The Virgin Queen (1955)

That was an excellent one.

Just perfect...

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

As always, Bette Davis gives it her all with her outbursts and moments of compassion. Unfortunately, the writing of the film leaves a lot to be desired. It basically deals with Sir Walter Raleigh getting on the good side of Davis's Elizabeth so as to get ships and money to go out to the new world. The film is basically confined to the queen's palace and there is also so much history out there which is conveniently ignored. Spain and France are mentioned as a matter of fact.Sometimes Davis sounded even comical with a voice comparable to Apple Annie (Pocketful of Miracles-1961) and Baby Jane, the great Davis thriller of 1962. These combined with a British accent are entertaining to say the least. Davis, as always, has that commanding presence. Unfortunately, the film did not. There is a good performance by Joan Collins, a lady-in-waiting who weds Raleigh, earnestly played by Richard Todd. Note Herbert Marshall in an obscure role as an Earl who introduces Raleigh to the queen. How grand Marshall and Davis were in 1941's "The Little Foxes."

It's funny, but although I am a retired history teacher and generally love historical films, I HATE stagy costumers like "The Virgin Queen". I find them to be stilted and doubt if they come close to capturing the historical figures they claim to portray. Now this doesn't mean that an Elizabethan story cannot work for me--I love, for example, "Sea Hawk"--mostly because it's not stuck in a royal court for most of the film. That sense of adventure makes the court scenes watchable--but here in "The Virgin Queen" it's all pretty dull.In this film, once again Bette Davis plays Elizabeth. Years earlier she played a younger version of this lady in "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex". Here, she's back and instead of playing against Essex, her paramour is Sir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd). The effect of Davis with the young, handsome and vigorous Todd is a bit necrophilic--though in real life, it was probably pretty much the same. The film finds Elizabeth to be highly autocratic and petulant (again, a lot like the real Elizabeth). Much of the film consists of Elizabeth behaving as if she's got 10 in-grown toenails. Her mood becomes a lot worse when Raleigh marries a pretty young lady-in-waiting (Joan Collins) and Raleigh falls into disfavor with the Queen. It's full of this and other sorts of intrigues--some of which is actually just a bit interesting. The problem is that all the really interesting parts of Raleigh's life are ignored or barely explored--such as his abortive attempt to colonize America at Roanoke, his expeditions to find the mythical city of El Dorado and his eventual imprisonment and execution during the reign of James I. Instead, it's all talk, talk, talk--and quickly becomes tedious. When SOME action does occur, it's really too late for me. I'd already become bored with the whole thing.While I didn't like the film very much, I give it a 5 simply because of its high production values. The costumes and sets are first-rate and look really nice in color and the actors try their best with the material they are given. Historically inaccurate and dull...it lacks the fun of "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" or "Blackadder II".

Basically a soap opera of it's day with Queen Liz and Elexis Carrington fighting over the handsome, young cad, Sir Walter Raleigh who among other things introduced cigarettes to the world. The movie won an academy award for its costumes which unlike the events depicted in the film are spot on in their historical detail.Bettie Davies is brilliant as The Queen (the template for Miranda Richardson's version in Blackadder II) and Richard Todd looks the part as the dashing Sir Walter Raleigh. The DVD cut of this film, issued as part of the Studio Classics series, is pristine with the digital format bringing out the sheer spectacle of colour in the scenes in the royal court.A great old fashioned drama.

Truly a spectacular movie featuring a young Richard Todd and an even younger Joan Collins. This movie is about a young man called Raleigh (Richard Todd) whoms biggest dream is to sail to the new world in search of treasures to help the English empire rebuild it´s glory days.Joan Collins plays the role of Bess Throckmorton a Lady of the court who fells in love with Richard Todd´s character Sir Walter Raleigh. The only difficulty is that her majesty the Queen played by Bette Davis also finds herself smittened by the mysterious Night.