A historical costume epic so dramatically distracted that it appears John Ford's mind was home on the range instead of confined to the studio set.

As a pageant, it's magnificent. As a story, I found it a little disappointing.

I'm not sure how much whisky the studio bosses must have had before alighting on the choice of Katherine Hepburn and Fredric March for this telling of the story of Mary, Queen of Scots - but it was either too much, or not enough! Beginning after her return to her kingdom following the death of her French husband, Francis II, it tells the tale of her battles with her nobles; her hapless drunken husband Darnley (Douglas Walton); her lover Bothwell (March) and of the plentiful court intrigues that mired her reign. There is no disguising the strong accent of the former, nor the drawl of the latter. and there is virtually no chemistry between them - particularly as the story evolves and the precarious nature of Mary's grip on power becomes evident. John Ford creates an image that uses the sets and interiors to convey the rather basic existence of both the Scottish court and of the country in general, but that's about all I can say in it's defence. The opportunities to capitalise on some of the most famous and notorious events in history is really wasted - and we even get a maudlin song for good measure from a disappointing John Carradine as the ill-fated "Rizzio". Plenty of rousing bagpipe music, though...!

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