I only have a single Mills Film for you this time, but it's one of the best we've seen, though incredibly tragic. It was called "Tudor Rose"(1936), the story of Lady Jane Grey, who became Queen of England for nine days in July 1553. We'll get to John Mills in a minute, but first I want to suggest that you look up Jane Grey if you don't know her story already. I was vaguely aware of it, but in reviewing the movie I only have two choices, either to let you in on the outcome or tell you nothing at all. I'm choosing the former, but want you to discover it for yourself which is why I advise you to Google her. It's a total spoiler for the plot, but this is one case where we'll have to accept that and move forward.
It all starts with the death of Henry VIII (and where the hell is Rick Wakeman when we need him?). His nine year old son ascends to the throne as Edward VI, but due to his youth he is assigned a Royal Protector named Edward Seymour, the brother of Jane Seymour who was the mother of little Edward, by Henry VIII.
We need Wakeman to sort it all out, so I suggest listening to "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" while you're reading this review.
King Edward's authority is more or less sidelined by Edward Seymour, who treats him as the child he is, but goes too far in denying even his most reasonable edicts. Seymour won't even let him have a new toy - a gun, which is replacing the bow and arrow as the weapon of choice in Europe, though Seymour is a traditionalist and can't see that. As Edward's overseer, he basically runs roughshod over the poor lad, who's joy at becoming King turns to sorrow. Sadder still, Edward's health is not good. He's a frail boy who suffers blackouts from a rapid heartbeat. He does win one victory, however, when Edward Seymour's brother Thomas comes to visit. Thomas is what you can call "the fun Uncle". He gets Edward the gun he's been asking for and teaches him to shoot. He also takes the boy-King out riding, all against the orders of his brother the Royal Protector. This sets up a showdown between the brothers, with Thomas finally deposing Edward Seymour and being chosen by King Edward as his new Protector. Edward Seymour is then beheaded, a savage end that King Edward denounces. He's a kind boy who wants nothing to do with the ruthless application of the guillotine.
As he reaches his teens, Edward's health continues to decline, and a predator is watching from the wings. This man is the Earl of Warwick, played to cold-blooded perfection by Cedric Hardwicke, who even looks like Warwick. Google his image to see. Warwick is a professional soldier who desires to become the power behind the throne. He predicts to a colleague that Edward's fainting spells will soon end in death. When this happens, he has a plan to bypass the royal line of succession, which runs through several close relatives of Henry VIII. Four places down that line is a 15 year old girl named Jane Grey, the daughter of King's Henry's younger sister. Warwick's strategy is not clearly spelled out (or if it was, I missed it), but it includes having his son Guilford (John Mills) court and marry young Jane before she's installed as Queen. Then, with the dutiful Guilford as Prince Consort, and his wife but an innocent teenage girl, Warwick will call the shots as the invisible ruler of England. It's a sinister plan, but so far everything has played out to Warwick's advantage.
For her part, Jane Grey wants nothing to do with the queenship. She's a bookish girl who prefers the countryside to London, but is sent there against her will by her ambitious mother. "Remember, Jane, that I am the sister of Henry". She wants Jane to aspire to something greater than reading Plato. Jane ends up living at Thomas Seymour's house (the new Royal Protector), and befriends the doomed King Edward. The Earl of Warwick's next move is to get rid of Thomas, whom he arrests on the false charge of trying to marry Jane to boy Edward. Thomas is sent to the Tower of London pending execution, leaving Jane and Edward distraught. Now Warwick is issuing the orders, and the first thing he commands is that Jane marry his son. Jane has already been introduced to Guilford (played as kind and charming by John Mills), but has no idea he's the son of Warwick. Before she knows what's hit her, they've been wed, King Edward has died, and Warwick has enthroned her as Queen.
All of this has worked just as Warwick predicted, but there is one player he hadn't counted on : Mary Tudor, another daughter of Henry VIII (by Catherine of Aragon). Mary finds out she's been bypassed for the throne and objects. When Warwick tells her to stuff it, she forms an army to reclaim what is rightly hers. That's all fine and dandy with Jane, who never wanted to be Queen in the first place, but Warwick chooses to fight, with his own guardsmen at his side, and a showdown begins.
An alternative title to this film is "Nine Days a Queen", so as you can guess, Mary Tudor wins the battle. As for Warwick, he is arrested and.......(you guessed it).......beheaded. Man, the Brits were bloodthirsty in those days. But what of Jane Grey? She didn't ask to be Queen and she's harmed no one. And what about her husband, Guilford Dudley? This is why I've asked you to Google the story of Lady Jane Grey, because the outcome is tragic and the victims for the most part are innocent of wrongdoing. Mary Tudor was an icy, compassionless woman who wasn't called "Bloody Mary" for nothing. John Mills' part as Guilford is brief but important to the plot as always. He's never just a bit player.
This brings us to Nova Pilbeam, the actress playing Jane Grey. We've seen her recently in "Yellow Canary" as well as in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" years earlier, and not only does she possess one of the greatest names in motion picture history (I mean, c'mon : Nova Pilbeam!), but she is utterly radiant as Lady Jane, the modest teenager who'd rather study languages than rule the Realm. The tragedy of Jane's life is made all the more poignant by Pilbeam's portrayal. In the hands of a lesser actress, who didn't evoke Grey's resigned acceptance of her fate, the movie would not have the same heartbreaking effect. All the actors are fantastic (especially Cedric Hardwicke) but Nova Pilbeam brings Jane Grey to life. For that reason, I think this is one of the best "Middle Ages" biopics we've ever seen (and I'm still looking for a suitable nickname for the genre). "Tudor Rose" gets Two Huge Thumbs Up and is worthy of a Criterion restoration, though the Youtube print is of decent quality. It's a must-see. /////
The reason we only have one film this time relates to the dwindling Mills supply mentioned in previous blogs. I searched for unseen films last night, but by the time I found one, it was too late to watch. In fact I found two, so that's the good news, which means in our next blog we'll be back to full strength Mills, at least for the moment.
That's all I know for today. Have a great evening. Tons of love as always! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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