The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
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| The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | |
|---|---|
| Image:PrivateLivesofElizabethandEssexDVDCover.jpg | |
| Directed by | Michael Curtiz |
| Produced by | Hal B. Wallis (executive producer) Robert Lord (associate producer) |
| Written by | Maxwell Anderson (play) Norman Reilly Raine Aeneas MacKenzie |
| Starring | Bette Davis Errol Flynn |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
| Release date(s) | November 11 1939 |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| IMDb profile | |
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) is a romantic drama film based on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I, portrayed by Bette Davis, and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, played by Errol Flynn. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz, and was based on the Maxwell Anderson play, Elizabeth the Queen, which had been successful on Broadway with Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt in the lead roles. The supporting cast included Olivia de Havilland, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale, Vincent Price and a young Nanette Fabray. The score was composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
The film was produced by Warner Brothers, which ensured the best of production values, and allowed the additional expense of filming in color. The film became the hit the studio had anticipated and returned a handsome profit.
Among the film's five Academy Award nominations was a nomination for Best Color Cinematography. Bette Davis was tipped to receive an Academy Award nomination for her role; however, she was nominated in that year for Dark Victory instead.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
- Bette Davis as Queen Elizabeth
- Errol Flynn as Robert Devereux
- Olivia de Havilland as Lady Penelope Gray
- Donald Crisp as Francis Bacon
- Vincent Price as Sir Walter Raleigh
- Henry Stephenson as Lord Burghley
Davis recounted later in life her difficulties in making the film. She had been very enthusiastic about the challenge of playing Elizabeth (in 1955, she would play her as an old woman in The Virgin Queen). She had lobbied for Laurence Olivier to play the part of Essex, but Warner Brothers, nervous at giving the part to an actor who was relatively unknown in the United States, instead cast Errol Flynn, who was at the height of his success. Davis felt he was not equal to the task, and also believed from past experience that his casual attitude to his work would be reflected in his performance. For her own part, she studied the life of Elizabeth, worked hard to adopt a passable accent, and shaved her hairline to achieve a greater resemblance.
[edit] Reception
The public liked Flynn's charming rogue of a character, his undisguised Australian accent notwithstanding, but the critics found him to be the weak link in the production, with The New York Times writing, "Bette Davis' Elizabeth is a strong, resolute, glamour-skimping characterization against which Mr. Flynn's Essex has about as much chance as a beanshooter against a tank." Many years later, however, Davis viewed the film with her friend, Olivia de Havilland. At the film's end, Davis turned to de Havilland and admitted, "I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Flynn was brilliant!"
[edit] References
- Stine, Whitney and Davis, Bette : Mother Goddam. Virgin Books. 1974
[edit] External links
Michael Curtiz | |
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| 1910s | The Last Bohemian • Today and Tomorrow • Captive Souls • My Husband's Getting Married • The Exile • The Borrowed Babies The Princess in a Nightrobe • Prisoner of the Night • Bánk Bán • Golddigger • One Who Is Loved By Two • Seven of Spades • The Karthauzer The Black Rainbow • The Wolf • The Medic • Mr. Doctor • Master Zoard • The Red Samson • The Last Dawn • Spring in Winter • Tartar Invasion Secret of St. Job Forest • Nobody's Son • The Charlatan • A Penny's History • The Fishing Bell • Earth's Man • The Colonel • Peace's Road Jean the Tenant • The Merry Widow • Magic Waltz • A Skorpió I. • The Devil • Lulu • Lu, the Coquette • Júdás • The Ugly Boy • Alraune (with Edmund Fritz) • 99 • The Sunflower Woman • The Lady with the Black Gloves |
| 1920s | Boccaccio • The Star of Damascus • The Scourge of God • Miss Tutti Frutti • Good and Evil • Mrs. Dane's Confession • Labyrinth of Horror Queen of Sin and the Spectacle of Sodom and Gomorrah • Young Medardus • Avalanche • Nameless • A Deadly Game • General Babka Harun al Raschid • Moon of Israel • Red Heels • Cab No. 13 • The Golden Butterfly • The Third Degree • A Million Bid • The Desired Woman Good Time Charley • Tenderloin • Noah's Ark • Glad Rag Doll • Madonna of Avenue A • The Gamblers • Hearts in Exile |
| 1930s | Mammy • Under a Texas Moon • The Matrimonial Bed • Bright Lights • A Soldier's Plaything • River's End • Demon of the Sea God's Gift to Women • The Mad Genius • The Woman from Monte Carlo • The Strange Love of Molly Louvain • Doctor X • The Cabin in the Cotton • 20,000 Years in Sing Sing • Mystery of the Wax Museum • The Keyhole • Private Detective 62 • Goodbye Again • The Kennel Murder Case • Female • Mandalay • Jimmy the Gent • The Key • British Agent • The Case of the Curious Bride • Black Fury • Front Page Woman • Little Big Shot • Captain Blood • The Walking Dead • The Charge of the Light Brigade • Stolen Holiday • Mountain Justice • Kid Galahad • The Perfect Specimen • Gold Is Where You Find It • The Adventures of Robin Hood (with William Keighley) • Four's a Crowd • Four Daughters • Angels with Dirty Faces • Dodge City • Daughters Courageous • The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex • Four Wives |
| 1940s | Virginia City • The Sea Hawk • Santa Fe Trail • The Sea Wolf • Dive Bomber • Captains of the Clouds • Yankee Doodle Dandy • Casablanca • Mission to Moscow • This Is the Army • Passage to Marseille • Janie • Roughly Speaking • Mildred Pierce • Night and Day • Life with Father The Unsuspected • Romance on the High Seas • My Dream Is Yours (with Friz Freleng) • Flamingo Road • The Lady Takes a Sailor |
| 1950s | Young Man with a Horn • Bright Leaf • The Breaking Point • Force of Arms • Jim Thorpe -- All-American • I'll See You in My Dreams The Story of Will Rogers • The Jazz Singer Trouble Along the Way • The Boy from Oklahoma • The Egyptian • White Christmas • We're No Angels The Scarlet Hour • The Vagabond King • The Best Things in Life Are Free • The Helen Morgan Story • The Proud Rebel • King Creole • The Hangman • The Man in the Net |
| 1960s | The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn • A Breath of Scandal • Francis of Assisi • The Comancheros |
| Short films | Jön az öcsém (1919) • Sons of Liberty (1939) |
| Productions | Bright Lights (1935) |
it:Il conte di Essex nl:The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex pt:The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex ru:Частная жизнь Елизаветы и Эссекса sv:Elizabeth och Essex
