The Virgin Queen (1955)
1h 32m | PG-13
Sir Walter Raleigh overcomes court intrigue to win favor with the Queen in order to get financing for a proposed voyage to the New World.
Director: Henry Koster
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Video: 720p
Cast
Richard Todd
as Sir Walter Raleigh
Bette Davis
as Queen Elizabeth I
Joan Collins
as Beth Throgmorton
Jay Robinson
as Chadwick
Herbert Marshall
as Lord Leicester
Dan O'Herlihy
as Lord Derry
Reviews
Historically, it is safe to say that Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleigh didn't always get on, but I am not sure their relationship was ever quite this verbose. This is a good enough looking melodrama with Bette Davis and Richard Todd out to enrich England (and themselves) co-starring Joan Collins as the suitably "pathetic" lady in waiting who falls for Raleigh - and in so doing they both earn the enmity of a jealous queen. Herbert Marshall tries to bring a little weight to the proceedings; Dan O'Herlihy a little humour but ultimately we are left with a colourful, but pretty mundane, wordy, historical costume drama with the odd flash of character from Davis.