MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

UK, 1971, 123 minutes, Colour.
Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Timothy Dalton, Nigel Davenport, Patrick Mc Goohan, Trevor Howard, Daniel Massey, Ian Holm, Andrew Keir.
Directed by Charles Jarrott.

Mary, Queen of Scots has all the ingredients for a major costume drama. Instead, this version is a tasteful look at the main characters and events of the fateful life of Mary. The film gives Glenda Jackson a chance to do her Elizabeth R role on the wide-screen. She is a strong personality and probably makes too strong a contrast with Mary, who was a flighty, emotional queen and who is portrayed by Vanessa Redgrave as flighty and emotional.

The events are interesting in themselves. Costumes, sets and colour are beautiful. The acting is good, although some actors have very little to do, for instance, Daniel Massey as Leicester pales beside Robert Hardy's Elizabeth R Leicester. Timothy Dalton registers as Darnley and Ian Holm as Rizzio, especially at his murder. The events in Mary, Queen of Scots, in fact, are full of intrigue, murder, adultery which, if portrayed in modern dress, might get a more severe classification from the censor. Interesting, though never great, history.

1. Did this film re-create its period and characters in an entertaining as well as an instructive way? How?

2. How did the early sequences of Mary at the French court quickly establish Mary's character, moods and feelings as well as her political situation with regard to France and the Medicis, to Scotland and her brother James, to England and Elizabeth?

3. On what terms did Mary agree to go back to Scotland? Did she understand the implications of the political situations and the intrigues or was she too light-headed and impulsive?

4. How did her landing, the arrival of the nobles, the cries of John Knox and her confinement to humble quarters establish Mary's position in Scotland?

5. What was the basis of Mary 's relationship with her brother? How did she relate to the nobles? How did he?

6. Why did Rizzio come with her? Why did he attain such power? How much did his Catholicism have to do with this?

7. In the early stages, the film cross-cuts from Mary to Elizabeth: how dramatically effective was this? Did it provide the basis for clashes? Did it line up Mary and Elizabeth as equals in conflict?

8. What kind of woman was Elizabeth in the film? How did Glenda Jackson interpret her? How did her strength, appearance, marriage-status contrast with Mary 's? How well did she run England? How much of her life was whim? How much shrewd calculation? How was her relation to Leicester presented? (Especially after the death of his wife and his trial.) How much did she depend on Cecil? How shrewd was Cecil?

9. How was Bothwell used by Mary, James and Elisabeth in the early part of the film? What kind of man was he?

10. How shrewd was Elizabeth in assessing Mary's character, feelings and attitudes towards marriage? Should she have so manipulated Mary?

12. Why did Leicester not want to go? Did he ever want Mary to marry him? Why did Mary choose Darnley? As a person, as an Englishman, as a Catholic?

12. How shrewd a man was Darnley? Or was he merely an opportunist, selfish, impetuous, ambitious and without principle? How did the sequences with Rizzio illustrate this?

13. Was the murder of Rizzio too graphic? Why did he have to die?

14. Did Darnley understand what he did in all of the intrigues?

15. How did James and the nobles manipulate things for their own ends towards Darnley, Mary, Bothwell?

16. Why was Darnley murdered?

17. Why did Mary throw herself on Elizabeth's mercy? What did the scene between them reveal? How did the moods change so dramatically and so quickly in this sequence? There is no historical record of the two women ever meeting. Were the two sequences of their meeting arranged by the screenplay plausible and dramatically authentic? How?

18. Why did Bothwell risk everything for Mary's love? Ambition?

19. Did the film's interest and conflict heighten towards the end or did some of the drama lessen? Why? Were the years of Mary's long imprisonment adequately portrayed? What effects did imprisonment have on Mary? How were these shown in the film? Why did she continue to plot?

20. How did Mary's imprisonment help Elizabeth? How did Elizabeth show herself a shrewd woman? Had she achieved peace in her kingdom and personal happiness? Why did she keep Mary alive? Why did Cecil want (and eventually get) Mary dead?

21. Was Elizabethan persecution adequately presented in the sequence with Walsingham and the torture of Fr, Bollard and Cecil's visit?

22. What had Mary achieved in her life by the time she was executed?

23. Was there any irony in the fact that Mary's son succeeded Elizabeth and began the unification of the two kingdoms?