Anne of the Thousand Days is at heart a tale of a miserable marriage. Mary, Queen of Scots is a much more complicated and demanding tale of multiple intrigues. The contrasting approaches to rule by Mary and Elizabeth are a lesson in the use of power. The romantic and spirited Mary believes that her good intentions and merciful nature will prevail, while Elizabeth sees every event as another chess problem. Mary makes a couple of initial mistakes (a foolish marriage, trusting her brother) that seem to seal her fate. Elizabeth puts the management of her kingdom ahead of everything, staying at all times a full two steps ahead of her royal competitor.

John Ford tried this same story 36 years before for RKO and failed miserably. Although it does paraphrase history a bit, Hal Wallis's Mary, Queen of Scots can be more honest about the religious and sexual aspects. Mary is hobbled by a bitter struggle between Catholics and Protestants while Elizabeth's power is held separately from the Church. We see Elizabeth's calculated maneuverings and recognize Mary's big mistakes, and can only conclude that in a royal viper's nest the sovereign has no choice but to be the most ruthless snake of all.

The more 'feminine' Mary allows herself to be guided by her heart, but her enemies consider sincerity and mercy to be weaknesses. After gestures of leniency, Mary's rotten brother betrays her not once but twice. The more 'masculine' Elizabeth is miserable because she cannot bear children and cannot continue her line. She's absolutely ruthless with those who oppose her and is careful never to show weakness. When she refuses Mary passage through England, Elizabeth knows exactly what she's doing. Mary's indecision allows her Scottish enemies to take action, and she spends most of her unhappy reign defending herself. When her advisor is murdered, her enemies are ready with all kinds of slurs and accusations against her. Instead of openly getting rid of a disloyal husband, Mary botches a faked accident, which allows Elizabeth to brand her a murderer. The lesson about power seems to be to strike first, hit hard, and never let one's guard down.

Mary, Queen of Scots has a score of impressive performances. Vanessa Redgrave expresses Mary's confusion without becoming a ninny or an indecisive wax dummy, like poor Katharine Hepburn in Ford's picture. Glenda Jackson is the only Elizabeth 1 that puts images of Bette Davis out of one's memory; she really seems to be the grown-up version of the little girl at the end of Anne of the Thousand Days, borne of one of the worst marriages in history. Patrick McGoohan is solid as the stern and unyielding James Stuart. He leads a pack of loutish (and smelly) Scottish lairds, Andrew Kier among them. Nigel Davenport is a great Earl of Bothwell, a fine man who might have prevailed had he been more assertive with Mary.

The relatively young future Hobbit Ian Holm shines as David Rizzio, the Papal spy who ends up on the wrong side of a pack of Scottish knives. John Carradine played Rizzio in the 1936 Ford version. Timothy Dalton is the sniveling fool Henry Darnley, whose treachery ruins everything for Mary; Dalton makes himself into a real weasel for this part. Scattered about in smaller roles are Trevor Howard and Daniel Massey. Charles Jarrott's direction keeps the complicated story running very smoothly. John Hale's creative script dodges the history books by having Mary and Elizabeth's forest meeting take place in secret. The trick works because the scene has to be there ... we need a nose-to-nose confrontation between these powerful females.

Universal's double bill of Anne of the Thousand Days and Mary, Queen of Scots presents both films in fine enhanced transfers with proper Panavision framing. Both are in English 2.0 with English and French subtitles only. Mary, Queen of Scots recreates the road show experience with five additional minutes of overture and intermission music, over black. We're reminded that it was originally released in 70mm. Mary, Queen of Scots also has a separate isolated music track. Commentators Nick Redman and Jon Burlingame discuss the film and composer John Barry between cues. An old 'promotional featurette' for Mary, Queen of Scots is actually a rather long original trailer. An extended promo for the new Elizabeth: The Golden Age destroys all interest for that show, by sampling what must be every dramatic situation in digest form.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Anne of the Thousand Days & Mary, Queen of Scots rates:
Movies: Both Excellent
Video: Both Excellent
Sound: Excellent Dolby 2.0 English
Supplements: Isolated music and commentary track with Nick Redman and Jon Burlingame on Mary, Queen of Scots
Packaging: 2 discs in Keep case in card sleeve
Reviewed: October 3, 2007