Günstling einer Königin

This is a far cry from the sentimental ahistorical nonsense I was expecting. It is all about the machinations of power, the ruthlessness that a ruler must uphold so as not to endanger her kingdom, about the necessity to put oneself aside and think of the greater good. Michael Curtiz, with the inestimable help of Bette Davis in one of her most heartwrenching cinematic portrayals, gets all his sinister points across and does not flinch. Sure enough, the ending is more Hollywood, I believe, than London, more glamorous heroics than real-life sacrifice, but even so, it does not stick in your throat. I loved the amorous, innocent banter and bickering of the queen and the earl in their many intimate moments, and Errol Flynn never photographed better. Was there ever anyone in the annals of Hollywood more handsome? Olivia De Havilland tries on a slightly different role than the goody-goody, doe-eyed ones she usually had to make do with. Technicolor cinematography and lighting are both superb.

Bette Davis and Errol Flynn, the Queen and King of Warner Bros. in the late '30s and early '40s, only worked together a couple of times. "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" is their major effort, and it's a very good one. Warners pulled out all the stops for this Technicolor extravaganza, and Curtiz directs with a sure hand. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's music is wonderful. The real star of the show, though, is Ms. Davis as Queen Elizabeth. With all the on-screen Elizabeths to choose from, you won't forget hers. I had just watched "The Sea Hawk" where Errol faces another great Elizabeth, Dame Flora Robson (even though they only have a couple of scenes together, but Errol seems much more at ease in that picture).

Bette made no secret of her dislike for the freewheeling, womanizing, undisciplined Flynn, and criticized his performance opposite her for years afterwards (although if memory serves she eventually relented and admitted he wasn't bad). Some may take issue with the pacing of the movie, but Bette's so good, Errol's so handsome, and the dialogue so adult and refreshing (and don't forget the reliable villain Henry Daniell), you can't help but like it.

I saw this movie when I was a child in Mexican black and white TV. Now it has been released in DVD in Spain by Divisa(2005) It is clear that true history is absent in most of the historic events related to the story. Essex was actually married to Penelope Rich (and not Gray, as in the movie), which meant nothing to his relationship to the queen. The meeting with Ireland's clan chief Tyrone was thought alright as treason, but when Essex entered London no one rouse with him. He passed a lot of time in his house, far from London, before the Queen made any decision on his final destiny... also Briton's uniforms in Ireland look Spanish...etc. The strange thing is that the story itself, as told by Curtiz, functions well. Davies is great ( a little bit overacting, but, who cares?), as the uncommon woman Elizabeth must have been. She did'not want Flynn to play the part: she asked for Laurence Olivier, but I sincerely think Flynn gave the necessary gaiety and spirits Essex would have had in reality, and Olivier would have spoiled that by his well known acting excesses, playing dark and severe where there should be light and superficial. Both, Davies and Flynn, seem profoundly in love and hate. Constanty driving in and out from and to love and politics. I would'not say this is a great movie, but it's worth while seeing it! (Excuse my English, I write better in Spanish)

I think there is a lot to like about Essex and Elizabeth. Even with moments of pedestrian pacing, parts where the dialogue seemed a little too ripe and the fact that to historians perhaps it is a travesty of history, there is still a lot to like. The film is shot in beautiful Technicolour and has lavish sets and costumes, and Korngold's score is very stirring indeed. The story is compelling enough, and the acting was actually not too bad. Errol Flynn I think did a really good job here, it didn't matter for me that the performance wasn't another Captain Blood or Robin Hood, it was still a good performance. And Bette Davis is very good as Elizabeth, while Davis reportedly hated working on the picture the chemistry was believable enough. It was a delight to see Vincent Price here as Walter Raleigh, I have always liked Vincent Price, and he looks very handsome and quite nuanced in his role here, and Donald Crisp gives another great performance. The direction from Michael Curtiz is pretty much solid too. So overall, it was a good film, without being a great one. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This 1939 Technicolor film, which was directed by the notoriously tyrannical Hungarian Michael Curtiz is strangely unavailable on video at present. A wonderful film if you don't take it too seriously history-wise, because many of the characters and situations are fictionalized. Davis was only 31 here, but her valiant attempt to portray Good Queen Bess impressed the pious critics: a showy performance, Davis chews the scenery with zesty aplomb: it's never boring. Errol Flynn isn't as bad in his playing of Essex as many are led to believe, certainly, he didn't equal Davis as a thespian, but he lends the film his energy, looks and finesse. It has been widely implied that Davis herself wanted Laurence Olivier for the role of Essex, but he was busy doing WUTHERING HEIGHTS. As Lady Penelope Grey, a purely fictional character, Olivia de Havilland is lovely but her performance isn't particularly captivating, owing to a rather weakly drawn character. The real surprise performance of the lesser cast members is that of Nanette Fabares as a lady-in-waiting. Truly genuine and sincerely heartfelt is her brief emotional scene with the Virgin Queen. The sets are magnificent, the old Technicolor gorgeous, and the Erich Wolfgang Korngold score is stellar. A finely crafted movie version of Maxwell Anderson's ELIZABETH THE QUEEN, hopefully this semi-controversial film will find its way back on video soon.