Tudor Rose

Felix Aylmer - Edward Seymour
Frank Cellier - Henry VIII
Gwen Ffrangcon Davies - Mary Tudor
Cedric Hardwicke - Earl of Warwick
Martita Hunt - Lady Francis Brandon Grey
John Laurie - John Knox
Miles Malleson - Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk
John Mills - Lord Guilford Dudley
Nova Pilbeam - Lady Jane Grey
Desmond Tester - Edward VI
Sybil Thorndike - Ellen
John Turnbull - Arundel

Uncharacteristically lavish Gainsborough melodrama that established Robert Stevenson as belonging among the forefront 0f British directors. With impressive production values and costumes, this is a splendidly performed glimpse at simplified English history. Stevenson is by no means a flamboyant director, but he creates a succession of visually eloquent images, but the film's real strength lies in its articulation of the poignant contrast between vulnerable humanity and political expediency that carry the film's theme.

The opening sequence focuses on the deathbed of Henry VIII (Frank Cellier), the dying King starts up to ask, with well-founded suspicions of the deviant watchers, “What are those shadows?', before announcing the succession to the throne: “Edward the Prince, my son, then my daughter Mary and her heirs, then Elizabeth and her heirs and, failing them, my sister's child Jane Grey.” He dies, laying his curse on `any that should betray these children'. Those around him adhere to his wishes but quickly scheme to outdo each other.

The drama of the rest of the film lies in precisely such betrayal, first of Edward, at the hands of his two conniving uncles, Edward Seymour `The Fox' (Felix Aylmer) and Thomas Seymour `The Peacock' (Leslie Perrins). They are characterised thus by another power-broking watcher, Warwick (Cedric Hardwicke) who, despite his disclaimer that `I am no politician, I am a plain soldier', is largely responsible for the bypassing of Mary and Elizabeth and thereby bringing Jane Grey (Nova Pilbeam) to the throne. It is Warwick who insists that Jane's life be wrenched out of its natural course. When Jane protests that she does not wish to be Queen, she is silenced with, `It is not only your right but your sacred duty'. She will accept the role for duty's sake, and on the understanding that there will be no more bloodshed.