Fire Over England (1937)

During the reign of Elizabeth I, a young man's fervent devotion to the crown and to his sweetheart, a lady-in-waiting, lead him to battle for England's victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Director:

William K. Howard

Writers:

A.E.W. Mason (novel), Clemence Dane (screenplay)

Stars:

Laurence Olivier, Flora Robson, Vivien Leigh

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Flora Robson	...	Queen Elizabeth
Raymond Massey	...	Philip of Spain
Leslie Banks	...	Leicester
Laurence Olivier	...	Michael
Vivien Leigh	...	Cynthia
Morton Selten	...	Burleigh
Tamara Desni	...	Elena
Lyn Harding	...	Sir Richard
George Thirlwell	...	Gregory
Henry Oscar	...	Spanish Ambassador
Robert Rendel	...	Don Miguel (as Robert Rendell)
Robert Newton	...	Don Pedro
Donald Calthrop	...	Don Escobal
James Mason	...	Vane
Charles Carson	...	Adm. Valdez

Storyline

Queen Elizabeth I (Dame Flora Robson) is running this show. The men in her court should be thinking about how to add to the glory of the Elizabethan Age and how to foil those pesky Spanish who have far too much influence in England when her older sister Mary was on the throne, after their father Henry VIII was succeeded by their sickly half-brother. Elizabeth thinks Michael Ingolby (Sir Laurence Olivier) can do great things. Michael is mostly thinking about one of Elizabeth's ladies in waiting, Cynthia (Vivien Leigh). Soon his mind is on survival when Elizabeth sends him on a voyage to Spain.

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Plot Keywords:

queen elizabeth i | boat on fire | spanish history | european history | british history | 

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Taglines:

. . . A truly brilliant producer brings you a thrilling tale of love and danger that will live in your memory as long as there is romance in your heart !

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Genres:

Adventure | History | Romance | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

In this movie, Vivien Leigh played "Cynthia", a servant of Queen Elizabeth I (Dame Flora Robson). In Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), Robson played Ftatateeta, a servant of Queen Cleopatra (Leigh).

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Goofs

Queen Elizabeth uses a small telescope to check on the progress of her fleet against the Spanish Armada (1588). The telescope was invented in 1608, five years after her death.

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Quotes

Spanish Ambassador: If your majesty will not hear words, we must come to cannon and see if you will hear them.
Queen Elizabeth I of England: If you use threats of that kind, I will chase you out of my kingdom.
Spanish Ambassador: But, your grace. You MUST listen.
Queen Elizabeth I of England: Must? Little man, little man, must is NOT a word to use to princes. Our council shall confer with you. Meanwhile, go home and be quiet!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: IN 1587 SPAIN POWERFUL IN THE OLD WORLD MASTER IN THE NEW

ITS KING PHILIP RULES BY FORCE AND FEAR

BUT SPANISH TYRANNY IS CHALLENGED BY THE FREE PEOPLE OF A LITTLE ISLAND

ENGLAND

EVERYWHERE ENGLISH TRADERS APPEAR ENGLISH SEAMEN THREATEN SPANISH SUPREMACY

A WOMAN GUIDES AND INSPIRES THEM ELIZABETH THE QUEEN.

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Connections

Referenced in Elizabeth & Essex: Battle Royale (2005)

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Soundtracks

The Spanish Lady's Love
(uncredited)
Sixteenth century English ballad by Henry Morley
Sung by Vivien Leigh
Reprised by Laurence Olivier and Tamara Desni
Reprised by Laurence Olivier at the Spanish court
Played as background music often

User Reviews

FIRE OVER ENGLAND (William K. Howard, 1937) ***1/2

Renowned and handsomely-mounted early British spectacular with imposing credentials – producers Alexander Korda and Erich Pommer, cinematographer James Wong Howe, art director Lazare Meerson, special effects creator Ned Mann – and a cast virtually assembling the cream of the crop working in the country at that particular moment – Laurence Olivier, Flora Robson, Leslie Banks, Vivien Leigh, Raymond Massey, Robert Newton, James Mason – all of which is complemented by a suitably rousing score from Richard Addinsell.

The narrative revolves around the planned invasion of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I by the Spanish armada of King Philip II (with help from British traitors); the former is magnificently embodied by Robson (who would eventually return to the role in Hollywood for the Errol Flynn vehicle THE SEA HAWK [1940]), while the latter is played by Massey as a sleek but cagey monarch. With one of the dissidents among her ranks (Mason) intercepted, the English Queen appoints a young naval officer (Olivier) – who had just lost his admiral father to the Spanish Inquisition – to assume the conniver's identity and travel to Philip's court in order to obtain the names of his associates and establish the enemy's strategy for attack. Complications arise when one of the Spanish ruler's subordinates (Newton) is revealed to be married to the woman (pretty Tamara Desni – the German-born Russian actress died in France only last month at the venerable age of 97!) who had previously cared for the wounded Olivier, their respective fathers having been the best of friends. Torn between betraying his country or his wife, Newton engineers Olivier's flight home – whereupon the latter receives a knighthood, before being promptly sent by his sovereign (along with the conspirators newly-swayed to patriotic duty) on a mission to destroy the approaching enemy fleet!

The film maintains a good balance throughout between romance (thanks to Olivier's matinée idol looks, he's briefly involved with Desni apart from his love interest in England – provided by future wife Leigh, as the Queen's lady-in-waiting, in the first of three on-screen collaborations…though Robson herself is shown carrying a hesitant torch for veteran and devoted chief adviser Banks!), intrigue (in effect at both camps), action (including raids by pirate ships, a couple of chases, discreet swordplay and culminating in the final elaborate fiery offensive) and propaganda (WWII was already looming at this point). While the print I viewed turned out to be anything but pristine, I was grateful to have finally caught this altogether splendid historical epic; incidentally, I'd become acquainted with several wonderful Korda productions over the years on both Italian TV and VHS – but, oddly enough, FIRE OVER ENGLAND itself seldom turned up until now in my neck of the woods!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 March 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fire Over England

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System Noiseless Wide Range Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1