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Fire Over England | Year: 1937 Classification: Drama Actors/Actresses: - Flora Robson - Laurence Olivier - Vivien Leigh Still the best screen Elizabeth! This is one of the best-scripted of all cinematic costume dramas, even if that script does require the young Laurence Olivier to sing (sounding strangely like Noel Coward as he does). Vivien Leigh is perfect as the young lady-in-waiting envied by the ageing Elizabeth, who finally manages to renounce her dreams of lost youth; James Mason makes a fine villain; and above all Flora Robson makes a seriously convincing and complex Elizabeth, politic and inspiring all at once. It makes more recent movies about Elizabeth look sadly shallow and trite. THE SINKING OF THE SPANISH ARMADA... This historical drama pairs husband and wife team, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, as courtiers drawn to each other during the reign of Elizabeth I (Flora Robson). The focus of the drama is not on their romance, however, but on the defeat of the seemingly invincible Spanish Armada. Here, Olivier is sent on an undercover mission to Phillip of Spain (Raymond Massey), after a plot to depose Elizabeth I is discovered, as the traitors appear to have trafficked with Spain on this issue. Olivier masquerades as one of the traitors in an effort to discover more information as to the other plotters. Olivier is ultimately found out but manages to escape, and the Spanish Armada is roundly defeated. Flora Robson is magnificent as Elizabeth I, sounding every bit the Queen, though her looks are plebeian rather than patrician. Olivier is as hammy as ever, while Leigh is as delightful as she is beautiful. Raymond Massey is terrific as the fervently catholic Phillip of Spain. The sea battle in which the Spanish Armada is roundly defeated is, however, strictly Mickey Mouse in terms of production values. Still, this is a moderately entertaining historical drama. The video, however, is of poor quality with a loud static sound making some of the dialogue almost inaudible. It is unfortunate, as one's viewing experience is diminished by this. A BRITISH GEM FROM 1937. British and American moviemakers, between them, have touched on almost every period of English history from the time of Ethelred. FIRE OVER ENGLAND treats Queen Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada with scrupulous regard for historic facts. London Films economised on the Armada, using a toy fleet in a tank (!) But Elizabeth I is portrayed on a grand scale by the great Flora Robson. In 1558, relations between Spain and England were at the breaking point. Spanish merchantmen, bringing gold from the New World, were being taken with regularity by the British sea raiders Drake, Hawkins and Frobisher, who took delight in "singeing the King's beard". And Good Queen Bess connived with them. It's the story of a young friend of the Queen who goes in disguise to the court of Philip II to find the names of British subjects in Spanish pay. Successful, he returns in time to help rout Philip's great Armada...........Elizabeth's young friend is played by the thirty-year-old Laurence Olivier (who seems to emulate Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in battle scenes); his sweetheart is the incredibly pretty granddaughter of Elizabeth's High Treasurer (24-year-old Vivien Leigh). Though a British movie, it was produced by the Hungarian Alexander Korda and the German Erich Pommer and directed by an American - William K. Howard. The photography was done by the highly esteemed James Wong Howe. Buy Fire Over England at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Fire Over England Search with the Priority Search Engine on Fire Over England This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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