E X T E N S I O N SCREEN QUEENS Since the advent of cinematography there have been a number of films made on the life of the Virgin Queen. Perhaps the first mention of her in a dramatic play was the christening of the Princess Elizabeth in the Shakespeare play Henry VIII . Over the course of the next three centuries, Elizabeth continued to be dramatically represented in a number of works. Below are some of the actresses who have played the great Queen over the last century, some now legends themselves. The first screen portrayal of the Tudor Queen was made by the legendary Victorian actress Sarah Bernhardt in the silent film of 1911 known by both the titles The Loves of Queen Elizabeth, or simply Queen Elizabeth. It is the story of Queen Elizabeth s relationship with Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. It was the most successful film of Bernhardt s career. Bette Davis played the Tudor Queen twice. She played her first in the film The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939). Errol Flynn plays Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Bette Davis played the Queen secondly in The Virgin Queen (1955), which is the story of Sir Walter Raleigh, played by Richard Rodd. Jean Simmons stars as the teenage Elizabeth in Young Bess (1953), adapted from the novel of the same name by Margaret Irwin. Her husband, Stewart Granger, stars as the impetuous Thomas Seymour, Lord High Admiral, and Deborah Kerr as Catherine Parr. 115