of a chap named Kempton Bunton who embodied British eccentricity, underdog rebelliousness, have-a-go spirit, absurd luck, and sheer bloody-minded cheek. And now the stranger-than-fiction tale of the world’s most unlikely fine-art thief has been made into a sparkling comedy drama, The Duke, starring Jim Broadbent as Bunton and Helen Mirren as his long-suffering wife. Chris Bunton is Kempton’s great-grandson and one of its executive producers. Chris Bunton tells BBC Culture that it was always a story about working-class struggle. “The family didn’t have two pennies to rub together, they were dealing with poverty as well as a lot of tragedy, and that influenced their psyche and their decision-making process. It is unlike any other heist.
Dreamer and activist
Kempton Bulton was a well-known character in Newcastle, long before the Goya were stolen. He was often fired for standing up for his coworkers against the management. Bunton was an aspiring playwright but his scripts were rejected by the BBC. Bunton was also an activist who believed television was a lifeline to lonely pensioners, particularly veterans from World War One. Without an annual license, owning a television in Britain was illegal. Bunton felt that the fees were too expensive for poor people and protested his refusal to pay his licence fee. He was sentenced to three brief stints in prison in 1960. Nicky Bentham (producer of The Duke) says that Kempton was a dreamer beyond his station. “He held on to these ideals, this sense community, and the idea that one individual could make a significant impact. It was a wonderful, uplifting, and inspiring experience for him to finally have a platform to express his thoughts to the world.
Bunton’s tragic life was also a tragedy, according to his grandson. Roger Michell directed the film, which was also written by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman. The film shows Bunton’s wayward behavior in relation to the grief and guilt that he felt after Marion died in a bike accident. Chris says, “I don’t think that this justifies what he did.” But, “it was really horrendous.”
Source: bbc
