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After the great public and critical success of The Six
Wives of Henry VIII (1970), the BBC turned hopefully to the turbulent life of the King's
daughter, Elizabeth. The approach was essentially the same - six 90-minute plays
covering the life of the monarch from youth to old age - and proved to be even
more popular.
A sense of continuity was ensured with several actors reprising their roles,
including Rosalie Crutchley and John Ronane as Catherine Parr and Thomas Seymour
and Bernard Hepton and Basil Dignam as the Archbishops Cranmer and Gardiner
respectively, while writers John Prebble and Rosemary Anne Sissons also
returned. As before, the success of the project would rest mainly on the
shoulders of the central actor, and for Glenda Jackson it proved to be the role
of a lifetime, eclipsing even her Oscar-winning performances in Women in Love
(d. Ken Russell, 1969) and A Touch of Class (US, 1973). She maintains a steely
authority and powerful sense of femininity throughout, even in the conclusion,
when her face is grotesquely covered in thick white makeup.
John Hale's opening play, 'The Lion's Cub' (tx. 17/02/1971), makes few
concessions to viewers not steeped in late-Tudor history, hurtling through a
decade of complex events taking in the execution of Thomas Seymour, Elizabeth's
guardian, for attempting to topple the sickly King Edward VI, and the crowning
of Mary I, before concluding with Elizabeth's coronation in 1558. Internecine
plots predominate at court and make for engrossing, if occasionally bewildering
viewing, whether dealing with foreign affairs, religious conflicts or
Elizabeth's marriage. The 'behind the scenes' approach is fascinatingly explored
in Prebble's 'The Enterprise of England' (tx. 17/3/1971), depicting the war with
Spain solely through Elizabeth and Philip II's thrust and parry with their
respective advisors, omitting battle scenes altogether.
As befits a major BBC historical drama, the requisite splendours of costume
and design are emphasised, but originality is also evident: filming the
flashbacks to Elizabeth's youth with a subjective camera; building studio sets
with ornate ceilings; and the challenging use of dark humour underlining Julian
Mitchell's moving depiction of the Queen's marriage problems in 'Shadow in the
Sun' (tx. 03/03/1971), in which midgets parody Elizabeth's tribulations.
There was no feature film version as there was for Henry VIII, although
Jackson did play Elizabeth again in Mary Queen of Scots (d. Charles Jarrott,
1972), written by Elizabeth R co-author John Hale.
Sergio Angelini
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1. A strange romance (3:52)
