Michael Curtiz directs Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and Olivia de Havilland in this historical romance between a dutiful Queen and a proud Earl who privately adore each other but publically seem heading towards lethal loggerheads. 

A lovely bit of glorious technicolor this. Bette Davis scorpion kicks the ball in the net with a queen that is stroppy, spiteful, paranoid, romantic, shrewd and vulnerable. It is an absolute powerhouse of screen acting, so much so that whenever we leave her chambers for battles or the machinations of ambitious courtiers the movie noticeably flags. Flynn cuts a dashing, charming romantic interest but he is often left treading water in Bette’s churning wake.

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