A talky but strikingly staged slice of history with Bette Davis, in her first colour film, as Queen Elizabeth I, whose love affair with the Earl of Essex led to his downfall. Davis, the reigning queen at Warners studio with three major films on release in 1939, wanted Laurence Olivier to play her suitor, but was overruled by boss Jack L Warner in favour of the studio's swashbuckling champ Errol Flynn. Seeking the utmost authenticity, Davis shaved the front of her head and her eyebrows and insisted on ugly bags under her eyes. Flynn, attempting to flex his box-office clout, wanted the film called 'The Knight and the Lady', but lost the argument. In the final analysis, Davis stole the acting honours with one contemporary critic noting, 'Bette Davis's Elizabeth is a strong, resolute, glamour-skimping characterisation against which Mr Flynn's Essex has about as much chance as a beanshooter taking on a tank'.

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