Young Bess 1953

The mother died under the executioner's axe; the daughter rose to become England's greatest monarch -- the brilliant and cunning Queen Elizabeth I. Jean Simmons portrays young Bess in this rich tapestry of a film that traces the tumultuous, danger-fraught years from Elizabeth's birth to her unexpected ascension to the throne at a mere 25. Charles Laughton reprises his Academy Award®-winning* role as her formidable father Henry VIII. Deborah Kerr plays her last stepmother (and Henry's last of six wives), gentle Catherine Parr. And Simmons' then real-life husband, Stewart Granger, adds heroics as Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour. In a resplendent world of adventure, romance and court intrigue, Young Bess reigns.

Cast:

Jean Simmons
Young Bess (Queen Elizabeth I) 

Stewart Granger
Thomas Seymour 

Deborah Kerr
Catherine Parr 

Charles Laughton
King Henry VIII 

Kay Walsh
Mrs. Ashley 

Guy Rolfe
Ned Seymour