In The Six Wives of Henry VIII, all six of Henry's wives are played very well, but who do you think is the best?
Overall I would say:
1 - Annette Crosbie
2 - Dorothy Tutin
3 - Rosalie Crutchley
4 - Anne Stallybrass
5 - Elvi Hale
6 - Angela Pleasence
I think that the six actresses can be divided into three pairs: outstanding (Crosbie and Tutin); very good (Crutchley and Stallybrass); and adequate (Hale and Pleasence).
What do you think?
Tutin, completely.
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"Now is the winter of our discontent" - Richard III.
I'm going to say Angela simply because I recall the moment when Catherine was "caught" and she screamed. That moment has stayed with me after all these years. I was quite affected by it, obviosly!
shareWell, I definitely know which episode I liked best, and that was Jane Seymour. But I probably enjoyed Annette Crosbie's peformance best followed by Dorothy Tutin.
shareChoosing which actress was best would be like choosing the best star in the sky, impossible. Each one was magnificent, although I did have a bit of a crush on Dorothy Tutin ;)
shareAnnette Crosbie first, Angela Pleasence a very close second. I seem to remember that Angela's career was really made by this performance. I believe it, she was wonderful. I give the edge to Annette, just because she did it all, even through a Spanish accent. She also had the tougher role, cuz she had to play the girl from the age of what, 15 till around 50?
Then again, I'm biased. Katherine of Aragon and Catherine Howard have always been my two personal favorites. I think it's cuz I always found their stories the saddest.
I don't care about money. I just want to be wonderful. - Marilyn Monroe
I would agree with you regarding Catharine of Aragon, but Kathryn Howard, more than Jane Seymour in terms of the saddest stories?
I do think Annette Crosbie is first rate in her portrayal of this hapless woman, who was treated so shabbily and was sustained by her faith.
Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.
I knew someone was going to bring that up ;)
You know, I've got a few questions about Jane Seymore - she never struck me as all that innocent or pure. She got engaged to Henry the day after Anne was executed. All the wives had sad stories, really, but Aragon and Howard were the two I personally connected with.
I don't care about money. I just want to be wonderful. - Marilyn Monroe
I think that Jane was a very obedient and good person who got into a bad situation. you can't exactly refuse the King or try to delay an engagement... And I like to think that Henry would have remained married to her, but who knows? I feel very much for Anne Boleyn, even though everyone else seems to think very badly of her. She thought the king loved her and was going to be with her for the rest of his life... Granted, it doesn't take a genius to wonder if such a ruthless guy would make a great husband and not turn around and betry you, too, but still. The rest of the wives had some idea of what they were getting in to, it was an established pattern at that point.
shareyou can't exactly refuse the King or try to delay an engagement
But she was a princess of Denmark who lived far, far away from England. Jane wasn't royal born, and her parents wouldn't let her refuse.
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I have tremendous sympathy for Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, who seemed to be more tragic pawns in the game than many of the others, although Anne of Cleves suffered rejection which probably saved her life, as she escaped H's syphillis! Overall, though, I'd say that Number One, Catharine of Aragon, has my deepest sympathy.
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It's nice to "see" you as well, melj!
shareI have been a Henry VIII buff for over thirty years, and have never read any information, which attributes Jane Seymour to have played a crucial and conscious role in the plot to bring down Anne Boleyn.
I think one reason that Catherine is not as sympathetic as she should have been -- apart from the way she is written -- is that Angela Pleasence was twenty-eight at the time of filming and Catherine was only about fifteen when she married Henry and barely seventeen when she died.
Melj, Historians vary on Howard's age. Some have stated she was 15, 17 and others; put her at about 19 or 20, when she married Henry.
I will agree, her story is sad but she was a product of her own environment and as a result, she became a very selfish, greedy young woman. She was a pawn, in the worst way, for her equally selfish, greedy family.
I will have to disagree with you, entirely about Jane. I am not sure what you mean by Jane was not quite as innocent as people like to believe. What did Jane have to feel guilty or innocent about? Jane was a stanch Roman Catholic who lived in the myst of the horrid circumstances of Anne Boleyn's fate, during the first few months of her marriage to Henry. This series did an excellent job of portraying Jane's predicament of staying true to her faith while watching those around her fall victim to her husband's tyranny of death. Jane did the best she could, and did a good job considering the skimpy hand of cards she was dealt. Henry also had a great amount of affection for Jane, as this series accurately portrays, he was to have whispered her name just before dying. There is also clear evidence of his love for her as he is buried with her.
Angela Pleasence as Catherine Howard was a poor redition. Pleasence could definitely carry the role, and did so very well but her almost ugly appearance was the real distraction. Catherine Howard was supposed to have been a rave of a beauty. Pleasance was anything but beautiful.
Also, I don't think the 28 year old Pleasence playing a teenage Howard was any less plausible than Michell's portrayal of a slightly younger than 18 year old Prince Henry, at aged 41!
See what a difficult situation you've created. Proud of yourself now are you?
"I will have to disagree with you, entirely about Jane. I am not sure what you mean by Jane was not quite as innocent as people like to believe. What did Jane have to feel guilty or innocent about? Jane was a stanch Roman Catholic who lived in the myst of the horrid circumstances of Anne Boleyn's fate, during the first few months of her marriage to Henry. This series did an excellent job of portraying Jane's predicament of staying true to her faith while watching those around her fall victim to her husband's tyranny of death. Jane did the best she could, and did a good job considering the skimpy hand of cards she was dealt. Henry also had a great amount of affection for Jane, as this series accurately portrays, he was to have whispered her name just before dying. There is also clear evidence of his love for her as he is buried with her."
Jane may have appeared to be all sweetness and light, but in the opinion of some historians, she played a crucial and conscious role in the plot to bring down Anne Boleyn.
It is obvious that Henry loved her a great deal (though she is not considered to be his greatest passion like AB), but to be honest I think that she'd be next on the chopping block if she hadn't got out when she did!
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My care is like my shadow in the sun.
Jane may have appeared to be all sweetness and light, but in the opinion of some historians, she played a crucial and conscious role in the plot to bring down Anne Boleyn.
It is obvious that Henry loved her a great deal (though she is not considered to be his greatest passion like AB), but to be honest I think that she'd be next on the chopping block if she hadn't got out when she did!
The Thread asks, "Which wife is the best", and I assume most people or the OP understand this to mean, Who of Henry's six wives was his true love. I inferred the thread to read, who seemed the best at, being a wife, from Henry’s view. As to the meaning “true love”, I would have to agree (with you) Anne was his greatest passion. That passion though, slowly evolved into hate. Of all his wives, Anne truly was without redemption, and frankly, manipulated him and challenged him, until he just could not stand her any longer.
I have been a Henry VIII buff for over thirty years, and have never read any information, which attributes Jane Seymour to have played a crucial and conscious role in the plot to bring down Anne Boleyn. You did say conscious, too. Perhaps, an unwilling part, but conscious? I do not doubt you; I am more intrigued, than anything. Could you please perhaps give me a reference or a name of an author who takes this view? I would really be fascinated to know, and would love to read about it.
See what a difficult situation you've created. Proud of yourself now are you?
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The OP pretty clearly states that the question is which of the wives was portrayed, or acted, the best, and lists the actresses' names in their preferred, ranked order. So, there's no room for interpretation that he or she meant which wife was Henry VIII's "true love."
Am I anywhere near the imaginary cliff?share
The OP pretty clearly states that the question is which of the wives was portrayed, or acted, the best, and lists the actresses' names in their preferred, ranked order. So, there's no room for interpretation that he or she meant which wife was Henry VIII's "true love."
Are you usually this rude, and ridiculous? I could really do without the haughty response. This is a cinema fan board, for Christ's sake.
Jack's not dead! Jack would never die without telling me, first!
This is what your post said:
The Thread asks, "Which wife is the best", and I assume most people or the OP understand this to mean, Who of Henry's six wives was his true love. I inferred the thread to read, who seemed the best at, being a wife, from Henry’s view.
Am I anywhere near the imaginary cliff?share
As I said, this is a CINEMA appreciation and fan board. I wasn't going off on a tangent; I thought I was simply answering the question. And, my understanding of the OP's post was perhaps, incorrect, and I said as much, in my previous post.(6 YEARS AGO!) It still doesn't excuse your rude reply.
If you wanted to flaunt your use of particulars, there are academic boards, which are obviously more appropriate.
I vaguely remember having similar rows with you over the Tudors, and you were just as rude and, as insistent about stating your position, in past exchanges. I believe I even has you on my "ignore" list.
If you don't have enough common sense to see you're obviously, rude and annoying, then your apparent goal is simply for the pleasure of spewing rhetoric, and 6 years, after the fact.
Surely, you have other hobbies rather than nit picking at the perspective of posts on a Cinema fan board, don't you? Then again, it is apparent.
Jack's not dead! Jack would never die without telling me, first!
It wasn't me you were arguing with over the Tudors; I've never watched that show nor been on its board.
Better grow a thicker skin if you can't stand having your mistakes pointed out and post on boards. It's going to happen.
Am I anywhere near the imaginary cliff?share
I like Anne. She was spunky and modern. Next would be the last Catherine who was pious, intelligent, wise, and devoted. I never liked Jane. but I never liked people who acted weak but really were conniving inside. I think the king prized her the most just because she was the only one who bore him a son.
shareI think
1. Annette Crosbie
2. Dorothy Tutin
3. Angela Pleasence
4. Rosalie Crutchley
5. Elvi Hale
6. Anne Stallybrass
That was a hard choice because I think every single one of them was great, but I put it in order of who I think had the hardest role to play.
I liked Rosalie Crutchley best, though if Katherine Parr was supposed to be plain, she was too lovely for the part. Rosalie's overlapping front tooth was endearing. She was especially strong in the scene with Archbishop Cranmer when she realized she would have to betray her conscience to save not only her own life, but other lives and her beloved church.
Katherine Parr has always interested me, not only because she survived, but she seems to be the wife least culpably (sp?) involved in the cold-blooded intrigue of the marriage arrangements. She let the Seymours manipulate her, but not, it seems to me, for her own advancement. I think Catherine of Aragon and Parr were the two wives who cared most for Henry himself. And her fate was sad, too. Surviving Henry only to die in childbirth a few years later.