Young Bess

Release Date: 1953-05-29

Overview: The mother died under the executioner's axe; the daughter rose to become England's greatest monarch -- the brilliant and cunning Queen Elizabeth I. Jean Simmons portrays young Bess in this rich tapestry of a film that traces the tumultuous, danger-fraught years from Elizabeth's birth to her unexpected ascension to the throne at a mere 25. Charles Laughton reprises his Academy Award®-winning* role as her formidable father Henry VIII. Deborah Kerr plays her last stepmother (and Henry's last of six wives), gentle Catherine Parr. And Simmons' then real-life husband, Stewart Granger, adds heroics as Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour. In a resplendent world of adventure, romance and court intrigue, Young Bess reigns.

Rating: 5.675 / 10

Cast

Jean Simmons

as Young Bess (Queen Elizabeth I)

Stewart Granger

as Thomas Seymour

Deborah Kerr

as Catherine Parr

Charles Laughton

as King Henry VIII

Kay Walsh

as Mrs. Ashley

Crew

Arthur Wimperis - Screenplay
George Sidney - Director
Margaret Irwin - Novel
Charles Rosher - Director of Photography
George Rhein - Assistant Director

Reviews

CinemaSerf:

Maybe not quite how it actually happened, but this was Hollywood, remember. Jean Simmons plays the Princess Elizabeth brought up in rags and riches depending on the whim of her father Henry VIII (rath...