Young Bess (1953)

The early life of Elizabeth I, from her childhood until her accession to the throne of England in 1558.

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Margaret Irwin (novel), Jan Lustig

Stars:

Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Chronicles the life of queen Elizabeth I, before she became the queen of England. Apart from taking part in the court intrigues, she is unhappily in love with admiral Thomas Seymour, and dreams of building a navy to match the Portuguese and the Spanish.

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Plot Keywords:

woodpile | queen | england | queen elizabeth i | throne | 

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Taglines:

A Great and Spectacular Drama!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 May 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Thronfolgerin

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,423,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,645,000, 31 December 1953

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,095,000, 31 December 1953

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rex Thompson and Deborah Kerr played mother and son in The King and I.

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Goofs

The film shows Anne Boleyn lowering her head to the block to be executed as many traitors of that time were executed. Although the ax is not shown, the fact is that Anne Boleyn was executed in the "French style" - by a sword, kneeling with head erect, and not by an ax.

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Quotes

Prince Edward: [muttering to Tom about Uncle Ned, who rules while Edward is King as a minor] I wish he'd die.
Thomas Seymour: What? What was that?
Prince Edward: I said, I wish he'd die. D-Y-E.
Thomas Seymour: It's the wrong spelling.
Prince Edward: [nonchalant] Oh, is it?
Ned Seymour: What is Your Majesty talking about?
Prince Edward: Spelling. Nobody knows for certain how to spell the King's English.
Ned Seymour: The spelling is not important, so long as the word carries the right meaning.
Thomas Seymour: The word His Majesty had *exactly* the right meaning.

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Connections

Featured in The World According to Smith & Jones: The Tudors (1987)

User Reviews

Young Bess Now On DVD!

It has been a long time arriving but "Young Bess" is finally available on the DVD format as of August 2010 through the Warner Bros. Archive program. These are made on demand discs that usually come from the best current material on the title. In other words the film has not been digitally restored as is often the case for new DVD pressings. In the case of "Young Bess" it comes from the material that would be used for screenings on Turner's Classic Movies and in this case it is a very satisfactory presentation. "Young Bess" boasts Technicolor cinematography by two time Oscar winner Charles Rosher (Oscars for Murnau's "Sunrise" and "The Yearling"). The color on the disc does justice to the original film. "Young Bess" is that rare film in which direction, screenplay, cast, costumes, musical score, sets all come together to provide a superior film experience. Jean Simmon's performance as the young Elizabeth is one of her two or three best roles. If you love this film as I do then you'll want to order it at wbshop.com and you may also find other titles to add to your collection