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IMDbPro

Mary of Scotland

  • 19361936
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h 3m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Katharine Hepburn and Fredric March in Mary of Scotland (1936)
The recently widowed Mary Stuart returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne but is opposed by her half-brother and her own Scottish lords.
Play trailer3:32
1 Video
74 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory
The recently widowed Mary Stuart returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne but is opposed by her half-brother and her own Scottish lords.The recently widowed Mary Stuart returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne but is opposed by her half-brother and her own Scottish lords.The recently widowed Mary Stuart returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne but is opposed by her half-brother and her own Scottish lords.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
    • John Ford
    • Leslie Goodwins(uncredited)
    • Dudley Nichols(screen play)
    • Maxwell Anderson(from the play by)
    • Mortimer Offner(contributing writer)
  • Stars
    • Katharine Hepburn
    • Fredric March
    • Florence Eldridge
    • John Ford
    • Leslie Goodwins(uncredited)
    • Dudley Nichols(screen play)
    • Maxwell Anderson(from the play by)
    • Mortimer Offner(contributing writer)
  • Stars
    • Katharine Hepburn
    • Fredric March
    • Florence Eldridge
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 29User reviews
    • 19Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 3:32
    Watch Trailer

    Photos74

    "Mary of Scotland" Katharine Hepburn 1936 RKO **I.V.
    722-2257 KATHARINE HEPBURN IN CHARETER AS "MARY OF SCOTLAND" DOOLITTLE
    Katharine Hepburn and Fredric March in Mary of Scotland (1936)
    Katharine Hepburn and John Carradine in Mary of Scotland (1936)
    Mary of Scotland (1936)
    Katharine Hepburn, Fredric March, and Douglas Walton in Mary of Scotland (1936)
    Mary of Scotland (1936)
    Mary of Scotland (1936)
    Katharine Hepburn and Fredric March in Mary of Scotland (1936)
    Katharine Hepburn in Mary of Scotland (1936)
    Katharine Hepburn in Mary of Scotland (1936)
    Katharine Hepburn, Mary Gordon, and Fredric March in Mary of Scotland (1936)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Katharine Hepburn
    Katharine Hepburn
    • Mary Stuart
    Fredric March
    Fredric March
    • Earl of Bothwell
    Florence Eldridge
    Florence Eldridge
    • Elizabeth Tudor
    Douglas Walton
    Douglas Walton
    • Lord Darnley
    John Carradine
    John Carradine
    • David Rizzio
    Robert Barrat
    Robert Barrat
    • Norton
    Gavin Muir
    Gavin Muir
    • Leicester
    Ian Keith
    Ian Keith
    • James Stuart - Earl of Moray
    Moroni Olsen
    Moroni Olsen
    • John Knox
    William Stack
    • Ruthven
    Ralph Forbes
    Ralph Forbes
    • Randolph
    Alan Mowbray
    Alan Mowbray
    • Throckmorton
    Frieda Inescort
    Frieda Inescort
    • Mary Beaton
    Donald Crisp
    Donald Crisp
    • Huntly
    David Torrence
    David Torrence
    • Lindsay
    Molly Lamont
    Molly Lamont
    • Mary Livingstone
    Anita Colby
    Anita Colby
    • Mary Fleming
    Jean Fenwick
    Jean Fenwick
    • Mary Seton
      • John Ford
      • Leslie Goodwins(uncredited)
      • Dudley Nichols(screen play)
      • Maxwell Anderson(from the play by)
      • Mortimer Offner(contributing writer) (uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Katharine Hepburn credited John Ford with saving her life one day on the set. They were shooting a scene of Hepburn on horseback when the horse she was riding kept going unexpectedly. Ford yelled at Hepburn to duck just before she was about to collide with a low branch.
    • Goofs
      In the movie, Mary's execution takes place outdoors. It actually took place in the great hall of Fotheringay Castle.
    • Quotes

      Mary, Queen of Scots: [to Queen Elizabeth I] I might have known you'd come to gloat like this - stealthily, under cover of night.

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits: "Like two fateful stars, Mary Stuart and Elizabeth Tudor appeared in the sixteenth century, to reign over two great nations in the making ... They were doomed to a life-and-death struggle for supremacy, a lurid struggle that still shines across the pages of history ... But today, after more than three centuries, they sleep side by side, at peace, in Westminster Abbey."

      ENGLAND
    • Alternate versions
      Exists in a computer-colorized version.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Costume Designer (1950)

    User reviews29

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    The Queen Who Was Too Contrary - And What Happened at Kirk'a'Field?
    Brooks Atkinson was a first rate drama critic for the New York Times. He had blind spots. He over enthused on the career of Maxwell Anderson. Anderson wrote some good plays such as "Winterset", but Anderson was enthusiastic of Anderson's pompous attempts to do dramas in blank verse: "Mary Of Scotland", "Elizabeth The Queen", and "Anne Of The Thousand Days".

    The problem with these plays is, even if they get the history right they are too stiff. Compare the conclusion of "Elizabeth The Queen" to "A Man For All Seasons". Yes, the loneliness of the elderly Elizabeth is shown as Essex goes to his doom - but in reality Elizabeth knew there were other young men to replace her dangerous, ambitious lover. In "All Seasons" the tragedy of a rotten system crushing the life of a decent, thoughtful man like Thomas More is far more powerful as it's stark tragedy is silently brought to us.

    That said, the first of the three Tudor tragedies to be filmed was "Mary Of Scotland". It is above average because it is starring Katherine Hepburn (a distant relative of Mary's third husband the Earl of Bothwell) and Frederic March, and directed wholly or partially by John Ford. It suffers from being black and white, except for one moment of sheer unexpected terror: when Mary sees the Scots nobles who oppose her they are photographed in such light and darkness to look like ogres in a nightmare.

    The film follows the reign of Mary from 1560 to her execution in 1587. Most Americans do not understand the great difficulties that Mary (and Elizabeth) both faced in their parallel reigns. While England and Scotland allowed for female monarchs, women were not considered good material for rulers. They were considered governed by their emotions more than by their brains. Those women who ruled well were usually married to capable partners (Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon of Spain). More frequently they were dismissed as misfits, like Isabella and Ferdinand's daughter Juana the Mad).

    Mary had other problems. From 1400 to 1560 the nobles of Scotland got a great boon. Scotland had a series of minors who grew up to be king, married, and then died before they could cement their monarchic views on the government. The nobles cemented their local powers at the expense of a weak central authority.

    Mary had been Queen of France, married to Francis II who ruled for a two year period (1559 - 1560). As Mary was the niece of the Duc De Guise, the king's power-hungry mother Catherine De Medici hated her. When Francis died suddenly, Catherine encouraged Mary to return to rule her own country. Surprised Mary did so, not realizing that she was unprepared to start ruling. She was a Catholic, and she really needed some time to understand the need to compromise and take advice from Protestants. She never did understand this.

    Her foes hated her and were fully supported by Elizabeth, who never could see that an attempt to join forces with her cousin might pay back great dividends. But then Mary was ambitious - she wanted to be Queen of England as well as Scotland. Her Catholic supporters felt she was legitimate Queen of England (as Henry VIII had briefly disowned Elizabeth as a bastard when he executed her mother Anne). So the peaceful resolution of their differences was almost impossible.

    Elizabeth had only to watch from the sidelines, with only an occasional move on her own part, to see Mary wreck her own position. She encouraged a marriage between another cousin/potential heir Lord Henry Darnley to Mary (Mary almost chose Elizabeth's lover Robert Dudley!). The marriage was a disaster, as Darnley was an ambitious fool and vicious scoundrel. But it cemented a Scottish succession to the British throne from two Tudor heirs instead of one.

    Hepburn portrays Mary as a brave woman desperately seeking a way out of the difficult situation she has inherited, especially tied to Darnley by marriage and facing the ghouls who are John Knox (Moroni Olsen) and the Scottish nobles - led by her jealous half brother the Earl of Moray (Ian Keith). Her only allies are the independent Earl of Bothwell (March) and her secretary Rizzio (John Carridine). The murder of the latter (implicating Darnley) is the first step to her loss of the throne, and to the death of her husband. We know today that Kirk'a'Field house was blown up by Bothwell, but to this day we don't know if Mary was implicated. It remains one of the big mysteries of the 16th Century.

    Historically Bothwell was no prince, but ambitious in his own right - he killed Darnley in order to marry Mary, and guide her to rule both Scotland and England. But March plays him as a man deeply in love with his Queen, and this enhances the story's tragedy - especially as Bothwell died in exile insane. The reason for this was his ship was captured by a Danish warship. Bothwell was guilty of a rape in Denmark, and was imprisoned. His punishment (which led to his madness) was to stand chained to a stone pillar that was half his height.

    The last ten minutes glosses over the road that led Mary to the block in England - her support of a plot by one Anthony Babbington to kill Elizabeth and let Mary take the throne. Elizabeth's spy-master Sir Francis Walsingham sprung this trap - though Elizabeth did not reject the result. Elizabeth allowed a functionary to be blamed for falsely getting her to sign the death warrant - but all she did was briefly imprison the man. Unlike her movie representative (Florence Eldritch) she never met Mary.

    A good film - but it is too gentle on Mary's failings, and not deep enough to explain what is going on in the background.
    helpful•53
    10
    • theowinthrop
    • Apr 22, 2006

    FAQ12

    • What is 'Mary of Scotland' about?
    • Is "Mary of Scotland" based on a book?
    • Who is Mary of Scotland?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 28, 1936 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 3 minutes
      • Black and White

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