ianlouisiana Review of Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)

Pretty thin stuff beneath all the showboating.

[5/10 · 16 December 2008]

As befits seasoned Shakespearian thesps,Miss Jackson and Miss Redgrave emote at the drop of a hat.Elizabeth,stubborn,toughened by years of enforced absence from Court,backed by wise advisors,Mary,stubborn,weakened by years of sycophancy at the effete French court,surrounded by hotheads.Miss Jackson goes for it as if she was auditioning for a part as Pirate Queen,she is barely restrained from smacking her thigh.Miss Redgrave,pale and dull,a mousy Desdemona. This sort of stuff may have them standing on their seats at Stratford on Avon but is hugely OTT on the screen. This basic error is compounded by the appalling performance by Mr Patrick Mcgoohan as Mary's brother,James.His attempt at a Scottish accent is frankly embarrassing.Mr Nigel Davenport as Bothwell is equally bad but at least he has the good grace to tone it down a bit. Mr Ian Holm seems to have no idea what his accent is supposed to be, a condition I suspect that will be shared by many viewers. It is left to a very young Mr Timothy Dalton to supply what entertainment "Mary Queen of Scots" provides as he pillages Olivier's bleach - blond "Hamlet"and turns that gloomy Dane into a camp aristo. Never a true villain,he is arch when he should be terrifying. Apart from a perfunctory rape which presumably results in King James,his role seems to be as GBF to the Queen. Unfortunately many people seem to see "Mary Queen of Scots" as a great historical movie.In truth it is about as accurate as "Carry on Henry" and nowhere near as funny.