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Mary, Queen of Scots

Play trailer Poster for Mary, Queen of Scots PG-13 1972 2h 8m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
67% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Mary, Queen of Scots (Vanessa Redgrave), teenage wife to the king of France, returns to Scotland after her husband's death. Elizabeth Tudor (Glenda Jackson), believing her cousin Mary and her Roman Catholic beliefs to be a political threat, creates romantic dilemmas to distract her. Mary's subsequent marriage to Lord Darnley (Timothy Dalton), her relationship with courtier David Riccio (Ian Holm), and a third marriage to Lord Bothwell (Nigel Davenport) lead to her abdication and exile.

Critics Reviews

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Alexander Walker London Evening Standard 05/31/2022
Under Charles Jarrott’s direction, it’s essentially a tableau serie, but it whizzes by like a murkier Peyton Place. Go to Full Review John Russell Taylor The Times (UK) 05/26/2022
It is not all that bad, in the sense that it is never less than quite respectable, reasonably literate, but it is certainly a long, dull plod. Go to Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 10/23/2004
3/4
Historical dramas can be fun if you approach them in the right spirit. Go to Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com 07/15/2022
4/5
…a proper Hollywood historical epic in the traditional style… Go to Full Review Madeleine Harmsworth Sunday Mirror (UK) 05/31/2022
Wonderful shots of our green and pleasant land. Plenty of drama. Two top actresses working hard to do justice to their momentous roles. And yet somehow it's a bore -- an antiseptic view of history. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 06/21/2020
3.5/4
A royal flush of a different sort can be found in this gripping period piece in which two queens try to sweep each other out of power. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Amir A 06/23/2024 For Someone Who Is Studying History For GCSE This Was Sure Interesting And Useful See more Alec B 01/10/2024 Slightly better than "Anne of the Thousand Days" previous costume drama, but mostly because of Redgrave and Jackson who, of course, give fantastic performances. See more 02/22/2021 Slightly better than Jarrott's previous costume drama, but mostly because of Redgrave and Jackson who, of course, give fantastic performances. See more steve d 07/17/2020 Tries far too hard to rework history to make Mary a hero. See more 08/10/2019 No its not completely true history.... few films are. But its great drama with two giants of acting at their best. Redgrave and Jackson are tremendous, as are all the production values. A delicious flick. See more 12/16/2014 The tumultuous life of passion, betrayal, and death is wrapped in to a movie worth watching. Charles Jarrott captures the life of Mary, both queen of Scotland and France and her confrontation with her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Everything about the movie pulls you in. See more Read all reviews
Mary, Queen of Scots

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Cast & Crew

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Charles Jarrott

Director

Vanessa Redgrave

Mary, Queen of Scots

Glenda Jackson

Queen Elizabeth

Patrick McGoohan

James Stuart

Timothy Dalton

Henry, Lord Darnley

Nigel Davenport

Lord Bothwell

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Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Mary, Queen of Scots (Vanessa Redgrave), teenage wife to the king of France, returns to Scotland after her husband's death. Elizabeth Tudor (Glenda Jackson), believing her cousin Mary and her Roman Catholic beliefs to be a political threat, creates romantic dilemmas to distract her. Mary's subsequent marriage to Lord Darnley (Timothy Dalton), her relationship with courtier David Riccio (Ian Holm), and a third marriage to Lord Bothwell (Nigel Davenport) lead to her abdication and exile.
Director
Charles Jarrott
Producer
Hal B. Wallis
Screenwriter
John Hale
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Universal Pictures, Hal Wallis Productions
Rating
PG-13
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 2, 1972, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Sep 18, 2007
Runtime
2h 8m