Young Bess (1953)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Margaret Irwin (novel)
Jan Lustig (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

29 May 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

Plot:

Chronicles the life of queen Elizabeth I, before she became the queen of England. Apart from taking part in the court intrigues...

Plot Keywords:

Queen | England | Love | Court | Queen Elizabeth I

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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
Elaine Stewart	...	Anne Boleyn
Dawn Addams	...	Kate Howard
Doris Lloyd	...	Mother Jack
Lumsden Hare	...	Archbishop Cranmer
Lester Matthews	...	Sir William Paget
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Cavendish	...	Council Man (uncredited)
Frank Eldredge	...	English Officer (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Charles Keane	...	Halberdier (uncredited)
Raymond Lawrence	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Fee Malten	...	Woman (uncredited)
Clive Morgan	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Carl Saxe	...	Executioner (uncredited)
John Sheffield	...	English Officer (uncredited)
Reginald Sheffield	...	Court Recorder (uncredited)
John Trueman	...	Yeoman (uncredited)
Ann Tyrrell	...	Mary (uncredited)
Patrick Whyte	...	Officer (uncredited)
Ian Wolfe	...	Stranger (uncredited)

Directed by
George Sidney

Writing credits
Margaret Irwin		(novel)
Jan Lustig		(writer) and
Arthur Wimperis		(writer)

Produced by
Sidney Franklin	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(as Miklos Rozsa)

Cinematography by
Charles Rosher		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ralph E. Winters

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons
Urie McCleary

Set Decoration by
Jack D. Moore
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Rhein	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording supervisor

Special Effects by
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	special effects
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects

Editorial Department
Alvord Eiseman	....	color consultant

Music Department
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Henri Jaffa	....	technicolor color consultant

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1953) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #16304)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Cast as on-screen lovers Young Bess (Queen Elizabeth I) and Sir Thomas Seymour, in real life Jean Simmons and Stewart Granger were married to each other when this movie was filmed.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the shot showing Elizabeth leaving Whitehall after Edward becomes king, her carriage becomes transparent (due to the matte painting of trees and sky behind it).

Quotes:

Thomas Seymour: If you were queen of England, what would you do, eh? Would you give your admiral the opportunity to do great deeds?
Young Bess: I'd give him the opportunities he never dared to dream about. I'd send him around the globe as the Portuguese do. I'd send him to the New World to let the Spaniards know that they are no longer masters of it.
Thomas Seymour: That won't be easy. We're a small country, Bess.
Young Bess: That can be remedied, Tom. It CAN be remedied!

Re-Writing History!

This is what happens when a film studio and a novelist places history on the big screen. Historical accuracy and truth takes second place when it comes to spinning a yarn. I just hope when kids watch this film, they do not rely on it as facts for their education. The real story itself was intriguing enough without having to bend the truth. So, why did they?

Anyway, in the film, Elizabeth (I) was madly in love with Thomas Seymour. From historical records, Thomas was supposedly the person who made advances on Elizabeth (I) but was unsuccessful. In the film, Edward Seymour was seen as a callous power hungry puppeteer in the royal court. In history, he was a successful military man when he battled oppositions at Pinkie, Scotland (1547). Edward was also responsible for religious reforms and in relaxing heresy and treason laws. In the film, he sent his brother Thomas to the scaffold because of his paranoia over power struggle threats. In history, the execution of Thomas by the council in 1549 was a significant blow to Edward and it weakened his power in England. The eventual arrest and execution of Edward in 1552 was conspired by John Dudley, Earl of Warwick and Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton to remove Seymour's protectorate power over his nephew, King Edward VI. Edward VI died at the age of 15 in 1553. Dudley induced the council to proclaim his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, as queen after Edward VI's death. Dudley was executed in 1554 by Mary (I) for treason.

Of course, there's no way of knowing precisely what really happened in history. But in rationale, a person should not be defamed or condemned (as in the case of Edward Seymour) based on hearsay, idle gossip, a romantic novel or a chick flick, even if they are dead over a few centuries. In theory, anyhow.

Anyway, I did enjoy this film as pure entertainment. Walter Plunkett's costume design was magnificent and the whole cast was superb. Miklos Rozsa's emotional music score was an incredible soul wrenching delight.

Is it worth seeing? Yes, definitely! It's entertaining, well acted and beautifully produced.