Mary Queen of Scots is directed by Charles Jarrott, has a screenplay by John Hale, has music by John Barry and stars Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Trevor Howard, Nigel Davenport, Timothy Dalton, Raymond Massey, Patrick McGoohan and Ian Holm.The young Queen consort of France Mary(Vanessa Redgrave),is taken from France to Scotland to become Queen there after her husband dies.Mary is aided by an Italian spy David Riccio(Ian Holm)and the Scottish Lord Bothwell(Nigel Davenport). Bothwell is very blunt and is a man of action, he becomes totally loyal to the Queen and falls in love with her.Mary poses a threat to the English Queen, Elizabeth Tudor (Glenda Jackson). Both women want to be ruler of the country but in the end only one will keep her throne. Mary learns too late that to be a great Queen one must give up their inner self, sacrifice their own desires for the good of their country and their duty. Mary rules with her heart whereas Elizabeth rules with her head and is dominated by no consort, her decisions are completely her own.Elizabeth sets a trap for Mary in the form of Henry Lord Darnley (Timothy Dalton)and her own great love Lord Robert Dudley (Daniel Massey). Elizabeth's friend and adviser Lord Cecil (Trevor Howard)urges her to have Mary killed because she is too great a threat, Elizabeth won't do that and insists another way be found to stop her.The entire cast are excellent with Vanessa and Glenda giving the standout performances. Vanessa excels at conveying the innocence and sheltered nature of Mary, when she arrives in Scotland she has to become tougher and stronger and it isn't easy for her. Glenda's portrayal of Elizabeth is as good here as in the TV miniseries Elizabeth R, her Elizabeth is strong, fearless, intelligent, charming and cunning. The growing love between Mary and Bothwell is beautifully portrayed with him providing some comfort and safety that the Queen desperately needs. Davenport gives one of his best performances as Lord Bothwell and I missed him when he wasn't in a scene.The costumes are beautiful and John Barry's score is one of his very best.

This colorful and exciting historical drama has several qualities that make it remarkable and particularly delighting:first,its impressive all star cast (Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Davenport, Howard, Holm as the Italian Riccio),and not only that,but the astounding performances that all these famous movie artists understood to give;a very intelligent script,with good lines and a fine development;a well-done atmosphere,interesting scenes and a fast pace that gives the movie a dynamic,no-nonsense,straightforward sense of adventure and excitement,it is history written as a thriller, with a strong sense of the picturesque history, all the characters (Bothwell,Fr. Ballard, Cecil, Davie, the Guise family,Knox,Darnley …) being enchantingly made;also,this movie looks very well,has a great look,it has some beautiful locations,and it is my favorite British historical drama.The photography is enchanting.Lord Bothwell is made with unmatchable gusto by Davenport.A movie obviously made by competent persons, with intelligence and tact and craftsmanship.Everything is tested by the intelligence.Mrs. Redgrave,Davenport,Mrs. Jackson,Howard,all make first-rate roles ;as the Queen of Scots, Mrs. Redgrave is very sexy.This violent elegant colorful fast-paced historical drama .The performances are passionate and violent,but enjoyable in the highest degree.Some of the best acting to be enjoyed in this genre of historical dramas.There are a freshness and a sensation of youth in Mary, Queen of Scots (1972).However,its main interest is Mrs. Vanessa Redgrave's sensational performance.Absolutely stunning,and delightfully humane and fresh and charming,with a height of the lyricism that is still unequaled and electrifying.Her voice was a precious instrument.Queen Mary's entry in Dunbar is extraordinary.There are also some violent and brutal events shown in this film.The tone has dignity and force."I shall take you deeper into England";"…as an infamous royal whore";"I leave to you the pomp,power …"."I shall pray for your mistress Elizabeth".And there are many lines that are interestingly spoken. These things are made with gusto and they sound natural within the movie.So,it is this cinematographic intelligence that pleases.Mary, Queen of Scots (1972) was released in '71 and was filmed on location at Chenonceaux,and in Scotland,Northumberland, Sussex and at Shepperton studios.In the previous decade,the '60s,several British historical dramas were made with big success: Becket (1964), A Man for All Seasons (1966),The Lion in Winter (1968),Anne of the Thousand Days (1969),Cromwell (1970), etc..

British history is a particular passion of mine, and i watched this film when it was released in theatres way back when. The gorgeous Vanessa Redgrave, and the incomparable Glenda Jackson! Who could resist viewing a film with these two actors? i felt compelled to write this very late review because i have an opinion about history recording that Mary and Elizabeth never met. Elizabeth had access and motive to meet secretly with her cousin, who's parents gave her father Henry fits. She could also control royal scribes. i personally don't believe that the two never met. And if they had, o what a scene it must have been. This film is remarkable in that. The movie was rather harsh with Elizabeth; she had passion plenty, but she put her crown and her head first. Looking at how close she came to death herself, and how improbable her accession to the throne was, i don't blame her. Technically, she was illegitimate, and Mary was a legitimate descendant of Henry VII. But Elizabeth had the sense to surround herself with loyal, political geniuses, as she herself was. Mary did not. She most likely knew about the plan to murder her husband, her cousin who shared the same grandmother.That might explain her son James and his short of divine character and physique. But he did become king, and he did unite Scotland and England in his way, despite centuries of feuding. So in spite of herself, Mary lost her head but was victorious in the end. So far, i think this is the best Mary of Scots film to date. Even after all these years, the music from this film still moves me...ever notice that the music from films about Elizabeth and Mary are usually beautiful?..and Nigel Davenport! I'm staying tuned for the hopeful 2008 release with Scarlett Johansson. It's interesting to speculate about whom they enlist as the director...

It's been quite some time since I saw this movie, so have forgotten many of the details, but quite enjoyed this portrait of the clash between Mary Queen of Scots and her rival Tudor cousin, Elizabeth I. I confess to a lack of knowledge as to its historical accuracy, which may perhaps be just as well, as I read that the supposed meeting between the two queens never took place in real life. The producers presumably felt audiences would expect such an in person meeting. Frankly, however, while such films might be permitted a wee bit of dramatic license, they should definitely stick with fundamental historical truths. The movie chronicles the struggles of Mary Stewart, who returns from France, where she had been wife to the sickly (now deceased) king Francois II, to Scotland, where her Protestant half brother, Jamie, is acting as Regent. In order to secure the Scottish throne for herself and her son (later James VI of Scotland and James I of England), she must battle the Scottish Lords, her brother Jamie, who causes rebellions against his sister, and even her second husband, Lord Darnley, who makes a bid for the throne himself. The most devastating enemy proves to be her royal English cousin, Elizabeth I, who sees Mary as a threat, especially when Mary produces (with Darnley) a son while she (Elizabeth) remains unmarried and childless.The main asset of the movie lies in its two female leads, who portray the warm, emotional Catholic Mary and the cool, calculating Protestant Elizabeth. Vanessa Redgrave made, at least for me, a convincing enough Mary. Especially, however, I recall Glenda Jackson as an absolutely brilliant Queen Elizabeth. She IS Elizabeth, and I believe to a certain extent, it's really her movie. To this day, whenever I picture Elizabeth I, it's Glenda Jackson, who of course went on to play the Virgin Queen in the TV series, Elizabeth R. Others in the star studded cast include Patrick McGoohan as James Stewart (Mary's brother), Timothy Dalton as Lord Darnley (Mary's weak, conniving second husband), and Nigel Davenport as Bothwell (Mary's true love and third husband). Two of Elizabeth's ministers are portrayed by Trevor Howard as Sir William Cecil, and Daniel Massey as the queen's devoted Dudley.Beautiful Oscar nominated Tudor period costumes and scenes. I would like to see again the tale of this tragic figure, a woman who should have been content with her Scottish crown and not covetous of the English one as well. Pity modern cinema seems disinclined to delve into these British historical dramas. Personally, I would like to see more movies such as this one and the 1986 Lady Jane with Helena Bonham Carter. There's certainly no lack of historical figures that would make interesting subjects.