"They gave her a Perfect Lover, then Plotted her Excecution. A Romance which Out-Triumphed the Most Terrible Crime in History"
The tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, the young queen who reigned in England for nine days before she was executed.
Nova Pilbeam
Lady Jane Grey
Cedric Hardwicke
Earl of Warwick
John Mills
Lord Guilford Dudley
Felix Aylmer
Edward Seymour
Leslie Perrins
Thomas Seymour
Frank Cellier
Henry VIII
Desmond Tester
Edward VI
Gwen Ffrangcon Davies
Mary Tudor (as Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies)
Martita Hunt
Jane's Mother
The tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, the young queen who reigned in England for nine days before she was executed.
Nova Pilbeam draws the short straw in this interesting, if not exactly enthralling, depiction of the power-struggles that followed the death of Henry VIII in England. Edward VI (a rather lively performance from the 17 year old Desmond Tester) is not the healthiest of young men, and those in his council - initially led by Edward Seymour (Felix Aylmer) then by the Earl of Warwick (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) try to manipulate the succession. The latter prevails and upon the untimely death of the young king, he places the Lady Jane Grey - whom Henry VIII directed be 4th in the line of his own succession (she was his great niece) - ahead of the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth and so she is now, reluctantly, the Queen. To cement her precarious position she is quickly married off to a rather jolly, put politically unaware Guilford Dudley (John Mills) - the son of Warwick, so he can consolidate his control over the new puppet queen. Unfortunately for him, Princess Mary (Gwen Davies) raises troops and subverts this cunning treason. The story is established history, and the plot follows it fairly honestly. Pilbeam does elicit some degree of sympathy as she is clearly a pawn in the games of others - and both Aylmer and an on-form Hardwicke manage to create some sense of the duplicity with which these two men sought to usurp the Royal authority. The sets and costumes look fine, the dialogue maybe a bit too wordy, but it even features some genuine music written by Henry VIII and if you like a good old historical drama, then this will happily pass 80 minutes.
The story of the ascension to the throne and the early reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, the endless attempts by her council to marry her off, the Catholic hatred of her and her romance with Lord Robert Dudley.
Mary Stuart, who was named Queen of Scotland when she was only six days old, is the last Roman Catholic ruler of Scotland. She is imprisoned at the age of 23 by her cousin Elizabeth Tudor, the English Queen and her arch adversary. Nineteen years later the life of Mary is to be ended on the scaffold and with her execution the last threat to Elizabeth's throne has been removed. The two Queens with their contrasting personalities make a dramatic counterpoint to history.
A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son.
The Queen is an intimate behind the scenes glimpse at the interaction between HM Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair during their struggle, following the death of Diana, to reach a compromise between what was a private tragedy for the Royal family and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Having helped his brother King Edward IV take the throne of England, the jealous hunchback Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots to seize power for himself. Masterfully deceiving and plotting against nearly everyone in the royal court, including his eventual wife, Lady Anne, and his brother George, Duke of Clarence, Richard orchestrates a bloody rise to power before finding all his gains jeopardized by those he betrayed.
Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.
Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her, the story advances the theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford who penned Shakespeare's plays.
Having helped his brother King Edward IV take the throne of England, the jealous hunchback Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots to seize power for himself. Masterfully deceiving and plotting against nearly everyone in the royal court, including his eventual wife, Lady Anne, and his brother George, Duke of Clarence, Richard orchestrates a bloody rise to power before finding all his gains jeopardized by those he betrayed.