Fire Over England

Director: Alexander Korda, William Howard, William K. Howard Alexander Korda

Overview

The War between England and Spain in the late 16th century serves as backdrop for the fictional machinations of this film. The dazzlingly-handsome Laurence Olivier plays a British naval officer who offers his services to Queen Elizabeth after his father is executed by the Spaniards.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/30/2016
UPC:	0660845448032
Original Release:	1937
Language:	English
Time:	1:28:00
Sales rank:	2,885

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Laurence Olivier	Michael Ingolby
Vivien Leigh	Cynthia
Flora Robson	Queen Elizabeth I
Raymond Massey	King Philip II
Leslie Banks	Earl of Leicester
Tamara Desni	Elena
Morton Selten	Burleigh
Lyn Harding	Sir Richard
George Thirlwell	Gregory
Henry Oscar	Spanish Ambassador
Robert Rendel	Don Miguel
Robert Newton	Don Pedro
Donald Calthrop	Don Escobal
Charles Carson	Admiral Valdez
James Mason	Hillary Vane
Herbert Lomas	Richard Ingolby
Lawrence Hanray	French Ambassador
Roy Russell	Cooper
Howard Douglas	Lord Amberley
Cecil Mainwaring	Illingworth
Francis de Wolff	Tarleton
Franklin Dyall	Actor
Graham Cheswright	Maddison
A. Corney Grain	Hatton
Evelyn Ankers	Lady-in-Waiting

Technical Credits

Sergei Nolbandov

Clemence Dane

Sergei Nolbandov	Screenwriter
Clemence Dane	Screenwriter
Erich Pommer	Producer
Ned Mann	Special Effects
Lawrence Butler	Special Effects
Edward Cohen	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Laurence Olivier helps save England from Spanish dreadnoughts in this unabashedly patriotic 1936 British film directed by American William Howard. Featuring Olivier as gung-ho naval officer Michael Ingolby, the production has all the ingredients of the classic swashbuckler: booming canons, swordplay, romance, and villainy. But what really sets the film apart is the outstanding performance of Flora Robson as a stout-hearted, quick-tongued Queen Elizabeth I. Robson delivers barbs at court as sharp as the crossed swords on the field of battle. In private, though, she exhibits a gentle side, even spoon-feeding broth to her ailing counselor, Baron Burleigh, portrayed with grandfatherly benignity by Morton Selten. The plot moves swiftly, depicting battles, captures, narrow escapes, and wooing on the fly -- all enhanced by the stunning black-and-white cinematography of James Wong Howe. Richard Addinsell serves up a rousing music score, and two of early filmdom's exquisite beauties -- Tamara Desni (Elena) and Vivien Leigh (Cynthia) -- turn strait-laced Elizabethan gowns into fashion statements. The film is not faultless, however. At times, Olivier is much too theatrical, as if he is performing Shakespeare for an audience far distant from the stage. There are also directorial faux pas. In one, Olivier doffs a sling on a wounded arm, jumps ship, and swims ashore like Mark Spitz going for gold. In another, the supposedly iron-fisted queen allows traitors to redeem themselves by helping Ingolby sink Spanish ships. Robson knights Olivier in this film, ten years before he received the honor in real life.