The Virgin Queen (1955)
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59% of users liked it
(1,636 ratings)
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… More 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. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Henry Koster
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jul 23, 1955 Wide
- Studio
- Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Critic Reviews
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Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
Standard costume fare enlivened by Bette Davis's fuming and growling.
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Dan Callahan, Slant 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.
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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Bette Davis
as Elizabeth I
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Richard Todd
as Sir Walter Raleigh
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Joan Collins
as Beth Throgmorton
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Jay Robinson
as Chadwick
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Herbert Marshall
as Lord Leicester
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Dan O'Herlihy
as Lord Derry
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Robert Douglas
as Sir Christopher Hatton
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Romney Brent
as French Ambassador
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Marjorie Hellen
as Courtier
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Lisa Daniels
as Mary
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Lisa Davis
as Jane
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Barry Bernard
as Patch Eye
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Robert Adler
as Postillion Rider
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Noel Drayton
as Tailor
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Ian Murray
as Gentleman of the Bedchamber
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Rod Taylor
as Cpl. Gwilym
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David Thursby
as Landlord
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Arthur E. Gould-Porter
as Randall the Ship Builder
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John Costello
as Town Crier
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Frank Baker
as Physician
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Ashley Cowan
as Sailor
- Nelson Leigh
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Leslie Parrish
as Anne
