Young Bess (1953)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Margaret Irwin (novel)
Jan Lustig (writer) ...

Release Date:

29 May 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Chronicles the life of queen Elizabeth I, before she became the queen of England. Apart from taking part in the court intrigues...

Plot Keywords:

Queen | Queen Of England | Court | Unhappy Love | Queen Elizabeth I

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jean Simmons	...	Young Bess (Queen Elizabeth I)
Stewart Granger	...	Thomas Seymour
Deborah Kerr	...	Catherine Parr
Charles Laughton	...	King Henry VIII
Kay Walsh	...	Mrs. Ashley
Guy Rolfe	...	Ned Seymour
Kathleen Byron	...	Ann Seymour
Cecil Kellaway	...	Mr. Parry
Rex Thompson	...	Prince Edward / King Edward VI
Robert Arthur	...	Barnaby
Leo G. Carroll	...	Mr. Mums
Norma Varden	...	Lady Tyrwhitt
Alan Napier	...	Robert Tyrwhitt
Noreen Corcoran	...	Bess as a child
Ivan Triesault	...	Danish Envoy

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #16304)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Jean Simmons almost don't get the part of Elizabeth because she was considered too pretty.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the shot showing Elizabeth leaving Whitehall after Edward becomes king, her carriage becomes transparent (due to the matte painting of trees and sky behind it).

Quotes:

Anne Boleyn: [referring to her involvement in little Elizabeth's birth] But Henry, didn't I have a hand in it?
King Henry VIII: Of course.
[smiles wickedly at Anne]
King Henry VIII: But I gave you the idea.
[laughter from Anne and the courtiers]

Hollywood gloss triumphs - as usual.

Its historical inaccuracies aside (including its scrubbed and polished depiction of a far less sanitary time, even, most probably, amidst the pomp and pageantry of the royal court), this costume romance is typical of the very carefully produced and handsomely mounted style of M-G-M in the waning days of its preeminence among the major Hollywood studios. Its well-chosen cast performs most satisfactorily under George Sidney's assured direction and the artistic and technical credits are impeccable, notably the art direction and the almost absurdly luxurious costuming. This film was nominated in the color categories for those two contributions and, most unjustly in my opinion, lost out to Twentieth's first CinemaScope blockbuster, "The Robe," in both cases. The prolific Miklos Rozsa provides one of his more sprightly scores, deftly enhancing the script's focus on the romantic entanglements of the principals. Still, enough attention is paid to the great peril of being close to the apogee of power in England at the time. Throughout a sense of dread pervades the audience's hope that Young Bess might actually survive to realize her dream of a love fulfilled.