Mary of Scotland

Today's John Ford flick is an odd entry in the director's CV. Mary of Scotland (1936) is a rather typical Hollywood period piece/star vehicle for Katharine Hepburn. It's an interesting movie in some ways, not least the subject matter, but it's also uneven and stuffy, struggling to retain dramatic tension and casting Hepburn in a role she's ill-suited for.

Mary Stuart (Katharine Hepburn) returns from exile in France to her native Scotland, taking the throne from her duplicitous brother (Ian Keith). Mary's Catholic policies prove unpopular, particularly as reform minister John Knox (Moroni Olsen) preaches fire-and-brimstone disapproval of Mary's rule. Mary is pushed to marry the effette Lord Darnley (Douglas Walton), rather than her true love, the dashing Earl of Bothwell (Frederic March). Mary's arrival also earns the ire of Elizabeth of England (Florence Eldridge), who fears Mary's claim to the English throne. The two factions of the Scottish court clash, and the murders of Mary's secretary Rizzio (John Carradine) by one faction and Darnley by the other, Scotland descends into civil war.

Working off a play by Maxwell Anderson (also behind the superb Anne of the Thousand Days), Ford and writer Dudley Nicholls do a creditable job of keeping the complex inter-clan squabbles of Mary's court comprehensible, and the material is somewhat interesting in and of itself. But the movie moves in fits and starts, never generating much dramatic tension and only sporadically generating interest. Mary is completely passive, saintly (by Ford and Nicholls' reckoning) but uninteresting, and her fate seems avoidable rather than tragic. The film sticks fairly close to historical facts, but Nicholl's stuffy, unimaginative script will keep any but the most fervent Tudor buff uninvolved in Mary's plight. Ford's direction is competent, but aside from a few neat flourishes (particularly Rizzio's murder and the beautiful execution sequence) unremarkable and stagey.

The casting of Katharine Hepburn as Mary is downright perplexing. Kate gives the part her all, imputing Mary with gravitas and tragic dignity, but her assertive persona and acting style is ill-suited for the passive Mary, described as "a creature of passions" by the script. One can see Hepburn jumping at the part as an effort to expand her acting range, but she can't quite overcome the limitations of Mary's part and largely undercuts her characterization as a sensual, flighty woman. Someone was missing a bet in not casting her as Elizabeth.

Hepburn's supporting cast is hit-or-miss. Frederic March (The Best Years of Our Lives) is surprisingly stiff and has little chemistry with his leading lady. Florence Eldridge's catty portrayal of Elizabeth is wonderfully unique, turning the usually-regal monarch into a jealous, combative woman. Ian Keith, Moroni Olsen and get meaty supporting parts, but Ford regulars John Carradine and Donald Crisp are relegated to peripheral roles.

Mary of Scotland is worth a look for Ford and Hepburn fans, but it's far from either's best work and is more interesting than good.