This period drama frames the tumultuous affair between Queen Elizabeth I and the man who would be King of England.
Acting
Davis shaved her hairline and eyebrows—commitment that radiates through every frame.
Costume
Orry-Kelly's gowns: architectural marvels that weaponize Elizabeth's physical vulnerability.
Direction
Curtiz stages power like physical combat—every room a boxing ring.
Director
Michael Curtiz
Bette Davis
Queen Elizabeth
Errol Flynn
The Earl of Essex
Olivia de Havilland
Lady Penelope Gray
Donald Crisp
Francis Bacon
Alan Hale
The Prince of Tyrone
Vincent Price
Sir Walter Raleigh
Henry Stephenson
Lord Burghley
Henry Daniell
Sir Robert Cecil
James Stephenson
Sir Thomas Egerton
Nanette Fabray
Mistress Margaret Radcliffe
Ralph Forbes
Lord Knollys
Robert Warwick
Lord Mountjoy
Leo G. Carroll
Sir Edward Coke
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Davis and Flynn despised each other; she called him 'the most beautiful man who ever lived—and the most limited.' Their genuine contempt electrifies every scene.
This was Flynn's only period with Davis—Warner Bros.' attempt to replicate the success of 'The Adventures of Robin Hood.' The mismatch of their star personas (her volcanic intensity, his lazy charm) became the film's accidental genius.
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