''Fire Over England'' is a 1937

London Film Productions London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included ''The Private Life o ...

film drama, notable for providing the first pairing of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. It was directed by William K. Howard and written by Clemence Dane from the 1936 novel '' Fire Over England'' by

AEW Mason Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (7 May 1865 – 22 November 1948) was an English author and politician. He is best remembered for his 1902 novel of courage and cowardice in wartime, ''The Four Feathers'' and is also known as the creator of Inspecto ...

. Leigh's performance in the film helped to convince

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. ...

to cast her as

Scarlett O'Hara Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind'' and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the ...

in his 1939 production of '' Gone with the Wind''. The film is a historical drama set during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

focusing on England's victory over the Spanish Armada.

Plot

During the reign of Queen

, England is concerned by the impending arrival of the Spanish Armada. In 1588, relations between Spain and England are at breaking point. With the support of Queen Elizabeth I ( Flora Robson), English privateers such as

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 158 ...

regularly capture Spanish merchantmen bringing gold from the New World. Elizabeth's chief advisers are the Lord Treasurer, Lord Burleigh ( Morton Selten), and her longtime admirer,

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was o ...

( Leslie Banks). Burleigh's 18-year-old granddaughter Cynthia (Vivien Leigh) is one of Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting, and the ageing queen is plagued by jealousy of the girl's beauty and vivacity. In a sea battle between the Spanish, led by Don Miguel ( Robert Rendel), and the English, led by his old friend Sir Richard Ingolby ( Lyn Harding) the English are captured. Miguel allows Richard's son Michael (Laurence Olivier) to escape. Michael swims ashore on Miguel's estate, and his wounds are tended to by Miguel's daughter Elena ( Tamara Desni), who quickly becomes enamoured of the handsome Englishman, despite her being engaged to marry. As the months pass, Michael recovers and laments being apart from Cynthia, his sweetheart, but is nonetheless impressed by Elena's charms. Miguel brings Michael the sad news that Sir Richard, his father, has been executed as a heretic. The grieving Michael denounces his rescuers and flees to England in a small fishing boat. When he is granted an audience with the Queen he urges her to fight the Spanish menace by whatever means necessary, and swears undying loyalty to her. Elizabeth is flattered by the young man's fervent devotion and later has an opportunity to take advantage of his offer of service when Hillary Vane ( James Mason), an Englishman spying for Spain, is killed before the names of his English co-conspirators can be uncovered. Michael, disguised as Vane, goes to the court of King Philip II of Spain ( Raymond Massey) to get the letters that will set into motion a plan to assassinate Elizabeth. At the palace Michael meets Elena. Her father has been killed by the English and she is now married to Don Pedro (

Robert Newton Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for hi ...

), the palace governor. Elena keeps Michael's identity a secret as long as she can, but finally must tell her husband out of loyalty to him. Philip sees through Michael's disguise and orders his arrest. Pedro helps him escape so that it will not be discovered that his wife aided a heretic. While Michael is returning home, the Spanish Armada sails against England and Elizabeth addresses her army at Tilbury. Michael meets her there and reveals the names of the traitors. Elizabeth knights Michael before confronting the six traitors, inviting them to fulfill their plot and kill her. Overwhelmed with shame, they agree to accompany Michael on a mission to deploy fire ships in a night attack on the Armada, massed off the coast of England. The tactic succeeds, and Elizabeth allows Michael and Cynthia to marry.

Cast

* Flora Robson as Queen

of England * Raymond Massey as King Philip II of Spain * Leslie Banks as 'Robin', the Earl of Leicester * Laurence Olivier as Michael Ingolby * Vivien Leigh as Cynthia * Morton Selten as Lord Burleigh * Tamara Desni as Elena * Lyn Harding as Sir Richard Ingolby * George Thirlwell as Mr. Lawrence Gregory * Henry Oscar as the Spanish Ambassador * Robert Rendel as Don Miguel *

as Don Pedro * Donald Calthrop as Don Escobal * Charles Carson as Admiral Valdez * James Mason as Hillary Vane, an English traitor * Francis De Wolff as Sir James Tarleton

Production

With the working title of ''Glorianna'', principal photography took place at Denham Studios, where a large water tank was used to launch the model ships representing the Spanish Armada and the English naval defenders. Originally

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laughs ...

was to star, but Alexander Korda saw the production as a star vehicle for Vivien Leigh, who was under contract to Korda."Notes: 'Fire OVer England'."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved 2 February 2015. Along with the historical drama that was portrayed, ''Fire Over England'' was also a costume romance that served to showcase Leigh and Olivier, a real-life romantic couple.

The Lion Has Wings

A portion of the film, including the beacons being lit on the English coast, and an armour-clad Queen Elizabeth giving her speech to the surrounding soldiers at Tilbury before the Battle of Gravelines, was used in the 1939

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

propaganda documentary '' The Lion Has Wings''. It is used to compare the Spanish invasion attempt to a Nazi invasion, demonstrating how Great Britain had survived against great odds in the past, and would again.

Reception

''Fire Over England'' was the first British film to have its US premiere at Los Angeles. Overall, the picture garnered positive reviews. In the review in '' Variety'', the comment was "This is a handsomely mounted and forcefully dramatic glorification of Queen Bess. It holds a succession of brilliantly played scenes, a wealth of choice diction, pointed excerpts from English history and a series of impressive tableaux." Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

'' in 1937,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

gave the film a mixed review, acknowledging it as "well-directed and lavish", but criticizing its lack of historical realism. Greene stated that "the sets are magnificent" and that "the acting is far better than we are accustomed to in English films", but considered the production to have "strayed out of history" and called certain scenes "absurd" and "embarrassing". (reprinted in: ) The League of Nations Committee on Motion Pictures awarded the 1937 Cinema Medal of Honor to ''Fire Over England''.

References

Notes Bibliography * Vermilye, Jerry. ''The Great British Films''. New York: Citadel Press, 1978. .

External links

* * * * * {{Alexander Korda 1937 films 1930s historical drama films British historical drama films British black-and-white films Films shot at Denham Film Studios Films directed by William K. Howard Films set in Tudor England Films set in London Films set in Spain London Films films Films about Elizabeth I Drama films based on actual events Films based on British novels Films produced by Alexander Korda Films scored by Richard Addinsell Films set in the 1580s Films produced by Erich Pommer United Artists films 1937 drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films