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58% Critic Match
Young Bess
“A Great and Spectacular Drama!”
5.8 / 10• 1953• 1h 52m•NR• English
DramaHistoryRomance
Storyline
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.
Cast & Crew
Jean Simmons
Young Bess (Queen Elizabeth I)
Lead
Stewart Granger
Thomas Seymour
Deborah Kerr
Catherine Parr
Charles Laughton
King Henry VIII
Kay Walsh
Mrs. Ashley
Guy Rolfe
Ned Seymour
Kathleen Byron
Ann Seymour
Cecil Kellaway
Mr. Parry
What People Are Saying
3.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. George Sidney's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
3.0
“Every frame feels alive. Young Bess is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
