Young Bess

The story

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 & crew

Jean SimmonsYoung Bess (Queen Elizabeth I)

Stewart GrangerThomas Seymour

Deborah KerrCatherine Parr

Charles LaughtonKing Henry VIII

Kay WalshMrs. Ashley

Guy RolfeNed Seymour

Kathleen ByronAnn Seymour

Cecil KellawayMr. Parry

Rex ThompsonPrince Edward / King Edward VI

Robert ArthurBarnaby

Leo G. CarrollMr. Mums

Norma VardenLady Tyrwhitt