Mary of Scotland

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Movie
German title Mary of Scotland
Original title Mary of Scotland
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1936
length 123 minutes
Rod
Director John Ford
script Dudley Nichols
production Pandro S. Berman
music Nathaniel Shilkret
camera Joseph H. August
occupation

Mary of Scotland (Original title: Mary of Scotland ) is an American period film by John Ford from 1936 with Katharine Hepburn in the title role. A play by Maxwell Anderson served as a literary model .

action

After the death of her husband Francis II , King of France, Maria Stuart returned to her Scottish homeland in 1561 to assert her claim to the English throne. Her cousin Elizabeth , the Queen of England , who sees Maria as a political danger, is unable to prevent Maria from arriving safely in Scotland with her Italian secretary David Rizzio . In Holyrood Palace near Edinburgh , Mary sees her half-brother again, the Earl of Moray , who ruled Scotland during her absence. Maria, a staunch Catholic, was then publicly defamed by John Knox , leader of the Protestant Presbyterian faith . However, the Earl of Bothwell , who is also a Protestant, takes Mary's side. Elizabeth then teams up with her ambassador to Scotland Throckmorton . Together they want to stir up Moray against Maria.

Secretary Rizzio, meanwhile, encourages Mary to marry the Catholic Lord Darnley , who will inherit the throne after Elizabeth. Although she actually loves Bothwell and the latter proposes to her, Maria decides to marry Darnley. Maria's advisors then try to get rid of Rizzio. When Maria refuses to fire Rizzio, the counselors get Darnley to accuse Rizzio of adultery with Maria. Rizzio is then murdered by a group of Scottish lords in Maria's bedchamber. They also force Maria to sign a false confession. Bothwell and his men help Maria and Darnley escape, thwarting Moray and Elizabeth's intrigue.

Mary eventually gives birth to a son named James . Darnley, who has doubts about his paternity, threatens to deny James as his legitimate successor. However, he can no longer put his project into practice when he dies in a fire in his room. When John Knox accuses Bothwell of the murder of Darnley, Bothwell and Maria go into hiding and secretly say yes. Meanwhile, Moray kidnaps Maria's son and the renegade lords attack Holyrood Palace. With Moray's troops outnumbered, Bothwell agreed to leave Scotland - but only on the condition that Mary remained Queen of Scotland. But only a little later, Moray forced his half-sister to abdicate, made himself king and had Maria thrown into dungeon. Maria is able to flee and seeks refuge in England - hoping that Elizabeth will support her and not Moray. But Elizabeth takes Maria prisoner and has her charged with high treason. When Maria learns of Bothwell's death, she accepts the death sentence that is imposed on her and renounces all claims of the Stuarts to the English throne, even when Elizabeth tries to grant her mercy. Maria looks forward to her execution with pride.

background

Maxwell Anderson's play Mary of Scotland , which served as a template for the film, had been a huge hit on Broadway in the 1933-1934 season , starring Helen Hayes and Fredric March . After Katharine Hepburn saw the play, she really wanted to play Maria Stuart on screen. Hepburn, who was under contract with RKO Pictures at the time , wanted George Cukor to direct the film, who had previously directed Sylvia Scarlett (1935) with her . Since this movie was, however advised to flop at the box office, decided producer Pandro S. Berman , John Ford to commit as director. Fredric March slipped into the role of Bothwell for the film adaptation. Van Nest Polglase was responsible for the film construction , and Walter Plunkett designed the costumes .

The world premiere of Mary of Scotland took place on July 28, 1936 in New York . The film was also shown at the Venice International Film Festival a month later . It was shown for the first time on German television on February 13, 1974.

Reviews

For Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times , Mary of Scotland was a "lavishly produced, dignified and touching film" about one of the most important personalities in history. He has “depth, strength and humanity”. Nevertheless, there are moments when the characters, especially Maria Stuart, are not drawn clearly enough, and scenes that lack vitality compared to the stage play. Most of the time, however, Hepburn shines in her role and Fredric March also delivered a first-class portrait of the "bold" Bothwell.

Variety found that on the surface, Katharine Hepburn was not the right choice for the role of Queen of Scotland. It “never seems as tough as it should”, it does not show “that courage and determination that the history books tell”. But that is precisely what makes the film “so much more human”. According to the lexicon of international film , director John Ford created the film "with masterful expressiveness".

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "A richly produced, dignified and stirringly dramatic cinematization of one of the most colorful periods and personalities in history. […] The picture has depth, vigor and warm humanity. Yet there are times when the characters - Mary Stuart particularly - do not come through clearly and there are scenes which lack the vitality they possessed in the play. […] Katharine Hepburn's Mary Stuart shines brilliantly through most of the film's two-hour course […]. Almost we had forgotten Fredric March's Bothwell, which would have been unpardonable, for his is a first-rate portrayal of the bold, roistering, devil-may-care border Scot history shows him to have been. " Frank S. Nugent : One of the Year's Notable Photoplays Emerges at the Music Hall in RKO's 'Mary of Scotland' . In: The New York Times , July 31, 1936.
  2. ^ "On the face of it, Katharine Hepburn would seem to be the wrong choice for the character of the Scots queen. She is nowhere as hard as she should be, she nowhere shows the strength of courage and decision that the school-books talk of. And that is all in the film's favor because it humanizes it all. " See Mary of Scotland . In: Variety , 1936.
  3. Mary of Scotland. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 26, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used