The Virgin Queen

“CinemaScope spectacularly spreads before you the velvet cape and violent age of Sir Walter Raleigh and The Virgin Queen.”

Sir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd) is a bold, ambitious soldier who needs money for a voyage to the New World, and the only purse big enough belongs to Queen Elizabeth I (Bette Davis). To reach her he has to get past the rivals who crowd her court, flatter a monarch who distrusts flatterers, and keep Beth Throgmorton (Joan Collins) out of her sight. Henry Koster fills the CinemaScope frame with ruffs and velvet, and Raleigh bets everything on being noticed.