The Virgin Queen

I cannot help but be disappointed by the reviews this movie has thusfar received in IMDb, but not surprised.

With respect to Glenda Jackson and Cate Blanchett, neither of those ladies can hold a patch on the brilliant Bette Davis, perhaps the greatest actress ever, as the immortal Queen Elizabeth I, perhaps the greatest monarch that England ever knew.

Whether or not the movie is weak history, the movie shines as a vehicle for La Davis. Richard Todd gives a decent performance, although I submit he has neither the acting chops nor the charisma of Errol Flynn. But he serves well in the role.

The costumes, cinematography and screenplay are bright and arresting. And like it or not, Bette Davis' brilliant, mannered, and astoundingly powerful depiction of Queen Elizabeth I has informed every ensuing depiction of the Virgin Queen

Elizabeth I is nearly always portrayed as stern and unemotional which is probably attributable to the early performances by Dame Flora Robson who set the Elizabeth blueprint. This performance by Bette Davis retains the blueprint but introduces a dark wit to the character. An example is when a scheming ambassador compliments her on her beautiful palace. She replies it was her fathers and that "I will tell him when I see him".

An ambitious adventurer named Walter Raleigh arrives at her court. He only wants three ships to sail and discover gold and the other treasures of the Americas. She takes an instant liking to the handsome Raleigh and the film revolves around her plotting to keep him at her side. She famously refused to marry because she believed in putting country first and here she manipulates Raleigh towards a private relationship that would not diminish her power as Queen in a man's world.

The colorful costumes look a bit party rental but there is plenty of historical accuracy apart from the myth of the "coat over the puddle". The performance from Richard Todd is good but there is little chemistry between him and his wife played by Joan Collins. She delivers her lines so hastily in a modern London accent as if she is about to get on a bus.

The Bette Davis interpretation of Elizabeth and the political machinations at her court are the focus points of the film. There are no dodgy Spanish Armadas or swashbuckling Errol Flynn types detracting from the storytelling or the excellent portrayal of Elizabeth.

This is Davis' second film in which she plays Queen Elizabeth I of England. Personally, I thought 1939's "Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" was better, but it is hard to compare the two since this film takes place 15 years earlier in history than "Private Lives" and has Davis essentially playing Elizabeth at the age - 47 - that Davis actually was at the time.

The earlier film had Davis at 31 playing Queen Elizabeth in her sixties, and thus the two films make for an interesting comparison. Here Richard Todd plays Sir Walter Raleigh, who, like Essex in the earlier film, is a younger man who trades on Elizabeth's love for him to gain some personal glory. Richard Todd plays Raleigh effectively, but there is just no topping the charisma of Flynn's performance in the earlier movie.

Also, this film is saddled with Joan Collins in a supporting role who always made any film she was in worse and almost single handedly caused the death of classic film on DVD with her box set of not so special Fox films.

Bette Davis is probably one of the greatest actresses of all time, and it is really outstanding that a Massachusetts lady can break all cultural barriers and incarnate an English Queen to such a degree of perfection. I really enjoyed her performance.

The rest of the cast is just acceptable. Richard Todd is handsome and the young Joan Collins is beatiful to watch. The costumes and settings are carefully reproduced, and Koster's direction is profesional. The dialogues are wonderfully written, though the story is not quite historically accurate.

By the way, the European VHS edition is simply disgusting: the film is cut to fit the normal TV screen 4:3, leaving out vital parts of it. For example, in a scene between Sir Walter Raleigh (Todd) and Bess Throckmorton (Collins), they are standing the one in front of the other at both sides of a huge paned window: the only thing you can see on screen is the window, while you hear both talking! A new DVD edition would be most welcome.

Basically a soap opera of it's day with Queen Liz and Elexis Carrington fighting over the handsome, young cad, Sir Walter Raleigh who among other things introduced cigarettes to the world. The movie won an academy award for its costumes which unlike the events depicted in the film are spot on in their historical detail.

Bettie Davies is brilliant as The Queen (the template for Miranda Richardson's version in Blackadder II) and Richard Todd looks the part as the dashing Sir Walter Raleigh. The DVD cut of this film, issued as part of the Studio Classics series, is pristine with the digital format bringing out the sheer spectacle of colour in the scenes in the royal court.

A great old fashioned drama.