Young Bess (1953)

★ 5.7 1h 52m IMDb
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The mother died under the executioner's axe; the daughter rose to become England's greatest monarch -- the brilliant and cunning Queen Elizabeth I. Jean Simmons portrays young Bess in this rich tapestry of a film that traces the tumultuous, danger-fraught years from Elizabeth's birth to her unexpected ascension to the throne at a mere 25. Charles Laughton reprises his Academy Award®-winning* role as her formidable father Henry VIII. Deborah Kerr plays her last stepmother (and Henry's last of six wives), gentle Catherine Parr. And Simmons' then real-life husband, Stewart Granger, adds heroics as Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour. In a resplendent world of adventure, romance and court intrigue, Young Bess reigns.

Young Bess

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Cast

Jean Simmons
Jean Simmons as Young Bess (Queen Elizabeth I) Died 2010 · Crouch Hill, London, England, UK Jean Merilyn Simmons, OBE (January 31, 1929 – January 22, 2010) was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World...
Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger as Thomas Seymour Died 1993 · Kensington, London, United Kingdom Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to...
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr as Catherine Parr Died 2007 · Helensburgh, Scotland, UK Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 1921 – 16 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr, was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During...
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton as King Henry VIII Died 1962 · Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English-American stage and film actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Laughton was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
Kay Walsh
Kay Walsh as Mrs. Ashley Died 2005 · Chelsea, London, England, UK ​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Kay Walsh  (born Kathleen Walsh, 15 November 1911,Chelsea, London, England; died 16 April 2005, Chelsea, London) was an English actress and dancer. She grew up...
Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe as Ned Seymour Died 2003 · Kilburn, London, England, UK ​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Guy Rolfe (27 December 1911 – 19 October 2003) was an English actor born in London. He made his screen debut in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in Knight Wi...

Audience Reviews

CinemaSerf 7/10 Dec 24, 2022
Maybe not quite how it actually happened, but this was Hollywood, remember. Jean Simmons plays the Princess Elizabeth brought up in rags and riches depending on the whim of her father Henry VIII (rather rumbustiously played by Charles Laughton). Meantime Thomas Seymour (a handsome, swashbuckling rogue played by Stewart Granger) is marrying Henry's widow Catherine Parr (Deborah Kerr) and so we have our menage-a-trois. History is fact about the marriage; much less so about the "love affair" between Elizabeth and Seymour. This film follows her coming-of-age as she navigates the political intrigues after her father's death. It's is colourful and engaging - her two servants add quite a lot too. It's entertainment though, nothing too educational.

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