The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex Overview:

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) was a Biographical - Drama Film directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Hal B. Wallis and Robert Lord.

Academy Awards 1939 --- Ceremony Number 12 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Art DirectionAnton GrotNominated
Best CinematographySol Polito, W. Howard GreeneNominated
Best Music - ScoringErich Wolfgang KorngoldNominated
.

BlogHub Articles:

Watching 1939: The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

on Apr 19, 2018 From Comet Over Hollywood

In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them.?As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, tha... Read full article


The Essential Films of 1939: The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

By Amanda Garrett on Mar 23, 2015 From Old Hollywood Films

Good Queen Bess (Bette Davis) fall for ne'er do well Errol Flynn in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. The Director: Michael Curtiz. The Stars: Bette Davis, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Source Material: The play, Elizabeth the Queen, by Maxwell Anderson. Olivia de Havi... Read full article


The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)

By Beatrice on Feb 21, 2014 From Flickers in Time

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex Directed by Michael Curtiz Written by Norman Reilly Raine and Aeneas MacKenzie based on the play by Maxwell Anderson 1939/USA Warner Bros. First viewing/Netflix rental The quote, picture, and clip probably say more about the quality of this fictionalized cost... Read full article


Classic Films in Focus: THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX (1939)

By Jennifer Garlen on Nov 5, 2012 From Virtual Virago

Directed by Michael Curtiz, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) offers as much Technicolor pomp and spectacle as one could hope for in a lavish Warner Brothers costume drama, as well as the stars to match. Bette Davis rules the screen as Elizabeth I, but her court boasts luminaries as di... Read full article


Classic Films in Focus: THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX (1939)

By Jennifer Garlen on Nov 5, 2012 From Virtual Virago

Directed by Michael Curtiz, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) offers as much Technicolor pomp and spectacle as one could hope for in a lavish Warner Brothers costume drama, as well as the stars to match. Bette Davis rules the screen as Elizabeth I, but her court boasts luminaries as di... Read full article


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Quotes from

Queen Elizabeth I: ...the necessities of a queen must transcend those of a woman.


Queen Elizabeth I: And when he takes you in his arms again, thank heaven you are not a queen.
Mistress Margaret Radcliffe: But I thought to be a queen...
Queen Elizabeth I: To be a Queen is to be less than human, to put pride before desire, to search Men's hearts for tenderness, and find only ambition. To cry out in the dark for one unselfish voice, to hear only the dry rustle of papers of state. To turn to one's beloved with stars for eyes and have him see behind me only the shadow of the executioner's block. A queen has no hour for love, time presses, and events crowd upon her, and her shell, an empty glittering husk, she must give up all the a woman holds most dear.


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Facts about

Errol Flynn and Bette Davis disliked each other, and when Elizabeth slaps Essex in front of the entire court, Davis hauled off and unexpectedly belted Flynn for real. The anger on Essex's face is quite genuine, as is Flynn's visible imposition of self-control to avoid hitting Davis back.
For several years, from the time of Errol Flynn's death until the film was issued on videocassette and began to be shown on Turner Classic Movies, the title was changed to "Elizabeth the Queen", the title of Maxwell Anderson's original play on which the film is based.
To give the illusion of baldness, Bette Davis shaved her head two inches in front to show a high forehead under Elizabeth's red wigs.
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Best Music - Scoring Oscar 1939





















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Also directed by Michael Curtiz




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Also produced by Hal B. Wallis




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