Das Herz der Königin
Encyclopedia
Das Herz der Königin is a 1940 German historical film, making selective use of the life story of Mary, Queen of Scots and her execution by Queen Elizabeth I for anti-British
propaganda purposed, in the context of the Second World War going on at the time.
The cast included
as well as:
, awaiting the final judgement in her case, which is expected within a few hours. Soon she finds out that the Royal Court has sentenced her, with the assent of Queen Elizabeth I, to be executed on the scaffold on the following day. She breaks down and remembers the events leading to her now imminent death. The bulk of the film consists of this flashback
.
The young Mary arrives from France to Scotland, as the lawful Queen of Scots, only to encounter a strong opposition. Her half-brother, Jacob Stuart
, who had ruled the country till then, asserts that a woman is incapable of ruling the "rough" and "male" land of Scotland, and that she should have remained in "feminine" France. The lords, headed by Lord Bothwell
, face Mary Stuart critically. Moreover, immediately upon her arrival Mary faces an assassination attempt with poisoned wine, by Johanna (Jean) Gordon, whose Clan Gordon
was at feud with the Stuarts for many years.
Members of the Privy Council
, whom Mary summons to deal with the first political decisions to be announced, do not show up. The only one present is Jacob Stuart, who tears up the document presented for his signature. When the Queen is alone again Lord Bothwell arrives and confesses that he had fallen in love with her. Mary Stuart orders him arrested him for insulting the Queen, even though she is impressed by his demeanour.
Meanwhile Queen Elizabeth I of England sends to Scotland her confidant Henry Darnley - who is both an English peer and a Scottish lord - to spy for her and to raise the population against Mary Stuart.
Nevertheless, Darnley himself falls in love with Queen Mary and leads her to lord Bothwell's Castle, where the Scottish lords meet secretly to plot the Queen's deposition. Mary ventures alone into the meeting, and is imprisoned.
She is released the next day, but only to after having been made to swear an oath that she would marry a Scot. Mary Stuart's choice falls on lord Bothwell, whom she believes to be still in captivity. It turns out, however, that he had fled together with Jean Gordon, and has married her. The two of them raise an army with the aim of overthrowing Mary – Jean wants revenge on the Queen and the Stuarts, while Lord Bothwell wants power.
The Queen is meanwhile constrained to marry Lord Darnley, but becomes involved with the Italian singer David Riccio. Eventually, she gives birth to a boy child, James - the future King James I
.
A troupe of itinerant actors stages a play hinting broadly that Riccio is the Queen's lover and might be the father of her child. Lord Darnley feels mocked and indignant and therefore authorises a plot in which Riccio is assassinated.
At this time Lord Bothwells' army appears, which The Queen allows to enter Lord Bothwell's Castle and temporarily take over power in the land "for the Queen's own protection". Lord Darnley has meanwhile fallen ill with smallpox. On the advice of Lord Bothwell, now her lover, Mary has her ill husband brought to Edinburgh
, where he dies in an explosion at his home.
Now Queen Elisabeth sends an army to Scotland to release Mary Stuart from the power of Bothwell and to offer to her refuge in England. Mmeanwhile, however, Mary Stuart had married Lord Bothwell, who had separated from Jean Gordon.
At the wedding the English army appears under the guidance of Jacob Stuart, the Queen's half-brother - who presents secret love letters which Mary Stuart had sent to Bothwell while still married to her previous husband. Olivier, the Queen's page, is killed while attempting to hide the letters.
Lord Bothwell is faced with the choice of standing by Mary Stuart and dying, or dening her. He turns away from her, but is anyway dragged away. (In actual history he fled to Denmark
whose King treated him cruelly and where he eventually died in prison - all of which is not mentioned in the present film). When Jacob Stuart takes from his sister her child James, to protect him against Queen Elizabeth, Mary Stuart accepts the offer of the English Queen and goes into exile in England.
The frame story
from the beginning is now taken up again. Mary Stuart is led to the scaffold and kneels down, waiting for the sharp hatchet
to fall.
Mary Stuart appears guided exclusively by emotions. She says: "My heart has enticed me, I am followed only it". The biggest mistake of her life - the marriage with Lord Darnley, shows the exception: "It is about the crown, not about your heart" Darnley says in the film. Nevertheless, it is noted that their common son, the future King James I would be a good ruler but - as one of the courtiers says to Queen Mary - he will also "have a big heart".
On October 29, 1940, the film censorship board classifed the film as "unsutable for minors" but otherwise "valuable" both "artistically" and "culturally".
The premiere took place on November 1, 1940in the München Ufa-Palace ("Luitpold-Theater")
The film is punctuated by numerous songs, mostly sung by Zarah Leander:
The text was written by Harald Braun, the music by Theo Mackeben.
The International Film Encyclopedia criticized the film as a work from the Nazi era with a strong anti-British bias : "The depiction of the cold ruler Elizabeth I was aimed at presenting the early history of 'British imperialism' and its striving for world domination, which would have consequences 'for all parts of the Earth during centuries up to the present' “, thus implicitly justifying Germany's war with Britain at the time.
Moreover, critics noted that "The extreme miscasting of Zarah Leander in the leading role added to the film's kitsch an unintended comic element", that "The film is superficial and pseudo-historical" and that "In her stiff splendid evening gowns as Mary Stuart, Leander could hardly move".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
propaganda purposed, in the context of the Second World War going on at the time.
The cast included
- Zarah LeanderZarah LeanderZarah Leander was a Swedish actress and singer.Leander began her career in the late 1920s, and by the mid 1930s her success in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, led to invitations to work in the United States...
, starring as Queen Mary,
as well as:
- Walther SuessenguthWalther Suessenguth-Selected filmography:* The Green Emperor * Das Herz der Königin * Uncle Kruger * Rembrandt * Bismarck's Dismissal * The Czar and the Carpenter...
: Lord Jacob Stuart (James Stewart, 1st Earl of MorayJames Stewart, 1st Earl of MorayJames Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray , a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V, was Regent of Scotland for his nephew, the infant King James VI of Scotland, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570...
) - Willy BirgelWilly BirgelWilly Birgel , born Wilhelm Maria Birgel, was German theatre and film actor.Birgel began his acting career before World War I on the stage in his native city of Cologne, and came to movies rather late...
: Lord Bothwell (James Hepburn, 4th Earl of BothwellJames Hepburn, 4th Earl of BothwellJames Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney , better known by his inherited title as 4th Earl of Bothwell, was hereditary Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He is best known for his association with and subsequent marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, as her third husband...
) - Maria KoppenhöferMaria Koppenhöfer-Selected filmography:* Unheimliche Geschichten * Joan of Arc * The Mountain Calls * Kora Terry * Bismarck * The Heart of a Queen -External links:...
: Queen Elizabeth I - Lotte Koch: Johanna Gordon (Jean Gordon, Countess of BothwellJean Gordon, Countess of BothwellJean Gordon, Countess of Bothwell was a wealthy Scottish noblewoman and the first wife of James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell who became, after his divorce from Lady Jean, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. Lady Jean herself had a total of three husbands...
) - Axel von AmbesserAxel von AmbesserAxel Eugen Alexander von Österreich , better known as Axel von Ambesser, was a German actor and film director....
: Henry Darnley (Henry Stuart, Lord DarnleyHenry Stuart, Lord DarnleyHenry Stewart or Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany , styled Lord Darnley before 1565, was king consort of Scotland and murdered at Kirk o'Field...
) - Enrico Benfer: David Riccio
- Will QuadfliegWill QuadfliegFriedrich Wilhelm "Will" Quadflieg was a German actor from Oberhausen. He was the father of actor Christian Quadflieg. He is considered one of Germany's best post-war actors. One of his most widely recognized roles was in the title role in the 1960 film Faust. He also starred in a number of other...
: Page Olivier - Hubert von MeyerinckHubert von MeyerinckHubert von Meyerinck was a German film actor. He appeared in over 280 films between 1921 and 1970.He was born in Potsdam, Germany and died in Hamburg, Germany.-Selected filmography:* Manon Lescaut ...
: Sir John - Erich Ponto: Itinerant actor
- Ursula HerkingUrsula HerkingUrsula Herking was a German film actress. She appeared in over 130 films between 1933 and 1972.She was born in Dessau, Germany and died in Munich, Germany.-Selected filmography:...
: Member of the itinerant actors' troupe - Hans HesslingHans Hessling-Selected filmography:* Joan of Arc * Nights in Andalusia * The Heart of a Queen * Corinna Schmidt * The Buddenbrooks * Sacred Waters -External links:...
: Nelson, Henry Darnley's Companion - Margot HielscherMargot HielscherMargot Hielscher is a German singer and film actress. She appeared in over fifty films between and 1939 and 1994....
: One of the Four Marys - Herbert HübnerHerbert HübnerHerbert Hübner was a German film actor. He appeared in over 150 films between 1921 and 1966.He was born in Breslau, Germany and died in Munich, Germany.-Selected filmography:...
: Lord Arran (James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of ArranJames Hamilton, 2nd Earl of ArranJames Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault and 2nd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the eldest legitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran....
) - Rudolf Klein-RoggeRudolf Klein-RoggeFriedrich Rudolf Klein-Rogge was a German film actor. Klein-Rogge is known for playing sinister figures in films in the 1920s and 1930s as well as being a main-stay in director Fritz Lang's Weimar-era films.- Biography :...
: RuthvenRuthven-Places:In Scotland:*Ruthven, Aberdeenshire*Ruthven, Angus*Ruthven Castle, Angus*Ruthven, Highland*Ruthven Barracks, Highland*Ruthven Castle, also known as Huntingtower Castle, north of Perth*Loch Ruthven, nature reserve to the south west of Inverness...
, General of the Scottish Palace Guard - Eduard von Winterstein: An English General
- Josef SieberJosef Sieber-Selected filmography:* Joan of Arc * Kora Terry * The Heart of a Queen * Das Grosse Spiel * The Heath is Green * Ave Maria * Drei Mann in einem Boot -External links:...
: Paris, a Scottish prison guard - Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur: John KnoxJohn KnoxJohn Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
Plot
The film starts with Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, held prisoner in Fotheringhay CastleFotheringhay Castle
Fotheringhay Castle was in the village of Fotheringhay 3½ miles to the north of the market town of Oundle, Northamptonshire .King Richard III was born here in 1452 and it was also where Mary, Queen of Scots, was tried and executed in 1587....
, awaiting the final judgement in her case, which is expected within a few hours. Soon she finds out that the Royal Court has sentenced her, with the assent of Queen Elizabeth I, to be executed on the scaffold on the following day. She breaks down and remembers the events leading to her now imminent death. The bulk of the film consists of this flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
.
The young Mary arrives from France to Scotland, as the lawful Queen of Scots, only to encounter a strong opposition. Her half-brother, Jacob Stuart
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray , a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V, was Regent of Scotland for his nephew, the infant King James VI of Scotland, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570...
, who had ruled the country till then, asserts that a woman is incapable of ruling the "rough" and "male" land of Scotland, and that she should have remained in "feminine" France. The lords, headed by Lord Bothwell
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney , better known by his inherited title as 4th Earl of Bothwell, was hereditary Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He is best known for his association with and subsequent marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, as her third husband...
, face Mary Stuart critically. Moreover, immediately upon her arrival Mary faces an assassination attempt with poisoned wine, by Johanna (Jean) Gordon, whose Clan Gordon
Clan Gordon
Clan Gordon, also known as the House of Gordon, is a Scottish clan. The chief of the clan was the powerful Earl of Huntly, now also Marquess of Huntly.-Origins:...
was at feud with the Stuarts for many years.
Members of the Privy Council
Privy Council of Scotland
The Privy Council of Scotland was a body that advised the King.In the range of its functions the council was often more important than the Estates in the running the country. Its registers include a wide range of material on the political, administrative, economic and social affairs of Scotland...
, whom Mary summons to deal with the first political decisions to be announced, do not show up. The only one present is Jacob Stuart, who tears up the document presented for his signature. When the Queen is alone again Lord Bothwell arrives and confesses that he had fallen in love with her. Mary Stuart orders him arrested him for insulting the Queen, even though she is impressed by his demeanour.
Meanwhile Queen Elizabeth I of England sends to Scotland her confidant Henry Darnley - who is both an English peer and a Scottish lord - to spy for her and to raise the population against Mary Stuart.
Nevertheless, Darnley himself falls in love with Queen Mary and leads her to lord Bothwell's Castle, where the Scottish lords meet secretly to plot the Queen's deposition. Mary ventures alone into the meeting, and is imprisoned.
She is released the next day, but only to after having been made to swear an oath that she would marry a Scot. Mary Stuart's choice falls on lord Bothwell, whom she believes to be still in captivity. It turns out, however, that he had fled together with Jean Gordon, and has married her. The two of them raise an army with the aim of overthrowing Mary – Jean wants revenge on the Queen and the Stuarts, while Lord Bothwell wants power.
The Queen is meanwhile constrained to marry Lord Darnley, but becomes involved with the Italian singer David Riccio. Eventually, she gives birth to a boy child, James - the future King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
.
A troupe of itinerant actors stages a play hinting broadly that Riccio is the Queen's lover and might be the father of her child. Lord Darnley feels mocked and indignant and therefore authorises a plot in which Riccio is assassinated.
At this time Lord Bothwells' army appears, which The Queen allows to enter Lord Bothwell's Castle and temporarily take over power in the land "for the Queen's own protection". Lord Darnley has meanwhile fallen ill with smallpox. On the advice of Lord Bothwell, now her lover, Mary has her ill husband brought to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, where he dies in an explosion at his home.
Now Queen Elisabeth sends an army to Scotland to release Mary Stuart from the power of Bothwell and to offer to her refuge in England. Mmeanwhile, however, Mary Stuart had married Lord Bothwell, who had separated from Jean Gordon.
At the wedding the English army appears under the guidance of Jacob Stuart, the Queen's half-brother - who presents secret love letters which Mary Stuart had sent to Bothwell while still married to her previous husband. Olivier, the Queen's page, is killed while attempting to hide the letters.
Lord Bothwell is faced with the choice of standing by Mary Stuart and dying, or dening her. He turns away from her, but is anyway dragged away. (In actual history he fled to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
whose King treated him cruelly and where he eventually died in prison - all of which is not mentioned in the present film). When Jacob Stuart takes from his sister her child James, to protect him against Queen Elizabeth, Mary Stuart accepts the offer of the English Queen and goes into exile in England.
The frame story
Frame story
A frame story is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories...
from the beginning is now taken up again. Mary Stuart is led to the scaffold and kneels down, waiting for the sharp hatchet
Hatchet
A hatchet is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade used to cut and split wood...
to fall.
The heart as a theme
The theme of the heart's emotions is repeated throughout the whole film. The cold Elizabeth I who had obviously edged any love out of her own life is contrasted with the extremely emotional Mary Stuart, whose life is filled (as presented in the film) by love. When Queen Elizabeth learns of the birth of the Scottish heir to the throne gets, she exclaims: "I rule and she loves!". One of the last lofty expressions Mary are in the film: "Kings win in life - hearts, in eternity".Mary Stuart appears guided exclusively by emotions. She says: "My heart has enticed me, I am followed only it". The biggest mistake of her life - the marriage with Lord Darnley, shows the exception: "It is about the crown, not about your heart" Darnley says in the film. Nevertheless, it is noted that their common son, the future King James I would be a good ruler but - as one of the courtiers says to Queen Mary - he will also "have a big heart".
Production
"Das Herz der Königin" was filmed from November 1939 to March 1940 in the Babelsberg film studio.On October 29, 1940, the film censorship board classifed the film as "unsutable for minors" but otherwise "valuable" both "artistically" and "culturally".
The premiere took place on November 1, 1940in the München Ufa-Palace ("Luitpold-Theater")
The film is punctuated by numerous songs, mostly sung by Zarah Leander:
- "A black stone, white stones" (Zarah Leander)
- "Where is your heart" (Zarah Leander)
- "Slumber song" (Zarah Leander)
- "Once a foreign guest comes to you" (Zarah Leander, Friedrich Benfer)
- "If only you do not think of it, nothing will hurt you" (Erich Ponto)
The text was written by Harald Braun, the music by Theo Mackeben.
- In 1941 Harald Braun published a novelizationNovelizationA novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
, also named "Das Herz der Königin".
Criticism
'Das Herz der Königin' became a failure its time and also today counts as one of the weakest of Zarah Leander's films.The International Film Encyclopedia criticized the film as a work from the Nazi era with a strong anti-British bias : "The depiction of the cold ruler Elizabeth I was aimed at presenting the early history of 'British imperialism' and its striving for world domination, which would have consequences 'for all parts of the Earth during centuries up to the present' “, thus implicitly justifying Germany's war with Britain at the time.
Moreover, critics noted that "The extreme miscasting of Zarah Leander in the leading role added to the film's kitsch an unintended comic element", that "The film is superficial and pseudo-historical" and that "In her stiff splendid evening gowns as Mary Stuart, Leander could hardly move".