The Virgin Queen (1955)

Sir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd) overcomes court intrigue to win favor with Queen Elizabeth I (Bette Davis) in order to get financing for a proposed voyage to the New World.

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

Harry Brown, Mindret Lord

Stars:

Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bette Davis	...	Queen Elizabeth I
Richard Todd	...	Sir Walter Raleigh
Joan Collins	...	Beth Throgmorton
Jay Robinson	...	Chadwick
Herbert Marshall	...	Lord Leicester (Robert Dudley)
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Lord Derry
Robert Douglas	...	Sir Christopher Hatton
Romney Brent	...	French Ambassador
Leslie Parrish	...	Anne (as Marjorie Hellen)
Lisa Daniels	...	Mary

Storyline

Sir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd) gains an audience with Queen Elizabeth I (Bette Davis) and soon wins her over to his way of thinking. He wants ships to sail and make a name for England. A young ward of the court, Beth Throgmorton (Dame Joan Collins), is strongly attracted to Raleigh and returns the attraction. But soon the Queen shows her desires and he bends in order to achieve his goal of ships. But still, he loves Beth.

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Plot Keywords:

queen elizabeth i | year 1581 | knight | elizabethan era | queen of england | 

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Taglines:

CinemaScope spectacularly spreads before you the velvet cape and violent age of Sir Walter Raleigh and The Virgin Queen.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Set in 1581, Davis is effectively playing a younger Elizabeth than she had played in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), which was set in 1601.

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Goofs

At the concluding scene of the movie, Queen Elizabeth looks through her window with a telescope, an invention of 1608, five years after her death in 1603.

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Quotes

French Ambassador: May I compliment you, Madame, on this most beautiful palace? There is no other like it in all of Europe.
Queen Elizabeth I: It was my father's. I'll tell him when I see him.
French Ambassador: [not fully understanding her answer] Yes... but King Henry is dead. Madame jests?
Queen Elizabeth I: Madame never jests.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: In 1581 all the roads of England led to London -- for better or worse.

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Connections

Featured in 20th Century-Fox: The First 50 Years (1997)

User Reviews

THE VIRGIN QUEEN (Henry Koster, 1955) ***

16 years after portraying Queen Elizabeth I in Michael Curtiz's THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX (1939), Bette Davis donned the garments of the fiery British monarch once more for this fine (if largely unhistorical) costumer about another tumultuous relationship of hers – with Sir Walter Raleigh (here played by the late Richard Todd, who died just the other day aged 90). Although Davis unsurprisingly dwarfs the rest of the participants in the acting stakes, she is still surrounded by a most able cast that also includes Joan Collins (as one of Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting who, much to the latter's chagrin, becomes Mrs. Walter Raleigh and is carrying his child), Herbert Marshall (as the long-suffering Chancellor of England), Robert Douglas (as Elizabeth's villainous chief adviser), Dan O'Herlihy (as, controversially, an Irish lord and Raleigh's best friend) and Jay Robinson (as Douglas' reptilian henchman). There are some good lines (especially when Davis and Todd indulge in verbal sparring), two good fight sequences both involving Todd (a vigorous swordfight in a tavern at the start and an animated fistfight with Douglas towards the end), a serviceable score from Franz Waxman and, as is to be expected from a Grade-A studio product, the film is very handsome to behold (the costume designers nabbed its sole Oscar nod).

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sir Walter Raleigh

Filming Locations:

Stage 8, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (magnetic prints) Stereo (Western Electric Recording) Mono (Western Electric Recording) (optical prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1