I wasn't expecting too much from this one- I had read some rather unfavorable reviews that basically said it was dated, melodramatic fuzz. Yes, it is dated and melodramatic, but it is also very good value.
The great Flora Robson is first-billed as Queen Elizabeth I of England. Set in the late 1500's, this historical drama revolves around the strained relations between Spain and England. I'm not too good on the history, but like most historical re-tellings it has it's inaccuracies and flaws. Bear with them, as this is an entertaining and worthy film. Flora Robson is magnificent and dominates the whole production.
Stage actor Olivier is Michael Ingolby, and a young Vivien Leigh is lady-in-waiting Cynthia. In the handful of scenes that they share together (Olivier actually has more opportunities for romance with Tamara Desni), you can feel that these two are really in love, on and off-screen. Olivier was courting Leigh at the time of the making of 'Fire Over England', so watching them falling in love as Michael and Cynthia is a rather voyeuristic experience. Leigh handles her small role very well, yet it is hard to tell that this young lady would be fiery Scarlett O'Hara in just a few years. Of course, Vivien looks great in the costumes, as always. Olivier is good, if a little stage-bound. Still relatively unexperienced with the film medium, Larry is over-the-top in quite a few scenes. He's very handsome here, and we even get to hear him sing and play the lute! His swashbuckling manner reminds me of Douglas Fairbanks, who Larry was an admirer of. Olivier does all his own stunts here (as he would do in later roles such as Henry V), perhaps inspired by Fairbanks.
It's a good attempt at historical drama, and the production values are high-class for an English 1930's film.
Worth your time.
7/10.
The great Flora Robson is first-billed as Queen Elizabeth I of England. Set in the late 1500's, this historical drama revolves around the strained relations between Spain and England. I'm not too good on the history, but like most historical re-tellings it has it's inaccuracies and flaws. Bear with them, as this is an entertaining and worthy film. Flora Robson is magnificent and dominates the whole production.
Stage actor Olivier is Michael Ingolby, and a young Vivien Leigh is lady-in-waiting Cynthia. In the handful of scenes that they share together (Olivier actually has more opportunities for romance with Tamara Desni), you can feel that these two are really in love, on and off-screen. Olivier was courting Leigh at the time of the making of 'Fire Over England', so watching them falling in love as Michael and Cynthia is a rather voyeuristic experience. Leigh handles her small role very well, yet it is hard to tell that this young lady would be fiery Scarlett O'Hara in just a few years. Of course, Vivien looks great in the costumes, as always. Olivier is good, if a little stage-bound. Still relatively unexperienced with the film medium, Larry is over-the-top in quite a few scenes. He's very handsome here, and we even get to hear him sing and play the lute! His swashbuckling manner reminds me of Douglas Fairbanks, who Larry was an admirer of. Olivier does all his own stunts here (as he would do in later roles such as Henry V), perhaps inspired by Fairbanks.
It's a good attempt at historical drama, and the production values are high-class for an English 1930's film.
Worth your time.
7/10.