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Surprisingly incoherent and boring

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

In the opening scene of Fire Over England, we see Scarlett O'Hara picking up her ball gown and trotting down the hall. Her face isn't visible, but Vivien Leigh's run is exactly the same as it was in Gone with the Wind. Her patter of speaking is exactly the same as it was in Gone with the Wind. Her pouty expressions and sass is exactly the same-it's as if someone knew her limited acting capability and decided to write Gone with the Wind for her. She plays a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth, and she repeatedly fumbles her duties, including losing the queen's possessions, daydreaming about her boyfriend, and talking back to the queen. Thankfully, Flora Robson-who plays a very believable Queen Elizabeth-slaps her face so the audience doesn't have to.With a very large supporting cast, including Laurence Olivier, Leslie Banks, Raymond Massey, Tamara Desni, Morton Selten, and five minutes each of James Mason and Robert Newton, Fire Over England should have been a successful epic. The costumes are beautiful and Flora is hard, regal, and strong, but somehow the movie falls short. Vivien and Larry play sweethearts, but they have absolutely zero chemistry together; during one of their kisses, it actually looks like she's trying to push him away. Vivien's lack of acting makes you wish she'd been given a smaller part. She wouldn't even be good if she was in a community theater production.My favorite part of the film was the chemistry between Flora and Leslie. There are obvious sparks between them, but since she's the queen and he's her advisor, they don't have the freedom to act like moony-eyed teenagers. Instead, there's an undercurrent of understanding, respect, and attraction lying beneath every line of dialogue. I've seen Leslie Banks in a few Laurence Olivier movies, and every time I see him, I appreciate his performances more and more.

Watched this movie and I found the subject matter interesting but I thought the production too stagey too much like a play. The acting outside of Vivien Leigh's spirited performance was over the top and very hammy. In many ways the acting took away from which could have been a very interesting action. The lead actress who was so bad in role I will not even try to remember her name was played with a leaden performance that the Kevin Costner character in the Big Chill gave a better performance and he was a corpse. As for Olivier his performance was just terrible he overacts at every moment and his movements on the screen are over the top this shows why he is a wonderful stage actor where on film it looks so silly. Though if you contrast it with his wife Vivien Leigh her talent embraces the camera and she has charisma youth, looks and the acting acumen that the camera loves her and we as the audience are entranced by her. It was said that Sir Laurence compromised his talents with her but I think it is the other way for she had a great range and knew the strength of her talent while in my opinion outside Shakespeare Olivier tended to be stiff and unnatural in most film performances and only in the latter part of career did he even understand to be less stagey and showy. For Vivien her performance was a 8 and the rest a -5.

In a way, this is a picture about generations. May Robson is Queen Elizabeth; Leslie Banks is her lifelong adviser and admirer, the Earl of Leicester; and Morton Selten is Lord Burleigh, loyal and aged adviser. Together they are the elder generation: as Burleigh puts it, they have spent their lives as caretakers of the monarchy during mostly quiet times. Now it's 1587.Among the younger generation is Vivien Leigh as Burleigh's granddaughter Cynthia, a lady in waiting to the queen. Cynthia is passionate, flighty, forgetful—and beautiful. She loves "the boy" Michael Ingolby, son of another of Elizabeth's loyal followers. Michael is portrayed with great energy by, of course, a very youthful Laurence Olivier.The plot focuses on the court in London, where it is feared that spies may be afoot…and then on the Spanish court, where Olivier plays a dangerous role as forces gather toward an invasion of England by the imposing new armada. Among those involved on the Spanish side are Robert Newton, very good as a young nobleman; and an actress named Tamara Desni, excellent in a key role as a young woman who encounters Olivier.Raymond Massey is superb as King Philip of Spain. His best speech is one in which he simply repeats a single word several times: "And?"—Not much to it, but as played between Olivier and Massey it's a classic scene. Flora Robson is perfect as the queen. She's given such wonderful speeches, and she speaks them so well….In one scene, she asks Leigh's character how old she is; eighteen, the answer comes. "When I was eighteen, I was a prisoner in the Tower," Robson replies—neither bitterly nor scornfully, but with just a trace of wistfulness and the calm of a monarch who has ruled long but can indeed remember her own youth. This is also a deeply patriotic English film; viewers were certainly aware that the foreign threat looming over England in 1937 was every bit as daunting as that posed by the Armada 350 years earlier. It's a call to courage that both celebrates tradition and promotes the idea that a new generation must grasp its own opportunities—meet its own needs—for heroism.

Recently I've come to realize that I often hate many costume dramas--especially because most of them are a little short on excitement and acting because they spend so much time on expensive sets and blaring music that the actors just seem secondary. I would say this is pretty true of this film, as most of the actors are kind of wooden and most of the action just isn't that action-packed. Plus, I've seen better versions of this same material. Flora Robson, who plays Queen Elizabeth in this film, also did just about the EXACT same role with a similar plot--only co-starring Errol Flynn instead of Lawrence Olivier. SEA HAWK just had a lot more to offer--better plot, more action and a spark. And, while Olivier is pleasant enough, Flynn's charisma gave the other film a little more energy. Also, the dialog is a bit stupid now and again--especially when they try to make Elizabeth seem human--in reality, she was a terrible person just like most other absolute rulers of the day. If you MUST see an Elizabethan costumer, try SEA HAWK first--it's just more bang for your buck.PS--interestingly enough, Ms. Robson was only 35 when she took on the part of Elizabeth, though she looked about 60 in the film. I assume they just used a ton of makeup and they did a good job of passing her off as this older lady.