Young Bess
A Great and Spectacular Drama!
1953 | 112m | English
Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | George Sidney |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Margaret Irwin, Jan Lustig, Arthur Wimperis |
| Staring: |
| 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. | |
| Release Date: | May 29, 1953 |
|---|---|
| Director: | George Sidney |
| Writer: | Margaret Irwin, Jan Lustig, Arthur Wimperis |
| Genres: | Drama, Romance, History |
| Keywords | england, queen, biography, historical figure, tudor, 16th century |
| Production Companies | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 09, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Alan Napier | Robert Tyrwhitt |
| Noreen Corcoran | Bess as a child |
| Ivan Triesault | Danish Envoy |
| Elaine Stewart | Anne Boleyn |
| Dawn Addams | Kate Howard |
| Doris Lloyd | Mother Jack |
| Lumsden Hare | Archbishop Cranmer |
| Lester Matthews | Sir William Paget |
| Patrick Whyte | Officer |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| A. Arnold Gillespie | Special Effects |
| Margaret Irwin | Novel |
| Urie McCleary | Art Direction |
| Jack D. Moore | Set Decoration |
| Jan Lustig | Screenplay |
| Henri Jaffa | Colorist |
| George Rhein | Assistant Director |
| Warren Newcombe | Special Effects |
| George Sidney | Director |
| Arthur Wimperis | Screenplay |
| Charles Rosher | Director of Photography |
| Ralph E. Winters | Editor |
| Walter Plunkett | Costume Design |
| Miklós Rózsa | Original Music Composer |
| Cedric Gibbons | Art Direction |
| Edwin B. Willis | Set Decoration |
| Douglas Shearer | Recording Supervision |
| Sydney Guilaroff | Hairstylist |
| William Tuttle | Makeup Artist |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Sidney Franklin | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 4 |
| 2024 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 4 |
| 2024 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| 2024 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 2024 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| 2024 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Trending Position
Maybe not quite how it actually happened, but this was Hollywood, remember. Jean Simmons plays the Princess Elizabeth brought up in rags and riches depending on the whim of her father Henry VIII (rather rumbustiously played by Charles Laughton). Meantime Thomas Seymour (a handsome, swashbuckling rog ... ue played by Stewart Granger) is marrying Henry's widow Catherine Parr (Deborah Kerr) and so we have our menage-a-trois. History is fact about the marriage; much less so about the "love affair" between Elizabeth and Seymour. This film follows her coming-of-age as she navigates the political intrigues after her father's death. It's is colourful and engaging - her two servants add quite a lot too. It's entertainment though, nothing too educational.