Mary, Queen of Scots

Play trailer

Mary, Queen of Scots

PG-13

Released Feb 2, 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.

Alexander Walker

London Evening Standard

Under Charles Jarrott’s direction, it’s essentially a tableau serie, but it whizzes by like a murkier Peyton Place.

May 31, 2022

Full Review

John Russell Taylor

Times (UK)

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.

May 26, 2022

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Historical dramas can be fun if you approach them in the right spirit.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…a proper Hollywood historical epic in the traditional style…

Rated: 4/5

Jul 15, 2022

Full Review

Madeleine Harmsworth

Sunday Mirror (UK)

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.

May 31, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

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.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 21, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Amir A

For Someone Who Is Studying History For GCSE This Was Sure Interesting And Useful

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/23/24

Full Review

Alec B

Slightly better than "Anne of the Thousand Days" previous costume drama, but mostly because of Redgrave and Jackson who, of course, give fantastic performances.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

Lady M

There's so much scenery chewing by the cast in this film you're going to require an antacid. I can only assume the director wanted these historically fine actors to act these scenes out as if they were performing a high school shakepearean production.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Slightly better than Jarrott's previous costume drama, but mostly because of Redgrave and Jackson who, of course, give fantastic performances.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

steve d

Tries far too hard to rework history to make Mary a hero.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/10/19

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

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

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

The Charge of the Light Brigade

60%

59%

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Watchlist

Becket

75%

87%

Becket

Watchlist

Henry V

98%

89%

Henry V

Watchlist

The Madness of King George

94%

80%

The Madness of King George

Watchlist

Jefferson in Paris

31%

35%

Jefferson in Paris

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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