History Film / MaryOfScotland

* HeroesWantRedHeads: Naturally, as played by lively, red-headed Katherine Hepburn. (Interestingly, the real Mary's ''gray'' hair as a young woman (ash-blonde, perhaps?) is called one of her most attractive features by Brantôme.)

-->In the [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance sixteenth century]], [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Queen Elizabeth I]] (Florence Eldridge) learns that [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary]] [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfStuart Stewart]] (Creator/KatharineHepburn) has returned to Scotland to take her throne, while refusing to yield her claim to England. The Scottish lords, under the lead of the treacherous [[NamesTheSame James Stewart]], Earl of Moray (Ian Keith), have been using the [[HolierThanThou fanatical]] preacher, John Knox (Moroni Olson), to defame Mary as a dissolute persecutor. Mary finds support in the person of the bluff Earl of Bothwell (Fredric March), with whom she falls in love, but, angered by his presumption and urged by her Catholic secretary David Rizzio (Creator/JohnCarradine) to marry a Catholic, to strengthen her claim to the English throne, she weds the [[TheAlcoholic drunken]], [[AmbiguouslyGay effeminate]] Lord Darnley (Douglas Walton). Darnley, despised by all and insanely jealous, conspires with the lords to murder Rizzio. Thereafter the lords [[StuffBlowingUp blow up]] (no, really) the feckless Darnley and seize Mary and her infant heir, James VI. She escapes to Bothwell, who "forces" her to marry him; denounced by John Knox, Bothwell agrees to leave Scotland, so long as Mary is left on the throne. However, as soon as he is gone, the lords betray her. Mary escapes to England, seeking aid from Elizabeth -- who instead imprisons her. She is [[KangarooCourt tried for conspiracy]] against Elizabeth; having heard meanwhile of Bothwell's death in prison, she [[HeroicBSOD accepts her condemnation]] to death. Elizabeth comes to her secretly to offer a last chance if she will renounce her claim to the throne, but Mary rejects her offer, taunting the English queen with her loveless life and the fact that Mary's son will inherit Elizabeth's throne. She then goes to her death -- hearing as in a vision the [[EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes pipers]] of Bothwell announcing her apotheosis.

Nevertheless, the film is undeniably handsomely mounted, with attractive costumes by Walter Plunkett (which, indeed, started a mini-fad for in 1936 for Scottish styles) and striking high-contrast black and white cinematography by Joseph H. Augusta. Ford may have disliked the [[{{Narm}} narmy]] script and [[TastesLikeDiabetes loveydovey]] romantic plot, but seems to have enjoyed deploying his actors and the various masses of extras in an almost balletic fashion in several sequences in which the characters are essentially wordless while the soundtrack (by RKO second-string composer Nathaniel Shilkret) establishes the requisite romantic mood, often with surprising success.

[[WhatCouldHaveBeen Interestingly]], Ginger Rogers tried out for the part of Elizabeth under the pseudonym "Lady Ainsley," much to the annoyance of Creator/KatharineHepburn, who detested her (and actually kicked her at one point during the screen test). At one point Hepburn is said to have lamented the fact that she could not play ''both'' queens, on hearing which, DeadpanSnarker Creator/JohnCarradine remarked: "If you did, how would you know which one to upstage?" The part eventually went to Fredric March's wife, Florence Eldridge.

[[WhatCouldHaveBeen Interestingly]], Ginger Rogers tried out for the part of Elizabeth under the pseudonym "Lady Ainsley," much to the annoyance of Creator/KatharineHepburn, who detested her (and actually kicked her at one point during the screen test). At one point Hepburn is said to have lamented the fact that she could not play ''both'' queens, on hearing which, DeadpanSnarker JohnCarradine remarked: "If you did, how would you know which one to upstage?" The part eventually went to Fredric March's wife, Florence Eldridge.

''Mary of Scotland'' is a 1936 [[HistoricalFiction Historical]] {{Romance}} film from RKO studios, recounting the life and love of [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], directed by John Ford and starring Creator/KatharineHepburn and Creator/FredricMarch.

''Mary of Scotland'' is a 1936 [[HistoricalFiction Historical]] {{Romance}} film from RKO studios, recounting the life and love of [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], directed by John Ford and starring Creator/KatharineHepburn and Creator/FredricMarch. The film, based on a successful blank verse drama by playwright Maxwell Anderson, is an example of HollywoodHistory at its most extravagant -- but it is less the numerous historical inaccuracies than the [[WorldOfHam wild melodramatics]] affected by every performer (excepting ''perhaps'' only Creator/JohnCarradine). ''Mary of Scotland'' was a financial disaster and one of the films responsible for making Hepburn "box office poison" until her career was revived by ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'' in 1940. Director John Ford was reportedly so disgusted at being slated to oversee a "[[ChickFlick woman's picture]]" that he took to leaving the set early and even delegated the direction of one of the romance scenes to Katherine Hepburn herself!

-->In the [[TheRenaissance sixteenth century]], [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Queen Elizabeth I]] (Florence Eldridge) learns that [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary]] [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfStuart Stewart]] (Creator/KatharineHepburn) has returned to Scotland to take her throne, while refusing to yield her claim to England. The Scottish lords, under the lead of the treacherous [[NamesTheSame James Stewart]], Earl of Moray (Ian Keith), have been using the [[HolierThanThou fanatical]] preacher, John Knox (Moroni Olson), to defame Mary as a dissolute persecutor. Mary finds support in the person of the bluff Earl of Bothwell (Fredric March), with whom she falls in love, but, angered by his presumption and urged by her Catholic secretary David Rizzio (Creator/JohnCarradine) to marry a Catholic, to strengthen her claim to the English throne, she weds the [[TheAlcoholic drunken]], [[AmbiguouslyGay effeminate]] Lord Darnley (Douglas Walton). Darnley, despised by all and insanely jealous, conspires with the lords to murder Rizzio. Thereafter the lords [[StuffBlowingUp blow up]] (no, really) the feckless Darnley and seize Mary and her infant heir, James VI. She escapes to Bothwell, who "forces" her to marry him; denounced by John Knox, Bothwell agrees to leave Scotland, so long as Mary is left on the throne. However, as soon as he is gone, the lords betray her. Mary escapes to England, seeking aid from Elizabeth -- who instead imprisons her. She is [[KangarooCourt tried for conspiracy]] against Elizabeth; having heard meanwhile of Bothwell's death in prison, she [[HeroicBSOD accepts her condemnation]] to death. Elizabeth comes to her secretly to offer a last chance if she will renounce her claim to the throne, but Mary rejects her offer, taunting the English queen with her loveless life and the fact that Mary's son will inherit Elizabeth's throne. She then goes to her death -- hearing as in a vision the [[EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes pipers]] of Bothwell announcing her apotheosis.

* RegionalRiff: The score makes use of various melodies such as Loch Lomond (''See'' CrowdSong'', above'') to set the scene, including, to introduce the English court, ''The British Grenadiers'', [[TheyJustDidntCare not written until over a century later]].

* [[EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes Everything's Louder With Bagpipes]]: As when, early in the film, Bothwell has his pipers drown out the sound of John Knox's sermon denouncing Mary. Later, Bothwell tells the Queen that if she ever needs him, she will hear his pipers coming -- and, after his death, she hears their ghostly sound as she goes to her execution.

* FakeBrit (or rather "Fake Scot" or "Fake Frenchwoman" if you want to be literal)

* [[NamesTheSame Name's The Same]]: Throughout the film, Fredric March's character is referred to as "Bothwell," as his surname, Hepburn (and he was, indeed, distantly related to Katherine) might have proved distracting, while his given name, James, would have broken the OneSteveLimit. Also, the Earl of Moray is named [[Creator/JimmyStewart James Stewart]], though that is ''not'' particularly avoided, as the actor had not yet come to prominence.
* {{Narm}}: In a film packed with it, a stand-out moment is when Bothwell enters the great hall, bellows, "Hullo, Darnley, still hangin' about?" at the effete Lord, and then lifts his kilt to warm his backside at the hearth.
* NarmCharm: As corny as it all is, the viewer may be surprised to find himself with a lump in his throat when Mary mounts the scaffold, to become luminous as she hears the ghostly sound of Bothwell's pipers, as her "dark star" falls and the lightning blazes overhead.

* TheWoobie: Rizzio; Bothwell (in prison); Mary herself after her condemnation.

* WorldOfHam: ''See'' LargeHam'', above.''

'''''Film/MaryOfScotland''''' is a 1936 [[HistoricalFiction Historical]] {{Romance}} film from RKO studios, recounting the life and love of [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], directed by John Ford and starring Creator/KatharineHepburn and Creator/FredricMarch. The film, based on a successful blank verse drama by playwright Maxwell Anderson, is an example of HollywoodHistory at its most extravagant -- but it is less the numerous historical inaccuracies than the [[WorldOfHam wild melodramatics]] affected by every performer (excepting ''perhaps'' only Creator/JohnCarradine). ''Mary of Scotland'' was a financial disaster and one of the films responsible for making Hepburn "box office poison" until her career was revived by ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'' in 1940. Director John Ford was reportedly so disgusted at being slated to oversee a "[[ChickFlick woman's picture]]" that he took to leaving the set early and even delegated the direction of one of the romance scenes to Katherine Hepburn herself!

'''''Film/MaryOfScotland''''' is a 1936 [[HistoricalFiction Historical]] {{Romance}} film from RKO studios, recounting the life and love of [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], directed by John Ford and starring Creator/KatharineHepburn and Fredric March. The film, based on a successful blank verse drama by playwright Maxwell Anderson, is an example of HollywoodHistory at its most extravagant -- but it is less the numerous historical inaccuracies than the [[WorldOfHam wild melodramatics]] affected by every performer (excepting ''perhaps'' only Creator/JohnCarradine). ''Mary of Scotland'' was a financial disaster and one of the films responsible for making Hepburn "box office poison" until her career was revived by ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'' in 1940. Director John Ford was reportedly so disgusted at being slated to oversee a "[[ChickFlick woman's picture]]" that he took to leaving the set early and even delegated the direction of one of the romance scenes to Katherine Hepburn herself!

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/FilmMaryOfScotland.jpg
[[caption-width:277:"What's my throne? I'd put a torch to it for any one of the days with you."]]

'''''Film/MaryOfScotland''''' is a 1936 [[HistoricalFiction Historical]] {{Romance}} film from RKO studios, recounting the life and love of [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], directed by John Ford and starring Creator/KatharineHepburn and Fredric March. The film, based on a successful blank verse drama by playwright Maxwell Anderson, is an example of HollywoodHistory at its most extravagant -- but it is less the numerous historical inaccuracies than the [[WorldOfHam wild melodramatics]] affected by every performer (excepting ''perhaps'' only JohnCarradine) that made the film a financial disaster and one of the films responsible for making Hepburn "box office poison" until her career was revived by ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'' in 1940. Director John Ford was reportedly so disgusted at being slated to oversee a "[[ChickFlick woman's picture]]" that he took to leaving the set early and even delegated the direction of one of the romance scenes to Katherine Hepburn herself!

-->In the [[TheRenaissance sixteenth century]], [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Queen Elizabeth I]] (Florence Eldridge) learns that [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary]] [[TheHouseOfStuart Stewart]] (Creator/KatharineHepburn) has returned to Scotland to take her throne, while refusing to yield her claim to England. The Scottish lords, under the lead of the treacherous [[NamesTheSame James Stewart]], Earl of Moray (Ian Keith), have been using the [[HolierThanThou fanatical]] preacher, John Knox (Moroni Olson), to defame Mary as a dissolute persecutor. Mary finds support in the person of the bluff Earl of Bothwell (Fredric March), with whom she falls in love, but, angered by his presumption and urged by her Catholic secretary David Rizzio (Creator/JohnCarradine) to marry a Catholic, to strengthen her claim to the English throne, she weds the [[TheAlcoholic drunken]], [[AmbiguouslyGay effeminate]] Lord Darnley (Douglas Walton). Darnley, despised by all and insanely jealous, conspires with the lords to murder Rizzio. Thereafter the lords [[StuffBlowingUp blow up]] (no, really) the feckless Darnley and seize Mary and her infant heir, James VI. She escapes to Bothwell, who "forces" her to marry him; denounced by John Knox, Bothwell agrees to leave Scotland, so long as Mary is left on the throne. However, as soon as he is gone, the lords betray her. Mary escapes to England, seeking aid from Elizabeth -- who instead imprisons her. She is [[KangarooCourt tried for conspiracy]] against Elizabeth; having heard meanwhile of Bothwell's death in prison, she [[HeroicBSOD accepts her condemnation]] to death. Elizabeth comes to her secretly to offer a last chance if she will renounce her claim to the throne, but Mary rejects her offer, taunting the English queen with her loveless life and the fact that Mary's son will inherit Elizabeth's throne. She then goes to her death -- hearing as in a vision the [[EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes pipers]] of Bothwell announcing her apotheosis.

* [[NamesTheSame Name's The Same]]: Throughout the film, Fredric March's character is referred to as "Bothwell," as his surname, Hepburn (and he was, indeed, distantly related to Katherine) might have proved distracting, while his given name, James, would have broken the OneSteveLimit. Also, the Earl of Moray is named [[JimmyStewart James Stewart]], though that is ''not'' particularly avoided, as the actor had not yet come to prominence.

-->In the [[TheRenaissance sixteenth century]], [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Queen Elizabeth I]] (Florence Eldridge) learns that [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary]] [[TheHouseOfStuart Stewart]] (Creator/KatharineHepburn) has returned to Scotland to take her throne, while refusing to yield her claim to England. The Scottish lords, under the lead of the treacherous [[NamesTheSame James Stewart]], Earl of Moray (Ian Keith), have been using the [[HolierThanThou fanatical]] preacher, John Knox (Moroni Olson), to defame Mary as a dissolute persecutor. Mary finds support in the person of the bluff Earl of Bothwell (Fredric March), with whom she falls in love, but, angered by his presumption and urged by her Catholic secretary David Rizzio (JohnCarradine) to marry a Catholic, to strengthen her claim to the English throne, she weds the [[TheAlcoholic drunken]], [[AmbiguouslyGay effeminate]] Lord Darnley (Douglas Walton). Darnley, despised by all and insanely jealous, conspires with the lords to murder Rizzio. Thereafter the lords [[StuffBlowingUp blow up]] (no, really) the feckless Darnley and seize Mary and her infant heir, James VI. She escapes to Bothwell, who "forces" her to marry him; denounced by John Knox, Bothwell agrees to leave Scotland, so long as Mary is left on the throne. However, as soon as he is gone, the lords betray her. Mary escapes to England, seeking aid from Elizabeth -- who instead imprisons her. She is [[KangarooCourt tried for conspiracy]] against Elizabeth; having heard meanwhile of Bothwell's death in prison, she [[HeroicBSOD accepts her condemnation]] to death. Elizabeth comes to her secretly to offer a last chance if she will renounce her claim to the throne, but Mary rejects her offer, taunting the English queen with her loveless life and the fact that Mary's son will inherit Elizabeth's throne. She then goes to her death -- hearing as in a vision the [[EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes pipers]] of Bothwell announcing her apotheosis.

* TheHighQueen: The film's characterization of Mary

* StuffBlowingUp: Darnley's ''slightly'' unhistorical death. (''See the entry on'' [[MaryOfScotland Mary's life]]'' for further details.'')

'''''Film/MaryOfScotland''''' is a 1936 [[HistoricalFiction Historical]] {{Romance}} film from RKO studios, recounting the life and love of [[MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], directed by John Ford and starring Creator/KatharineHepburn and Fredric March. The film, based on a successful blank verse drama by playwright Maxwell Anderson, is an example of HollywoodHistory at its most extravagant -- but it is less the numerous historical inaccuracies than the [[WorldOfHam wild melodramatics]] affected by every performer (excepting ''perhaps'' only JohnCarradine) that made the film a financial disaster and one of the films responsible for making Hepburn "box office poison" until her career was revived by ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'' in 1940. Director John Ford was reportedly so disgusted at being slated to oversee a "[[ChickFlick woman's picture]]" that he took to leaving the set early and even delegated the direction of one of the romance scenes to Katherine Hepburn herself!

-->In the [[TheRenaissance sixteenth century]], [[TheVirginQueen Queen Elizabeth I]] (Florence Eldridge) learns that [[MaryOfScotland Mary]] [[TheHouseOfStuart Stewart]] (Creator/KatharineHepburn) has returned to Scotland to take her throne, while refusing to yield her claim to England. The Scottish lords, under the lead of the treacherous [[NamesTheSame James Stewart]], Earl of Moray (Ian Keith), have been using the [[HolierThanThou fanatical]] preacher, John Knox (Moroni Olson), to defame Mary as a dissolute persecutor. Mary finds support in the person of the bluff Earl of Bothwell (Fredric March), with whom she falls in love, but, angered by his presumption and urged by her Catholic secretary David Rizzio (JohnCarradine) to marry a Catholic, to strengthen her claim to the English throne, she weds the [[TheAlcoholic drunken]], [[AmbiguouslyGay effeminate]] Lord Darnley (Douglas Walton). Darnley, despised by all and insanely jealous, conspires with the lords to murder Rizzio. Thereafter the lords [[StuffBlowingUp blow up]] (no, really) the feckless Darnley and seize Mary and her infant heir, James VI. She escapes to Bothwell, who "forces" her to marry him; denounced by John Knox, Bothwell agrees to leave Scotland, so long as Mary is left on the throne. However, as soon as he is gone, the lords betray her. Mary escapes to England, seeking aid from Elizabeth -- who instead imprisons her. She is [[KangarooCourt tried for conspiracy]] against Elizabeth; having heard meanwhile of Bothwell's death in prison, she [[HeroicBSOD accepts her condemnation]] to death. Elizabeth comes to her secretly to offer a last chance if she will renounce her claim to the throne, but Mary rejects her offer, taunting the English queen with her loveless life and the fact that Mary's son will inherit Elizabeth's throne. She then goes to her death -- hearing as in a vision the [[EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes pipers]] of Bothwell announcing her apotheosis.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: [[TheVirginQueen Elizabeth I]] of England; [[MaryOfScotland Mary I]] of Scotland; the infant James VI of Scotland (later James I of England); [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stuart,_Lord_Darnley Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, King consort of Scots]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hepburn,_4th_Earl_of_Bothwell James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell]]; [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Dudley,_1st_Earl_of_Leicester Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester]]; [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart,_1st_Earl_of_Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray]];[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cecil,_1st_Baron_Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley]]; [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Throckmorton Sir Nicholas Throckmorton]]; [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Knox John Knox]]; [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Rizzio David Rizzio]]; ''etc''.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Even the most fanatical Papist could scarcely accept this travesty of TheVirginQueen; whatever else Elizabeth was, she was at least intelligent and charming.

* WorldOfHam: ''See'' LargeHam'', above.''

'''''Film/MaryOfScotland''''' is a 1936 [[HistoricalFiction Historical]] {{Romance}} film from RKO studios, recounting the life and love of [[MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], directed by John Ford and starring Creator/KatharineHepburn and Fredric March. The film, based on a successful blank verse drama by playwright Maxwell Anderson, is an example of HollywoodHistory at its most extravagant -- but it is less the numerous historical inaccuracies than the [[WorldOfHam wild melodramatics]] affected by every performer (excepting ''perhaps'' only JohnCarradine) that made the film a financial disaster and one of the films responsible for making Hepburn "box office poison" until her career was revived by ''ThePhiladelphiaStory'' in 1940. Director John Ford was reportedly so disgusted at being slated to oversee a "[[ChickFlick woman's picture]]" that he took to leaving the set early and even delegated the direction of one of the romance scenes to Katherine Hepburn herself!

'''''Film/MaryOfScotland''''' is a 1936 [[HistoricalFiction Historical]] {{Romance}} film from RKO studios, recounting the life and love of [[MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], directed by John Ford and starring KatharineHepburn and Fredric March. The film, based on a successful blank verse drama by playwright Maxwell Anderson, is an example of HollywoodHistory at its most extravagant -- but it is less the numerous historical inaccuracies than the [[WorldOfHam wild melodramatics]] affected by every performer (excepting ''perhaps'' only JohnCarradine) that made the film a financial disaster and one of the films responsible for making Hepburn "box office poison" until her career was revived by ''ThePhiladelphiaStory'' in 1940. Director John Ford was reportedly so disgusted at being slated to oversee a "[[ChickFlick woman's picture]]" that he took to leaving the set early and even delegated the direction of one of the romance scenes to Katherine Hepburn herself!

-->In the [[TheRenaissance sixteenth century]], [[TheVirginQueen Queen Elizabeth I]] (Florence Eldridge) learns that [[MaryOfScotland Mary]] [[TheHouseOfStuart Stewart]] (KatharineHepburn) has returned to Scotland to take her throne, while refusing to yield her claim to England. The Scottish lords, under the lead of the treacherous [[NamesTheSame James Stewart]], Earl of Moray (Ian Keith), have been using the [[HolierThanThou fanatical]] preacher, John Knox (Moroni Olson), to defame Mary as a dissolute persecutor. Mary finds support in the person of the bluff Earl of Bothwell (Fredric March), with whom she falls in love, but, angered by his presumption and urged by her Catholic secretary David Rizzio (JohnCarradine) to marry a Catholic, to strengthen her claim to the English throne, she weds the [[TheAlcoholic drunken]], [[AmbiguouslyGay effeminate]] Lord Darnley (Douglas Walton). Darnley, despised by all and insanely jealous, conspires with the lords to murder Rizzio. Thereafter the lords [[StuffBlowingUp blow up]] (no, really) the feckless Darnley and seize Mary and her infant heir, James VI. She escapes to Bothwell, who "forces" her to marry him; denounced by John Knox, Bothwell agrees to leave Scotland, so long as Mary is left on the throne. However, as soon as he is gone, the lords betray her. Mary escapes to England, seeking aid from Elizabeth -- who instead imprisons her. She is [[KangarooCourt tried for conspiracy]] against Elizabeth; having heard meanwhile of Bothwell's death in prison, she [[HeroicBSOD accepts her condemnation]] to death. Elizabeth comes to her secretly to offer a last chance if she will renounce her claim to the throne, but Mary rejects her offer, taunting the English queen with her loveless life and the fact that Mary's son will inherit Elizabeth's throne. She then goes to her death -- hearing as in a vision the [[EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes pipers]] of Bothwell announcing her apotheosis.

* WorldOfHam: ''See'' LargeHam'', above.''

[[WhatCouldHaveBeen Interestingly]], Ginger Rogers tried out for the part of Elizabeth under the pseudonym "Lady Ainsley," much to the annoyance of KatherineHepburn, who detested her (and actually kicked her at one point during the screen test). At one point Hepburn is said to have lamented the fact that she could not play ''both'' queens, on hearing which, DeadpanSnarker JohnCarradine remarked: "If you did, how would you know which one to upstage?" The part eventually went to Fredric March's wife, Florence Eldridge.

'''''Film/MaryOfScotland''''' is a 1936 [[HistoricalFiction Historical]] {{Romance}} film from RKO studios, recounting the life and love of [[MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], directed by John Ford and starring KatharineHepburn and Fredric March. The film, based on a successful blank verse drama by playwright Maxwell Anderson, is an example of HollywoodHistory at its most extravagant -- but it is less the numerous historical inaccuracies than the [[WorldOfHam wild melodramatics]] affected by every performer (excepting ''perhaps'' only John Carradine) that made the film a financial disaster and one of the films responsible for making Hepburn "box office poison" until her career was revived by ''ThePhiladelphiaStory'' in 1940. Director John Ford was reportedly so disgusted at being slated to oversee a "[[ChickFlick woman's picture]]" that he took to leaving the set early and even delegated the direction of one of the romance scenes to Katherine Hepburn herself!

-->In the [[TheRenaissance sixteenth century]], [[TheVirginQueen Queen Elizabeth I]] (Florence Eldridge) learns that [[MaryOfScotland Mary]] [[TheHouseOfStuart Stewart]] (KatharineHepburn) has returned to Scotland to take her throne, while refusing to yield her claim to England. The Scottish lords, under the lead of the treacherous [[NamesTheSame James Stewart]], Earl of Moray (Ian Keith), have been using the [[HolierThanThou fanatical]] preacher, John Knox (Moroni Olson), to defame Mary as a dissolute persecutor. Mary finds support in the person of the bluff Earl of Bothwell (Fredric March), with whom she falls in love, but, angered by his presumption and urged by her Catholic secretary David Rizzio (John Carradine) to marry a Catholic, to strengthen her claim to the English throne, she weds the [[TheAlcoholic drunken]], [[AmbiguouslyGay effeminate]] Lord Darnley (Douglas Walton). Darnley, despised by all and insanely jealous, conspires with the lords to murder Rizzio. Thereafter the lords [[StuffBlowingUp blow up]] (no, really) the feckless Darnley and seize Mary and her infant heir, James VI. She escapes to Bothwell, who "forces" her to marry him; denounced by John Knox, Bothwell agrees to leave Scotland, so long as Mary is left on the throne. However, as soon as he is gone, the lords betray her. Mary escapes to England, seeking aid from Elizabeth -- who instead imprisons her. She is [[KangarooCourt tried for conspiracy]] against Elizabeth; having heard meanwhile of Bothwell's death in prison, she [[HeroicBSOD accepts her condemnation]] to death. Elizabeth comes to her secretly to offer a last chance if she will renounce her claim to the throne, but Mary rejects her offer, taunting the English queen with her loveless life and the fact that Mary's son will inherit Elizabeth's throne. She then goes to her death -- hearing as in a vision the [[EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes pipers]] of Bothwell announcing her apotheosis.



[[WhatCouldHaveBeen Interestingly]], Ginger Rogers tried out for the part of Elizabeth under the pseudonym "Lady Ainsley," much to the annoyance of KatherineHepburn, who detested her (and actually kicked her at one point during the screen test). At one point Hepburn is said to have lamented the fact that she could not play ''both'' queens, on hearing which, DeadpanSnarker John Carradine remarked: "If you did, how would you know which one to upstage?" The part eventually went to Fredric March's wife, Florence Eldridge.

'''''Film/MaryOfScotland''''' is a 1936 [[HistoricalFiction Historical]] {{Romance}} film from RKO studios, recounting the life and love of [[MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], directed by John Ford and starring KatharineHepburn and Fredric March. The film, based on a successful blank verse drama by playwright Maxwell Anderson, is an example of HollywoodHistory at its most extravagant -- but it is less the numerous historical inaccuracies than the [[WorldOfHam wild melodramatics]] affected by every performer (excepting ''perhaps'' only John Carradine) that made the film a financial disaster and one of the films responsible for making Hepburn "box office poison" until her career was revived by ''ThePhiladelphiaStory'' in 1939. Director John Ford was reportedly so disgusted at being slated to oversee a "[[ChickFlick woman's picture]]" that he took to leaving the set early and even delegated the direction of one of the romance scenes to Katherine Hepburn herself!