Fire Over England

Starring:Flora Robson, Raymond Massey, Leslie Banks, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Morton Selten, Tamara Desni, Lyn Harding, George Thirlwell, Henry Oscar, Robert Rendel, Robert Newton, Donald Calthrop, Charles Carson, Noel Brophy, James Mason, Cecil Mainwaring, Graham Cheswright, A. Corney Grain, Laurence Hanray
Director: William K. Howard
Studio: Lumivision
Product Type: DVD

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Alexander Korda often enlisted Tinseltown talent to lend his British productions some Hollywood pizzazz. For this spirited historical film about the intrigues and counter-intrigues leading up to the Spanish Armada's assault against Queen Elizabeth's brave little island, William K. Howard directed and the cameraman was the great James Wong Howe. Still, it's the Russian French art director Lazare Meerson who takes top honors with his ethereal sets. The swashbuckling pales beside Captain Blood or The Prisoner of Zenda, but the diplomatic crosstalk and young Larry Olivier's James-Bond-in-a-ruff act are delicious. Vivien Leigh is Olivier's love interest (on screen and off), and royalty is royally served by Flora Robson's gusty Good Queen Bess (a role she reprised in The Sea Hawk) and Raymond Massey's wonderfully lugubrious Philip of Spain. Robert Newton plays another Spaniard, and if you don't blink you'll glimpse James Mason as the traitorous Hillary Vane. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

Of historical intererest.......2006-06-15

Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier were already in love during production of this film and it`s because of them this is still of interest. Flora Robson still excell(she was to meet Vivien as her servant Ftattateeta in CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA - by the way my first review on this site on this very day - and a nice switch since Vivien is Robson`s lady-in-waiting here)...

The battle was always a bathtub-affair(noted even in 1936). Olivier`s crying of grief was cut in the US because the thought of the time was that is wasn`t manly enough.

Note also a cameo by James Mason in an ealy scene. Vivien Leigh is at her best and it`s the only film pre-Scarlett that she gives a star performance.

The film does have a good storyline, but halts because we miss the interplay between Leigh and Olivier when their not on screen together....

The Best Queen Bess.......2006-01-12

This is a period piece set at the time of the Spanish Armada which is little known to Americans. This is a shame since it is a fairly good one.

The action does not focus so much on the Armada as it does on the political intrigues leading to it. It also focuses on a love story between English, Lawrence Olivier and the half Spanish Vivian Leigh. When all is said and done, it is their story. The threat of invasion is just the backdrop. Both of these big name Hollywood stars do a wonderful job but neither does as good a job as Flora Robson who plays Elizabeth I. She does not get as much screen time as the others but her portrayal of the English monarch must rank as definitive. It is a role she reprised in the Hollywood epic, THE SEAK HAWK, with Errol Flynn.

The movie is not great but it is a highly enjoyable period piece. Enjoy it.

Very good movie!.......2005-11-06

My family enjoyed this picture very much. It was well written, and my Sister even recognized the uncredited James Mason in the film. The acting was superb (Flora Robson made a very regal Queen Elizabeth I). Well worth watching!

A movie worth watching!.......2005-01-11

Definitely a wonderful movie, Fire over England, brings to the screen the story of a young English naval officer as he strives to uncover a plot, find the conspirators and warn the Queen of the imminent threat of foreign invasion.
The setting is 1558 England. King Philip of Spain has collected enough gold from the colonies in the Americas that he has built the Spanish Armada. In addition he has set up a network of spies and operatives in Queen Elizabeth's court who serve as his eyes and ears in England.
The clash between England and Spain is as fascinating as the conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism, and both are presented very well in the film.
Needless to say, the Hollywood heavyweights Vivien Leigh and Lawrence Olivier as well as the rest of the cast have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least!
The only setback is that Fire over England is a 1937 film and compared to modern films, or even epics of the time such as Gone with the Wind, falls short of being a masterpiece.
Nevertheless, the film combines drama, action, and romance, making it one of the best of its kind.
The setting, the dialogues, the music and the costumes are all wonderful!
History, Intrigue, Duty, Love, Passion, and Honor, are all about.
It is a movie worth watching, especially for those with a soft spot for History!

Still the best screen Elizabeth!.......2003-03-05

This is one of the best-scripted of all cinematic costume dramas, even if that script does require the young Laurence Olivier to sing (sounding strangely like Noel Coward as he does). Vivien Leigh is perfect as the young lady-in-waiting envied by the ageing Elizabeth, who finally manages to renounce her dreams of lost youth; James Mason makes a fine villain; and above all Flora Robson makes a seriously convincing and complex Elizabeth, politic and inspiring all at once. It makes more recent movies about Elizabeth look sadly shallow and trite.

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