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.
Jean Simmons
as Young Bess (Queen Elizabeth I)
Stewart Granger
as Thomas Seymour
Deborah Kerr
as Catherine Parr
Charles Laughton
as King Henry VIII
Kay Walsh
as Mrs. Ashley
Guy Rolfe
as Ned Seymour
Kathleen Byron
as Ann Seymour
Cecil Kellaway
as Mr. Parry
Rex Thompson
as Prince Edward / King Edward VI
Robert Arthur
as Barnaby
Leo G. Carroll
as Mr. Mums
Norma Varden
as Lady Tyrwhitt