Tudor Rose (1936)

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Robert Stevenson (written by)
Miles Malleson (dialogue)

Release Date:

1 September 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

A dramatization of Lady Jane Grey's short life, from her forced marriage (which she resisted) to her...

Plot Keywords:

Beheading | Guard | Brother Brother Relationship | 1550s | Cannon

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Cedric Hardwicke	...	Earl of Warwick
John Mills	...	Lord Guilford Dudley
Felix Aylmer	...	Edward Seymour
Leslie Perrins	...	Thomas Seymour
Frank Cellier	...	Henry VIII
Desmond Tester	...	Edward VI
Gwen Ffrangcon Davies	...	Mary Tudor (as Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies)
Martita Hunt	...	Lady Grey - Jane's Mother
Miles Malleson	...	Duke Henry Grey - Jane's Father
Sybil Thorndike	...	Ellen
Nova Pilbeam	...	Lady Jane Grey

Also Known As:

Lady Jane Grey
Nine Days a Queen (USA)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Islington, London, England, UK

Company:

Gainsborough Pictures

Trivia:

Although Nova Pilbeam's name appears above the title (along with Cedric Hardwicke), she is billed last in the comprehensive cast list.

Soundtrack:

Aftime with Goode Companie

First film to dramatise the story of Lady Jane Grey

This film is a misfire, but it was hard to put my finger on why, at first. The acting is superb, led by Sir Cedric Hardwicke as the Duke of Northumberland, Nova Pilbeam as Jane Grey, a young John Mills as Guilford Dudley, and fine character actors such as Miles Malleson and John Laurie, to name but a few. The camera work and particularly the lighting make for many a striking composition. The music, however, though of adequate period flavour, is what pulls down all of the proceedings. It is simply too dull, too slow, and entirely out of sync with the tone of many scenes. A score by someone of the calibre of, say, Miklos Rozsa would have worked wonders with this picture! Or John Greenwood, Muir Mathieson, or any number of musicians who worked on British films in the 1930s. Alas...

Also, I was surprised at how patently ignored Lady Jane Grey's faith in Christ was. Only John Knox (played by Laurie) or those surrounding her execution make any mention of God or the Scriptures. This is one area that was more satisfactorily explored in the 1986 film "Lady Jane" (with Helena Bonham Carter playing the title role).