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Post by petrolino on Oct 7, 2017 23:44:15 GMT
'The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex' has been called the greatest tale of unrequited love from Hollywood's Golden Year as well as one of the most passionate romances in film. The Earl of Essex (Errol Flynn) is a conquering hero with the English public having led the navy to victory in Cadiz, Spain. He's greeted by impatient ruler Queen Elizabeth (Bette Davis) in London who has awaited his love for far too long. Struck down by jealousy over the Earl's burgeoning popularity with her unwashed masses, Queen Elizabeth strikes him down publicly and sends him packing to Wanstead Castle in shame. The Earl's envious rivals in this royal court of intrigue include Sir Robert Cecil (Henry Daniell), Lord Burghley (Henry Stephenson) and Sir Walter Raleigh (Vincent Price) but he has a friend in Francis Bacon (Donald Crisp). Also pining for the handsome Earl is Lady Penelope Gray (Olivia De Havilland) who's determined to undermine Elizabeth's rule and win his hand. Things heat up considerably when the Earl of Tyrone (Alan Hale Sr.) revolts against English forces in Ireland and the Queen must summon the Earl of Essex to find a solution. "Do something. Sing, play, amuse me."
Errol Flynn & Bette Davis
'The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex' is a lavish period romance wrapped in grandiose pageantry. The rich colour process looks divine through Sol Polito's admiring camera lens and the bombastic music of composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold revels in pomp and circumstance. Expert construction from director Michael Curtiz ensured this expensive picture returned a handsome profit. "Bette Davis’ range was astonishing and kept her in great demand throughout all of her six decades in show business. Off-screen, Davis’ reputation was that of a strong-minded woman who could stand up to co-stars, reporters and even studio bosses."
- Priscilla Signorelli, Taste Of Cinema
"The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939): Errol strikes sparks with the fiercely intelligent Bette Davis, in a great example that Errol was not just dashing, but also could play political drama. Even the doubtful and harsh critic Davis was to say “Damn it! The man could act!”
- Paul Nugent, 'Errology 101 : My Top 10 Errol Flynn Films'
A Tribute to Bette Davis
Bette Davis' mannered turn as spoilt matriarch Queen Elizabeth, a self-centred shrew with caustic delivery, is something worth seeing. Davis' performance is so fidgety I wondered if her wig was too tight. Her short stature and white ruffled neck discuses make her appear like a disembodied head at times. Errol Flynn portrays Essex as a glorious dreamer with a hundred ladies-in-waiting who longs to be with his Queen but needs her to constantly flatter his ego. In another strange performance, Olivia De Havilland is at her most emotive as sneaky sprite Penelope, delivering a cracking scene in which she plays a lute. It's an interesting historical drama, for sure. |
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Post by teleadm on Oct 9, 2017 17:07:38 GMT
It was very long ago I watched it, but I remember that I was dissapointed at the time. Maybe I was expecting more of an adventurous soectacle than a battle of wits. Maybe I would feel different viewing it today.
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Post by petrolino on Oct 9, 2017 17:51:28 GMT
It was very long ago I watched it, but I remember that I was dissapointed at the time. Maybe I was expecting more of an adventurous soectacle than a battle of wits. Maybe I would feel different viewing it today. I was disappointed too, teleadm. I don't think there's enough meat on the script. There's alot of pithy exchanges between spiteful old Queen Elizabeth and whomever she happens to be reprimanding. |
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Post by koskiewicz on Oct 9, 2017 18:31:06 GMT
...I once read that in one scene, Bette Davis slapped Errol Flynn so hard across his face that he actually teared up...
Otherwise, I thought the film was enjoyable with great players...
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Oct 9, 2017 18:41:34 GMT
Big fan of Flynn and Bette. Easy to see why they didn't get along.
I really like the movie
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Post by vegalyra on Oct 10, 2017 15:20:20 GMT
I have the Errol Flynn DVD box set which includes this film. Definitely not among my favorites but it's okay. I think it's mainly because Bette Davis overplays her role.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2017 17:03:58 GMT
I found this movie to be a bit of a disappointment to be honest.
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Post by politicidal on Oct 10, 2017 22:32:03 GMT
While I love his swashbucklers, it was always pleasant to see him in something more dramatic for a change. The movie has that 'stiff' direction period pieces sometimes had at the time but I liked the acting.
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Post by petrolino on Oct 12, 2017 21:22:35 GMT
I have the Errol Flynn DVD box set which includes this film. Definitely not among my favorites but it's okay. I think it's mainly because Bette Davis overplays her role. I also have this movie on an Errol Flynn box-set. |
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Post by petrolino on Oct 12, 2017 21:25:45 GMT
While I love his swashbucklers, it was always pleasant to see him in something more dramatic for a change. The movie has that 'stiff' direction period pieces sometimes had at the time but I liked the acting. I enjoy a good number of director Michael Curtiz's films and was hoping to like it more. But I think you nailed it; it's a bit stiff, but the performers are interesting, and it has high production values. |
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Post by vegalyra on Oct 13, 2017 0:43:24 GMT
I have the Errol Flynn DVD box set which includes this film. Definitely not among my favorites but it's okay. I think it's mainly because Bette Davis overplays her role. I also have this movie on an Errol Flynn box-set. What do you think of the rest of the set? I actually bought it mainly for Captain Blood and the Sea Hawk. The others are pretty good. Dodge City and They Died with their Boots On are okay too. Another set that is good is the TCM "Errol Flynn Adventures" with Northern Pursuit and Objective Burma among others... |
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Post by petrolino on Oct 13, 2017 1:33:00 GMT
I also have this movie on an Errol Flynn box-set. What do you think of the rest of the set? I actually bought it mainly for Captain Blood and the Sea Hawk. The others are pretty good. Dodge City and They Died with their Boots On are okay too. Another set that is good is the TCM "Errol Flynn Adventures" with Northern Pursuit and Objective Burma among others... It's funny you mention this because I bought the set I have (the 4-picture Warner Home Video Golden Collection) hoping to obtain a copy of 'Dodge City' ... which isn't even in it! I love that movie so I should have checked the Amazon listings more thoroughly lol. It does have the definitive retelling of the 'Robin Hood' legend which is a masterful action classic, 'Captain Blood' which is hugely enjoyable, and 'They Died With Their Boots On' which I've not yet seen (looking at the running time it's a long one). I might look into the other set as I've not seen 'Northern Pursuit'. Thanks for the recommendation! |
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Post by vegalyra on Oct 13, 2017 14:21:00 GMT
Oh okay, I know which set you have now. I already had Robin Hood separately so that's why I bought the other collection withe Dodge City. They Died with their Boots on is pretty good but it is fairly long for a movie of that era. Anthony Quinn is Crazy Horse which is pretty neat.
I think you'll enjoy that TCM collection. If I remember correctly it was pretty inexpensive and the films are all good. Northern Pursuit is probably one of the weaker ones, but I enjoyed it. The only one that is a bit of a stinker is Uncertain Glory. It takes place in Occupied France if I remember correctly.
Objective Burma is great as well as Edge of Darkness and Desperate Journey.
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Post by petrolino on Oct 14, 2017 2:53:27 GMT
Oh okay, I know which set you have now. I already had Robin Hood separately so that's why I bought the other collection withe Dodge City. They Died with their Boots on is pretty good but it is fairly long for a movie of that era. Anthony Quinn is Crazy Horse which is pretty neat. I think you'll enjoy that TCM collection. If I remember correctly it was pretty inexpensive and the films are all good. Northern Pursuit is probably one of the weaker ones, but I enjoyed it. The only one that is a bit of a stinker is Uncertain Glory. It takes place in Occupied France if I remember correctly. Objective Burma is great as well as Edge of Darkness and Desperate Journey. I think I'll do some research into some of these titles. Thanks for the information, vegalyra, it's much appreciated. |
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Post by Eλευθερί on Nov 26, 2017 6:34:07 GMT
Why was Davis so jittery? Is that a mannerism that the real Elizabeth supposedly had? Or was Davis hyped on drugs?
They did a fantastic job with her makeup. I was shocked to see she was only about 30 when she played the role. She looked at least 20 years older.
And the costumes were gorgeous. The film is worth watching just to see the costumes. Story was a bit long and dull though.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Nov 5, 2018 7:13:15 GMT
A big pic from this is in the Warner Bros Story. Been wanting to check it out.
Vincent Price:
"At one point Mike Curtiz said to one of the boys 'I want a Coca-Cola.' So he left and we all heard him order this because it was in a big crowd scene and the Coke never came back. And finally Mike got furious which was very a part of his stock and trade and he screamed at the top of his lungs: 'Next time I send some dumb sonofabitch out to get a Coca-Cola I go myself!'"
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Post by snsurone on Nov 5, 2018 23:20:33 GMT
WB offered both Davis and Flynn as a package deal to David Selznick as stars of GWTW.
But although Davis craved the role of Scarlett O'Hara (some say her Oscar-winning performance in JEZEBEL was a feature-length screen test for the role of Scarlett), she refused the deal, saying that she'd never work with Flynn again.
To tell the truth, I'm glad this deal fell through.
There could never have been a better Scarlett than Vivien Leigh, and most fans of the novel claim that the character of Rhett Butler was written for Clark Gable.
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Post by claudius on Nov 6, 2018 10:13:58 GMT
Vincent Price: "At one point Mike Curtiz said to one of the boys 'I want a Coca-Cola.' So he left and we all heard him order this because it was in a big crowd scene and the Coke never came back. And finally Mike got furious which was very a part of his stock and trade and he screamed at the top of his lungs: 'Next time I send some dumb sonofabitch out to get a Coca-Cola I go myself!'" And that same year, Price was drowning himself with the stuff (pretending it was wine) in his onscreen winery contest with Basil Rathbone in TOWER OF LONDON. I like Korngold's score and the ending when Elizabeth tells Essex that her love for England and its future overwhelms her love for him (Interestingly, the play has Essex exposit this to her, as if Maxwell Anderson had reservations about showing Elizabeth say it). Wasn't the ending (in a performance) used in THE GUARDSMEN (1931)? Anyone see THE HALLMARK HALL OF FAME TV-play with Judith Anderson and Charlton Heston? |
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Nov 6, 2018 16:25:19 GMT
And that same year, Price was drowning himself with the stuff (pretending it was wine) in his onscreen winery contest with Basil Rathbone in TOWER OF LONDON. He said Karloff and others threw garbage into the water before he went into it. |
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