Tudor Rose (film)

Plot

Cast

• Cedric Hardwicke as The Earl of Warwick
• Nova Pilbeam as Lady Jane Grey
• John Mills as Lord Guilford Dudley
• Felix Aylmer as Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
• Leslie Perrins as Thomas Seymour
• Frank Cellier as King Henry VIII
• Desmond Tester as Edward VI
• Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies as Mary Tudor
• Martita Hunt as Lady Frances Brandon Grey, Lady Jane's mother
• Miles Malleson as Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane's father
• Sybil Thorndike as Ellen
• John Laurie as John Knox
• Roy Emerton as Squire
• John Turnbull as Arundell

Production

Robert Stevenson wrote the script while recovering in hospital from an operation. He submitted it to Gaumont British under Michael Balcon. Stevenson worked for the studio several years, writing synopses, and graduating to script writing and assistant producing and directing. He was given chance to direct with Tudor Rose.

The film was one of the earliest production efforts from Ted Black. It was supervised by Black and Sidney Gilliat during the six month period when Michael Balcon was in Hollywood.

Roy Ward Baker was second assistant director.

Reception

The film was given a gala premiere in London in May 1936.

Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene offered a negative review, noting that he had "seldom listened to more inchoate rubbish than in Tudor Rose." Green described Robert Stevenson's direction as "smooth, competent, if rather banal" and criticised the film's historicity, dialogue, writing and scenes. Greene wrote: "There is not a character, not an incident in which history has not been altered for the cheapest of reasons," concluding that the historical-drama genre had reached "the Dark Age of scholarship and civilization."

Variety praised the "marvellous adherance to detail" and "From every angle, it is one of the mo.st interesting pictures ever produced on either side of the ocean. Experienced picture men here think the film will be a huge success In America. Perhaps. But they must not forget that the names In the cast are of relatively; small value in the U. S. and that it will require careful publicity to get moving."

The film was voted the second best British picture of 1936 by readers of Film Weekly magazine, trailing only The Ghost Goes West. Nova Pilbeam won the magazine's Best Acting award, besting Robert Donat for his performance in The Ghost Goes West.

Balcon said he showed the picture to Louis B. Mayer who was so impressed by the quality of the film on its budget he wanted to sign up everyone who worked on it until MGM. However, Balcon says that although Mayer sent a cable, and this was responded to by the filmmakers, Mayer did nothing further.

Nova Pilmbeam later said after she made the film "nothing happened for something like eighteen months. I longed to do something in the theatre but I wasn’t allowed."

References

References

1. Balcon, Michael. (1969). "Michael Balcon presents ... a lifetime of films". Hutchison.
2. (11 July 1936). "Their Private Lives". The Telegraph.
3. Vagg, Stephen. (1 December 2024). "Forgotten British Film Moguls: Ted Black".
4. (1984). "Michael Balcon : the pursuit of British cinema". Museum of Modern Art.
5. (22 May 1936). ""TUDOR ROSE" BRIDGES TIME". The Sun.
6. (30 June 1936). "CLEVER CHILDREN". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
7. Greene, Graham. (8 May 1936). "Anne-Marie/Tudor Rose". [[The Spectator]]}} (reprinted in: {{cite book.
8. (13 May 1936). "Tudor Rose".
9. (9 July 1937). "BEST FILM PERFORMANCE LAST YEAR.". [[The Examiner (Tasmania).
10. McFarlane, Brian. (1997). "An autobiography of British cinema : as told by the filmmakers and actors who made it". Methuen.