The Virgin Queen

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Movie Info

Having previously portrayed England's Queen Elizabeth I in 1939's The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, Bette Davis reprises the role in the Technicolor-and-Cinescope costumer The Virgin Queen. Harry Brown and Mindret Lord's screenplay proposes that Elizabeth's relationship with adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd) was somewhat more than cordial. Raleigh is depicted as a charming opportunist, who deliberate leads the Queen on in order to further his chances of heading an expedition to the New World. Complications ensue when Sir Walter falls in love with lady-in-waiting Beth Throgmorton (Joan Collins). Not to be believed for a single moment, The Virgin Queen works well on a swashbuckler level, with Davis outacting everyone in sight-even such veteran scene-stealers as Herbert Marshall, Dan O'Herlihy, and Jay "Caligula" Robinson.

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Classics, Drama
Directed By:

Henry Koster
Written By:

Harry Brown, Mindret Lord
In Theaters:

Jul 23, 1955 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Apr 8, 2008
Runtime:

92 minutes
Studio:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Cast

Bette Davis
as Queen Elizabeth I

Richard Todd
as Sir Walter Raleigh

Joan Collins
as Beth Throgmorton

Herbert Marshall
as Lord Leicester

Jay Robinson
as Chadwick

Dan O'Herlihy
as Lord Derry

Robert Douglas
as Sir Christopher Hatton

Romney Brent
as French Ambassador

Leslie Parrish
as Anne

Lisa Daniels
as Mary

Lisa Davis
as Jane

Barry Bernard
as Patch Eye

Robert Adler
as Postillion Rider

Noel Drayton
as Tailor

Ian Murray
as Gentleman of the Bedchamber

Margery Weston
as Dame Bragg

Rod Taylor
as Cpl. Gwilym

David Thursby
as Landlord

Arthur E. Gould-Porter
as Randall the Ship Builder

John Costello
as Town Crier

Nelson Leigh
as Physician

Frank Baker
as Physician

Ashley Cowan
as Sailor

View All

Critic Reviews for The Virgin Queen

All Critics (2) | Fresh (1) | Rotten (1)

Bette Davis (under a red fright-wig) portrays Elizabeth the First, with Richard Todd as the dashing Sir Walter Raleigh, in a corny but enjoyable story of Tudor England.

December 5, 2019 | Full Review…

Clyde Gilmour
Maclean's Magazine
Henry Koster's direction is competent, for him, but Franz Waxman's music is no substitute for Erick Wolfgang Korngold's classic score for Elizabeth and Essex.

March 31, 2008 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Dan Callahan
Slant Magazine

View All Critic Reviews (2)

Audience Reviews for The Virgin Queen

Nov 01, 2014

a strong female lead role played aptly

Sanity Assassin ! Super Reviewer
Apr 28, 2009

Great swashbuckling with Bette Davis giving a forceful performance, and Harold Brown's screenplay providing several memorable segments. Richard Todd wisely gives Davis plenty of room, and she doesn't disappoint.

hawk l Super Reviewer