Review: The Virgin Queen


Sir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd) enters the court of cantankerous, aging Queen Elizabeth I (Bette Davis), and quickly becomes a trusted aide (and perhaps the object of her desire) until Raleigh becomes smitten with one of her (younger) ladies-in-waiting (Joan Collins). Dan O’Herlihy plays Raleigh’s trusted Irish pal Lord Derry, Herbert Marshall is Lord Leicester, and Robert Douglas is the film’s (somewhat) heavy Sir Christopher Hatton.


This 1955 Henry Koster (“Desiree”, “The Bishop’s Wife”) costumer was Davis’ second go-round as Queen Elizabeth I, and is a fine movie in which Davis’ terrific performance is further aided by a sturdy Todd, and smaller turns by Marshall (who should’ve been in the film more), and yes, even Collins proves up to the task. All that’s missing are the top-tier baddies like a Vincent Price or Henry Daniell (both of whom co-starred with Bette in the other QE I film “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex”), or maybe a flashy cameo by a Robert Morley or Sir Peter Ustinov, but at least the somewhat Burton-esque Todd is a much better actor than Errol Flynn.


The screenplay is by Harry Brown (who won an Oscar for his screenplay for “A Place in the Sun”) and Mindret Lord. More handsome but ultimately on about the same level of enjoyment as the earlier film. Duly received an Oscar nomination for the fine costumes by Charles LeMaire (Oscar winner for “All About Eve”, “The Robe”, and “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing”) and Mary Wills (the underrated weepie “Enchantment”, but also an Oscar-winner for “The Wonderful World of The Brothers Grimm”). A must for enthusiasts of royal costume dramas, not to mention fans of Bette Davis.


Rating: B-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Hellraiser (2022)

Recovering junkie Odessa A’zion accompanies scuzzy boyfriend Drew Starkey on a break-in where all they find is a weird puzzle box. A’zion later opens the box and after some weird shit happens, A’zion and Starkey figure it might be a good idea to learn more about this messed up trinket. Goran Visnjic plays a millionaire who possessed the box before our protagonist nicked it.   Is there any point in remaking/rebooting “Hellraiser” when the 1987 adaptation of Clive Barker’s original text was written and directed by Barker himself? And is considered a horror classic? On evidence here, absolutely not. Directed by David Bruckner ( “The Signal” ) and scripted by Ben Collins ( “The Night House” ) and Luke Piotrowski (ditto) this is an entirely tedious affair. I took a long time to get on board with the 1987 “Hellraiser” , I have to admit. It was wildly imaginative and original, like a nightmare transplanted on to film. However, the characters were stone cold and left me similarly chilly t
Read more

Review: Cinderella (1950)

The story of poor young Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods), treated as a servant by her nasty stepmother (voiced by Eleanor Audley), and dismissed by her thoroughly rotten, ugly stepsisters. Her only friends are a group of mice, who are forever being menaced by a cat named Lucifer (or as I call him, Grumpy Cheshire Cat). The King (hoping to find a wife for his charming son) is throwing a ball and every available young woman is invited to attend, and Cinderella is most excited to go. However, her stepmother and stepsisters do all they can to prevent this from happening. But with help from the mice and one fairy godmother (voiced by Verna Felton) later, and Cinderella looks set to attend the ball. You know the rest, folks.   Lovely 1950 Disney animated movie from directors Clyde Geronimi ( “Peter Pan” , “Lady and the Tramp” ), Wilfred Jackson ( “Fantasia” , “Alice in Wonderland” , “Peter Pan” ) & Hamilton Luske ( “Pinocchio” , “Fantasia” , “Peter Pan” ), that is a bit too s
Read more

Review: Eugenie de Sade

Eugenie (Soledad Miranda) makes a deathbed confession to author/biographer (Jesus ‘Jess’ Franco himself), recounting the tale of how her depraved stepfather (Paul Muller) groomed her into a life of depravity, debauchery, and murder.   Not to be confused with the similarly titled “Eugenie…The Story of Her Journey into Perversion” (by the same director) or “Justine de Sade” (which is not to be confused with Franco’s own “Justine” for that matter), this 1973 Marquis de Sade adaptation from writer-director Jesus Franco ( “99 Women” , “A Virgin Among the Living Dead” ) is perhaps the perfect marriage of Franco, sleazy material, and actors. Basically this is what Franco’s “She Killed in Ecstasy” might’ve been like if it were based on a Marquis de Sade work. There’s a few slow spots here and there, but overall I actually think this is Franco’s best film. Yes, even better than my previous choice “Vampyros Lesbos” , and better than his more ‘respectable’ films like “Count Dracula” (a
Read more