Mary of Scotland (1936)

Director:

John Ford
(more)

Writers:

Dudley Nichols (screenplay)
Maxwell Anderson (play)
(more)

Release Date:

28 August 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

One of the greatest love stories of all time... brought to the screen in throbbing glory by a wonderful cast of stars!

Plot:

The recently widowed Mary Stuart returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne but is opposed by her half-brother and her own Scottish lords.

Plot Keywords:

England | Scotland | Escape | Throne | Half Brother

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Katharine Hepburn	...	Mary Stuart
Fredric March	...	Bothwell
Florence Eldridge	...	Elizabeth Tudor
Douglas Walton	...	Darnley
John Carradine	...	Rizzio
Robert Barrat	...	Morton
Gavin Muir	...	Leicester
Ian Keith	...	Moray
Moroni Olsen	...	John Knox
William Stack	...	Ruthven
Ralph Forbes	...	Randolph
Alan Mowbray	...	Throckmorton
Frieda Inescort	...	Mary Beaton
Donald Crisp	...	Huntly
David Torrence	...	Lindsay
Molly Lamont	...	Mary Livingstone
Anita Colby	...	Mary Fleming
Jean Fenwick	...	Mary Seton
Lionel Pape	...	Burghley
Alec Craig	...	Donal
Mary Gordon	...	Nurse
Monte Blue	...	Messenger
Leonard Mudie	...	Maitland
Brandon Hurst	...	Airan
Wilfred Lucas	...	Lexington
D'Arcy Corrigan	...	Kirkcaldy
Frank Baker	...	Douglas
Cyril McLaglen	...	Faudoncide
Doris Lloyd	...	Fisherman's Wife
Robert Warwick	...	Sir Francis Knollys
Murray Kinnell	...	Judge
Lawrence Grant	...	Judge
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Judge (as Ivan Simpson)
Nigel De Brulier	...	Judge (as Nigel de Brulier)
Barlowe Borland	...	Judge
Walter Byron	...	Walsingham
Wyndham Standing	...	Sergeant-at-Arms
Earle Foxe	...	Earl of Kent
Paul McAllister	...	du Croche
Lionel Belmore	...	Fisherman
Gaston Glass	...	Frenchman
Neil Fitzgerald	...	Nobleman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Anthony	...	Man (uncredited)
John Blood	...	Man (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	(uncredited)
Tommy Bupp	...	Boy in Boat (uncredited)
David Clyde	...	(uncredited)
Hallam Cooley	...	(uncredited)
Jean De Briac	...	Man (uncredited)
Harvey D'Roulle Foster	...	Man (uncredited)
Jerry Frank	...	(uncredited)
Bud Geary	...	(uncredited)
Douglas Gerrard	...	(uncredited)
Hilda Grenier	...	Woman (uncredited)
Winter Hall	...	(uncredited)
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Man (uncredited)
Robert Homans	...	Jailer (uncredited)
Shep Houghton	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Maxine Jennings	...	Woman (uncredited)
Jean Kircher	...	Prince James (uncredited)
Judith Kircher	...	Prince James (uncredited)
Fred Malatesta	...	Man (uncredited)
G.L. McDonnell	...	Man (uncredited)
Wedgwood Nowell	...	Queen Elizabeth's Majordomo (uncredited)
John Pickard	...	Soldier dueling Bothwell (uncredited)
Father Raemers	...	Man (uncredited)
Robert Ryan	...	(uncredited)
Leslie Sketchley	...	(uncredited)
Wingate Smith	...	(uncredited)
Pat Somerset	...	Mary's Majordomo (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	One of Queen Mary's Guards (uncredited)
John Tyke	...	Man (uncredited)
Billy Watson	...	Fisherman's son (uncredited)
Bobs Watson	...	Fisherman's Son (uncredited)
Niles Welch	...	Man (uncredited)

Directed by
John Ford
Leslie Goodwins		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Dudley Nichols		(screenplay)
Maxwell Anderson		(play)
Mortimer Offner		contributing writer (uncredited)

Produced by
Pandro S. Berman	....	producer

Original Music by
Nathaniel Shilkret

Cinematography by
Joseph H. August		(photographed by)
Jack MacKenzie		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Van Nest Polglase

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Louise Sloane	....	hair stylist: Ms. Hepburn (uncredited)

Production Management
Bert Gilroy	....	unit manager (uncredited)
Louis Shapiro	....	unit manager (uncredited)
Charles Stallings	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward Donahue	....	assistant director

Art Department
Carroll Clark	....	associate art director
Darrell Silvera	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Hugh McDowell Jr.	....	sound recordist
Denzil A. Cutler	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
George Marsh	....	sound edit (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Vernon L. Walker	....	photographic effects (as Vernon Walker)

Camera and Electrical Department
Louie Anderson	....	grip (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Jane Loring	....	editorial associate
Robert Parrish	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator (as Maurice de Packh)
Nathaniel Shilkret	....	musical director (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Jack Bond	....	stand-in: Fredric March (uncredited)
Patricia Doyle	....	stand-in: Katharine Hepburn (uncredited)
Idalyn Dupre	....	stand-in: Frieda Inescort (uncredited)
Georgia French	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Hermes Pan	....	choreographer (uncredited)
Meta Stern	....	script clerk (uncredited)
Bill Worth	....	stand-in: John Carradine (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Zenith Film (1936) (Italy) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Theatre Guild  producer of stage play
• Western Costume Company  costumes (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Mary, Queen of Scotland (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #2052) | Argentina:13

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Katharine Hepburn, who played Queen Mary, is actually a distant relative of the Earl Of Bothwell, whose family name was, in fact, Hepburn.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the movie, Mary's execution takes place outdoors. It actually took place in the great hall of Fotheringay castle.

Quotes:

Bothwell: Dark or bright, I'll always follow your star, Mary.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in When's Your Birthday? (1937)

Mary meets Elizabeth!

The directors cannot refrain from showing the two queens together in one scene.Charles Jarrot -whose movie is inferior to John Ford's- did the same in 1972.And however,they never met ,not a single time during Mary's captivity.But John Ford's scene is useful for people who know little about the Virgin Queen.It's sure that Mary's childhood in France was a nice one even though her reign was short as king François II's wife.On the other hand,Elizabeth lived in fear when she was a child for her bloody sister wanted to get rid of her.

The first past begins in Scotland ,and France is only evoked in Mary's memories.This first part is the most satisfying historically speaking:Darnley's and Ricci's murders are well directed by Ford,and the town criers who ,every ten minutes announce "It's eight'o clock!All is fine!" shows his sense of humor.Biggest flaw is the little part of James Stuart, aka"the bastard" aka Maurey:This man is really the stringman,who plays a prominent part in the queen's downfall,holding Mary like a puppet on a string,travelling to France when rebellion begins -he was not here when Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven-,just coming back to reap the benefits (regency he had lost when his sister came back).

Frederic March is a fine actor,but his Bothwell is not credible.Bothwell was a hairy brute ,not the romantic chivalrous fair knight we see here.Mary's abduction remains a mysterious part because the historians have no documents of what really happened.Mary's captivity in Lochleven-where she at last understood how James Stuart fooled her -and her extraordinary escape -worthy of Hitchcock's suspense-lasts barely 30 seconds on the screen.

Ditto for Mary's captivity in England.When she arrived,she was in what we would call "under house arrest" today.Only during her last year,when they discovered a plot,she was taken to the fortress of Fotheringay (a wonderful Fairport Convention song by the way),she was really a prisoner in the modern sense of the term.And she had a whole floor for herself though.

The trial is unsatisfying.At the time,Mary did not care for Bothwell anymore,she was longing to become a martyr of the Catholic cause.She did not know that the pope did not take her seriously .The scene with Donald is pure romantic fiction.

All in all ,and even if the things fall apart a bit in the second part,the movie is magnificently enhanced by Hepburn's presence and Ford -they said they had a love affair on the set- lovingly films her.I've been told that the scene between Bothwell and the queen on the tower was filmed by KH herself.