Hot 888 Mama . . . when this documentary was released in 1955. As the filming began, The Pill had not yet been invented, so it was ASSUMED that Liz was THE VIRGIN QUEEN. (Current polls prove that most Britishers wish that she'd STAYED that way, now that they've gotten a load of Prince Charles.) This flick proves that Chuck is just a chip off the Old Block in ditching HIS young Diana for a geriatric Camille. His Mom Liz is shown here dumping a lad by the name of Walt before hooking up (off-screen) with her near-Centenarian of Today, Phillip. Though the Teutonic Tudors renamed themselves after a Canadian Village (Windsor) as a Public Relations Stunt during World War Two, their Prussian Roots are still highly visible at the beginning of Liz's seemingly Endless Reign as depicted here in THE VIRGIN QUEEN's costumes. Just as this Corgi Whisperer would later drive her own sister to an Early Grave by nixing Margaret's marriage, a few years prior to THAT fiasco Liz tries to have her Cake and Eat It Too here by vetoing Walt's shot-gun wedding to his knocked-up Sweetie, Beth. (It's truly amazing how much Royal Trauma the invention of The Pill has alleviated.)

Dalbert Pringle After repeatedly getting a very sorry eyeful of Miss Bette Davis as "The Virgin Queen", it sure got me to thinking that, if this particular queen really looked and carried on like this snivelling cow, then it was no wonder that she remained a virgin.I mean, not only did Davis physically resemble that of an anaemic munchkin, but her character came across to me like some sort of reigning, male-castrating, bull-dyke who was clearly nothing but a repulsive eyesore to any sane man with eyes in his head (with, of course, the exception of that royal ass-kisser, Sir Walter Raleigh).And, speaking about "queens" - I sure thought that most of the high-ranking dukes, lords, earls (whatever) who hung out in Elizabeth's imperial court were, without a doubt, the biggest, the snottiest, most bitchiest, back-stabbing queens imaginable. They really were.In my opinion - 1955's "The Virgin Queen" was a very stagy and, yes, very stuffy costume drama. And, (in typical Hollywood style) it was the inaccurate retelling of history that inevitably reduced this production to the level of being a decidedly tiresome soap opera, punctuated generously by some of the most pompous, unintentionally laughable dialogue that this viewer has ever heard.Anyway - Besides Bette Davis, this "less-than-thrilling" production also starred Richard Todd and Joan Collins.

authorwriting Basically a soap opera of it's day with Queen Liz and Elexis Carrington fighting over the handsome, young cad, Sir Walter Raleigh who among other things introduced cigarettes to the world. The movie won an academy award for its costumes which unlike the events depicted in the film are spot on in their historical detail.Bettie Davies is brilliant as The Queen (the template for Miranda Richardson's version in Blackadder II) and Richard Todd looks the part as the dashing Sir Walter Raleigh. The DVD cut of this film, issued as part of the Studio Classics series, is pristine with the digital format bringing out the sheer spectacle of colour in the scenes in the royal court.A great old fashioned drama.

niblungen Bette Davis is probably one of the greatest actresses of all time, and it is really outstanding that a Massachusetts lady can break all cultural barriers and incarnate an English Queen to such a degree of perfection. I really enjoyed her performance.The rest of the cast is just acceptable. Richard Todd is handsome and the young Joan Collins is beatiful to watch. The costumes and settings are carefully reproduced, and Koster's direction is profesional. The dialogues are wonderfully written, though the story is not quite historically accurate.By the way, the European VHS edition is simply disgusting: the film is cut to fit the normal TV screen 4:3, leaving out vital parts of it. For example, in a scene between Sir Walter Raleigh (Todd) and Bess Throckmorton (Collins), they are standing the one in front of the other at both sides of a huge paned window: the only thing you can see on screen is the window, while you hear both talking! A new DVD edition would be most welcome.