Thomas Becket, Henry II's longtime advisor, finds his friendship with the debauched king corroding when he is unwillingly appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury in an attempt to gain absolute loyalty from the Church.
Acting
Burton and O'Toole's volcanic chemistry—drunken rages and wounded silences.
Production
Authentic 12th-century sets built with obsessive detail and candlelit gloom.
Writing
Dialogue sharp enough to cut through all the velvet and ermine.
Director
Peter Glenville
Richard Burton
Thomas Becket
Peter O'Toole
King Henry II of England
John Gielgud
King Louis VII of France
Gino Cervi
Cardinal Zambelli
Paolo Stoppa
Pope Alexander III
Donald Wolfit
Bishop Folliot
David Weston
Brother John
Martita Hunt
Empress Matilda
Pamela Brown
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Percy Herbert
Baron
Siân Phillips
Gwendolen
Felix Aylmer
Archbishop of Canterbury
Niall MacGinnis
Baron
Christopher Rhodes
Baron
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Burton and O'Toole were both nominated for Oscars; neither won, splitting the vote that helped Rex Harrison in 'My Fair Lady.'
The 'turbulent priest' line became so iconic that actual historians debate if Henry even said it—Glenville invented cinema history.
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