Alexander Korda often enlisted Tinseltown talent to lend his British productions some Hollywood pizzazz. For this spirited historical film about the intrigues and counter-intrigues leading up to the Spanish Armada's assault against Queen Elizabeth's brave little island, William K. Howard directed and the cameraman was the great James Wong Howe. Still, it's the Russian French art director Lazare Meerson who takes top honors with his ethereal sets. The swashbuckling pales beside <I>Captain Blood</I> or <I>The Prisoner of Zenda</I>, but the diplomatic crosstalk and young Larry Olivier's James-Bond-in-a-ruff act are delicious. Vivien Leigh is Olivier's love interest (on screen and off), and royalty is royally served by Flora Robson's gusty Good Queen Bess (a role she reprised in <I>The Sea Hawk</I>) and Raymond Massey's wonderfully lugubrious Philip of Spain. Robert Newton plays another Spaniard, and if you don't blink you'll glimpse James Mason as the traitorous Hillary Vane. --<I>Richard T. Jameson</I>
Viewer Reviews Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier were already in love during production of this film and it`s because of them this is still of interest. Flora Robson still excell(she was to meet Vivien as her servant Ftattateeta in CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA - by the way my first review on this site on this very day - and a nice switch since Vivien is Robson`s lady-in-waiting here)...
The battle was always a bathtub-affair(noted even in 1936). Olivier`s crying of grief was cut in the US because the thought of the time was that is wasn`t manly enough.
Note also a cameo by James Mason in an ealy scene. Vivien Leigh is at her best and it`s the only film pre-Scarlett that she gives a star performance.
The film does have a good storyline, but halts because we miss the interplay between Leigh and Olivier when their not on screen together....
