Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) on Netflix
PG-1319712h 8mBiographyDramaHistory
Mary Stuart, widowed queen of France, returns to Scotland to rule. Her Protestant half-brother James Stewart, Lord Moray, wants the crown, and Elizabeth Tudor of England fears her claim.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb7.1/105,323 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes67%
Trailer
Plot summary
Mary Stuart was named Queen of Scotland six days after her birth and is the country's last Catholic ruler. After her husband Francis II of France dies in 1560, she returns to her native land, where much of the nobility has adopted the Protestant faith. Her half-brother James Stewart, Lord Moray, has his own ambition to rule and suggests she pass the time with dancing and feasting. In England, Elizabeth Tudor fears Mary has ambitions for her throne, so she sends her favorite, Robert Dudley, north to win Mary's hand, promising she will become her heir, and also sends the young Catholic lord Darnley. Tempted by Darnley, Mary chooses him; Moray opposes the marriage, she ignores him and exiles him.
Cast
- Tom Flemingas Father Ballard
- Beth Harrisas Mary Seton
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The film takes considerable liberties with history, above all in two fictitious face-to-face encounters between the two queens, who never met in real life. "Audiences would feel cheated if they never had a scene together," said Wallis.
- Glenda Jackson agreed to play her role only if all her scenes could be shot in three and a half weeks, "before boredom set in", and the script was rewritten accordingly; she and Vanessa Redgrave were the first choices for their roles.
- Hal Wallis decided to make a film about Mary Queen of Scots partly because Antonia Fraser's best-selling book about her was in the news, yet he claimed in his memoirs that he did not read it, sure that nothing in it could not be obtained from a study of history books.
