Young Bess
The mother died under the executioner's axe; the daughter rose to become England's greatest monarch -- the brilliant and cunning Queen Elizabeth I. Jean Simmons portrays young Bess in this rich tapestry of a film that traces the tumultuous, danger-fraught years from Elizabeth's birth to her unexpected ascension to the throne at a mere 25. Charles Laughton reprises his Academy Award®-winning* role as her formidable father Henry VIII. Deborah Kerr plays her last stepmother (and Henry's last of six wives), gentle Catherine Parr. And Simmons' then real-life husband, Stewart Granger, adds heroics as Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour. In a resplendent world of adventure, romance and court intrigue, Young Bess reigns.
At a glance
Countries
United States of America
Ratings
TMDB users
5.8/10
22 votes
Rating consensus
58/100 blend
Sources: TMDB
Moderate-to-positive blended read — weighted ~58/100 across 1 rating source. The listed meters mostly agree.
Cast
Jean Simmons
Young Bess (Queen Elizabeth I)
Stewart Granger
Thomas Seymour
Deborah Kerr
Catherine Parr
Charles Laughton
King Henry VIII
Kay Walsh
Mrs. Ashley
Guy Rolfe
Ned Seymour
Kathleen Byron
Ann Seymour
Cecil Kellaway
Mr. Parry
Rex Thompson
Prince Edward / King Edward VI
Robert Arthur
Barnaby
Leo G. Carroll
Mr. Mums
Norma Varden
Lady Tyrwhitt
Community Ledger
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Young Bess (1953)
George Sidney
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