Fire Over England (1937)

Flora Robson's portrayal of Elizabeth1 is monumentally great. She dominates her own conflicted emotions as she dominates her subjects and country. "Give me my disguises" she commands her lady in waiting in order to hide her blemishes, loss of hair and age. It is done not merely in the name of vanity but as a requirement of her position. She subverts her emotions in the name of duty and country. If the real Queen Bess was as forceful and charismatic as Robson's portrayal, then it is easy to see why England followed her lead. Olivier is quite good as the young, eager adventurer and emissary to Spain but it is Vivian Leigh that demonstrates the screen craft that was to carry her to fame. The film is not historically accurate but then neither were Shakespeare's history plays. The film reveals much about the human condition and, if you want to know "what really happened", look it up at a history website rather than watch a film.

Recently I've come to realize that I often hate many costume dramas--especially because most of them are a little short on excitement and acting because they spend so much time on expensive sets and blaring music that the actors just seem secondary. I would say this is pretty true of this film, as most of the actors are kind of wooden and most of the action just isn't that action-packed. Plus, I've seen better versions of this same material. Flora Robson, who plays Queen Elizabeth in this film, also did just about the EXACT same role with a similar plot--only co-starring Errol Flynn instead of Lawrence Olivier. SEA HAWK just had a lot more to offer--better plot, more action and a spark. And, while Olivier is pleasant enough, Flynn's charisma gave the other film a little more energy. Also, the dialog is a bit stupid now and again--especially when they try to make Elizabeth seem human--in reality, she was a terrible person just like most other absolute rulers of the day. If you MUST see an Elizabethan costumer, try SEA HAWK first--it's just more bang for your buck.PS--interestingly enough, Ms. Robson was only 35 when she took on the part of Elizabeth, though she looked about 60 in the film. I assume they just used a ton of makeup and they did a good job of passing her off as this older lady.

There is not real film about the events leading to Philip II's great enterprise of 1588, the sailing (and destruction, as it turned out) of the great Spanish Armanda. To understand the story would take too many twists and turns. I recommend Garrett Mattingley's classic account of the Armada from the 1950s for those interested. Philip, tired of the aid that Elizabeth I of England gave to the Dutch and French Protestants, made a plan to transport an army under his nephew, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Palma, from Belgium to England using the Armada. He put the fleet under command of the Spanish nobleman, the Duke of Medina Sidonia. But Medina Sidonia was not a sailor (although a conscientious nobleman and servant of Philip). The Armada would first suffer a raid (by Walter Raleigh and Francis Drake). After it was repaired it did sail, only to find the faster English ships of Drake, Howard, and Frobisher more deadly, and the heavy winds, seas, and storms even deadlier. Many ships were wrecked off Scotland and Ireland. It was one of the worst naval catastrophes of history.However it was also Philip's finest moment. Always a firmly religious man, he did not despair at the disaster to his fleet and plans, but he saw it was God's will. He actually put together Armadas again twice in the 1590s, but neither got as far as the first one did.The complications of the story make it too confusing for anything but a full television seris: Philip was spurred on when Mary, Queen of Scots was executed in 1587 - he had been named her appointed heir to the English throne in her will; the French religious wars were approaching a critical moment, and Mary's uncle (the Duc de Guise) was leader of the Catholic forces at war with King Henri III of France and King Henri of Navarre (the leader of the Huguenots). There have been films dealing with Elizabeth's sea rovers, such as Drake ("Seven Seas To Calais", "The Sea Hawke"), but only this film tries to tackle the actual story of the Armada. As an adventure story it is excellent. As history, not exact but pretty good in parts.First it does touch briefly on Mary's execution, in an early scene where one of Mary's servants tries to assassinate Elizabeth (Flora Robson). It really concentrates on the complex world of Elizabethan spying and the Elizabethan Catholic "underworld". The latter is an unfair description, for the Catholics were being persecuted in England. They had been supporters of Mary, and now that she was killed they gave support (mostly begrudgingly) to Philip. England's master of spies was Sir Francis Walsingham (who does not appear in this film). Instead the espionage against Spain is handled by Robert, Earl of Leicester (Leslie Banks) in the film - but in fact, Leicester died in 1587 in Holland, so he was not around for the Armada.Lawrence Olivier is splendid in this early role as the young agent sent to spy on Philip and his plan (going in place of James Mason, who committed suicide in trying to avoid arrest). Olivier manages to get close to Philip (Raymond Massey) but that is not fully possible. Philip does not even like Englishmen, but he is willing to go along with the Catholics to get rid of Elizabeth and her regime. Philip is not easy to fool, and in a marvelous (almost comic moment) he stops Olivier from disclosing anything by finding that there was one name Olivier does not know that he should.I won't go into the rest of the film's story. Watch it to see how Olivier still manages to escape and save England, and end up with his love (Vivian Leigh). For a 1937 historic film it is quite good, even if it could not tell the completely true story of the invasion of 1588.

This enjoyable historical drama is particularly notable for the fine cast headed by Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, and Raymond Massey. The period atmosphere works well, and the setting, against the background of the 16th century struggles between England and Spain, is an interesting one.The story does a solid job of working the historical setting into a romance between Olivier's and Leigh's characters, setting up some interesting possibilities. Those two work well together - Leigh is a natural in her role, and it's an interesting change of pace for Olivier, from his Shakespeare roles and the like. Massey adds considerable interest and energy as the kind of heavy that he played so well – his very voice seems appropriate. Flora Robson is very well suited to the role of Queen Elizabeth. Tamara Desni and Leslie Banks also do well in their roles.The plot creates good moments of drama, romance, and action, along with some good cat- and-mouse games between the characters. It builds to a good climax and, if it occasionally stretches plausibility, it easily holds your interest all the way through. Overall, it's pretty good and well worth seeing.