Yes, it's about a romantic love conflict during the time Queen Elizabeth I was developing into womanhood, but it's not as bad as some. The costumes are colorful and the acting meets professional standards, in the case of Charles Laughton as Henry VII, rather beyond that. What a slob. I had to memorize all these kings and queens in high school. I remember all of them precisely -- Ethelred the Black, Frederik the Fatuous, Donald the Impotent, and Ivan the Terrible. Maybe I remember them as well as I do because the class was taught by the venomous and ill-favored Miss Chelydra Serpentina, Spinster, she who must be obeyed.
I've always kind of liked Jean Simmons, who plays Bess. She's not strikingly beautiful but she was splendid as Ophelia in Olivier's "Hamlet" and perfect as Estella in "Great Expectations." She's also good natured. I watched a location shoot in Echo Park and she played chipper word games with Ed Asner, a monster egotist. Here's Asner, shouting angrily to the director, "All right, let's get this thing going -- or are we only here to amuse the public!", meanwhile staring around and basking in the attention.
Stewart Granger is always likable too, handsome, sun tanned, and sporting a reassuring baritone. Unluckily he's cast in the part of the Admiral who loves two women at the same time -- the sassy and independent Jean Simmons, and the delicate and understanding Deborah Kerr. He pays for it, traduced by his own brother.
You'll probably enjoy it. It's a commercial entity. There are no scenes of action but not much abject sobbing either. A decent semi-historical love story with impressive wardrobe and production design.
I've always kind of liked Jean Simmons, who plays Bess. She's not strikingly beautiful but she was splendid as Ophelia in Olivier's "Hamlet" and perfect as Estella in "Great Expectations." She's also good natured. I watched a location shoot in Echo Park and she played chipper word games with Ed Asner, a monster egotist. Here's Asner, shouting angrily to the director, "All right, let's get this thing going -- or are we only here to amuse the public!", meanwhile staring around and basking in the attention.
Stewart Granger is always likable too, handsome, sun tanned, and sporting a reassuring baritone. Unluckily he's cast in the part of the Admiral who loves two women at the same time -- the sassy and independent Jean Simmons, and the delicate and understanding Deborah Kerr. He pays for it, traduced by his own brother.
You'll probably enjoy it. It's a commercial entity. There are no scenes of action but not much abject sobbing either. A decent semi-historical love story with impressive wardrobe and production design.