That Lady [La Princesa de Éboli] ** (1955, Olivia de Havilland, Gilbert Roland, Paul Scofield, Françoise Rosay, Dennis Price) – Classic Movie Review 10,306

Director Terence Young’s 1955 British-Spanish historical adventure That Lady [La Princesa de Éboli] is an intriguing but largely disappointing Middle Ages costume-drama with Philip II (Paul Scofield), the King of Spain, abusing his position in pursuit of a young courtesan who, in turn, is in love with another member of the court, the King’s secretary of state Antonio Perez.

Despite featuring the highly respected stage actor Paul Scofield in a striking turn in his first screen role, and with good performances from Olivia de Havilland (in black eye-patch) as the widowed Ana de Mendoza, the Princesa de Éboli and Gilbert Roland as her lover Antonio Perez, this 1570-set historical melodrama trips over the folds of its theatrical wardrobe and wordy script, and never quite manages to recover itself.

Cinematographer Robert Krasker, responsible for The Third Man among many other triumphs, turns out a gorgeous looking movie in CinemaScope and Technicolor, and partly redeems this rather sorry venture, and so does the extremely handsome, costly-looking production. But, in the end, court intrigue here perhaps does not entirely lead to audience intrigue, apart from the attractive appearances of Scofield and de Havilland, along with Dennis Price’s role as Philip II’s jealous minister Mateo Vasquez.

Anthony Veiller and Sy Bartlett’s screenplay is based on a 1946 historical novel by Kate O’Brien, published in North America under the title For One Sweet Grape, which was also produced as a play in 1949.

Studio chief Darryl F Zanuck was so impressed by the rushes of Paul Scofield as King Philip II of Spain that he got the role enlarged during filming. Scofield won the BAFTA Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Film.

It is shot at MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, and on location in Segovia, Spain, with CinemaScope footage of the Spanish countryside and Renaissance castles.

Christopher Lee appears in a minor role as the Captain of the Guard. Also in the cast are Françoise Rosay, Anthony Dawson, Robert Harris, Peter Illing, José Nieto, Angel Peralta, Fernando Sancho and Andy Shine.

That Lady [La Princesa de Éboli] runs 100 minutes, is released by 20th Century Fox, is produced by Sy Bartlett and Ray Kinnoch, and is scored by John Addison.

Krasker won a Best Cinematography, Black-and-White Oscar for The Third Man, was a Bafta nominee for The Running Man (1963), and won the British Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography Award for Romeo and Juliet (1954) and El Cid (1961).

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,306

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