''Sixty Years a Queen'' is a 1913 British silent

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

directed by

Bert Haldane Bert Haldane (1871–1937) was a British film director of the silent era. Filmography Filmography - based on IMDb - is complete. 1910 *'' Coals of Fire'' (1910) *'' Tried and Found True'' (1910) *'' Cast Thy Bread Upon the Waters'' (19 ...

and starring

Blanche Forsythe Blanche Forsythe was a British actress of the silent era. She was born in Islington in the mid-1880s and died in Middlesex in 1953 - aged 80. Selected filmography * ''Sixty Years a Queen'' (1913) * ''East Lynne (1913 film), East Lynne'' (1913)

Louie Henri Louie may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Louie'' (American TV series), by comedian Louis C.K. * ''Louie'' (French TV series), animated series about a young rabbit who draws pictures which come to life * "Louie" (song), by Blood Raw * ''L ...

and

Fred Paul Fred Paul (1880–1967) was a Swiss-born British actor and film director. Paul was born in Lausanne in 1880 but moved to Britain at a young age. He was a prolific actor and director in the 1910s and 1920s, but his career dramatically declined with ...

Outline

The film portrays the six decade-long reign of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

, serving as a wider depiction of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

and its leading British figures. It was based on the 1897 non-fiction work of the same title by

Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Baronet Sir Herbert Eustace Maxwell, 7th Baronet, (8 January 1845 – 30 October 1937) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, artist, antiquarian, horticulturalist, prominent salmon angler and author of books on angling and Conservative politician who ...

which had been written to celebrate Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.Gabriel A. Sivan, “George Berthold Samuelson (1889–1947): Britain’s Jewish film pioneer” in Jewish Historical Studies, vol. 44 (2012) pp. 205–206

Production

The film was conceived in 1912 at a meeting between

G. B. Samuelson George Berthold Samuelson (6 July 1889 – 17 April 1947) was a director and film producer. Born in Southport, Lancashire, Samuelson was the youngest son of Henschel and Bertha Samuelson, tobacconists originally from Prussia. By 1891, his mother ...

and his brother

Julian Wylie Julian Wylie (1 August 1878 – 6 December 1934), originally Julian Ulrich Samuelson Metzenberg, was a British theatrical agent and producer. He began as an accountant and took an interest in entertainment through his brothers, Lauri Wylie and ...

. Samuelson was looking for his first film project, and later brought in

Will Barker William George Barker (18 January 1868, in Cheshunt – 6 November 1951, in Wimbledon) was a British film producer, director, cinematographer, and entrepreneur who took film-making in Britain from a low budget form of novel entertainment to t ...

as his co-producer. The picture was largely filmed at Barker's newly built

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever ...

, where Barker gained a reputation for extravagant productions, often historical.Oakley p. 58 A great deal of money was invested in ''Sixty Years a Queen'', and more than a thousand actors and extras were employed, on many locations. There was also much advance publicity. The picture was a great success at the box-offices, making the producers a profit of some £35,000. More than twenty years later

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for the films he made with his third wif ...

made a similar film, '' Sixty Glorious Years'', which was also very popular.

Cast

(younger) *

as Queen Victoria (older) *

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

Roy Travers Roy Travers (born 1883 in London) was a British actor. Travers appeared in a number of films (mostly directed by Kenelm Foss) made by Astra Films. He died in 1941. Selected filmography * ''East Lynne'' (1913) * '' Sixty Years a Queen'' (1913) * ...

as Prince Albert * Gilbert Esmond as

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...

* E. Story Gofton as W.E. Gladstone *

Rolf Leslie Rolf Leslie was a British actor born in Dumfries, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, UK. Selected filmography * '' Sixty Years a Queen'' (1913) * ''East Lynne'' (1913) * '' Lights of London'' (1914) * ''Jane Shore'' (1915) * '' The Faith of a Child'' (1915 ...

as 27 Different Roles * J. Hastings Batson * Alfred Bailey Groves as Prince Edward

References

Bibliography

* Oakley, Charles. ''Where We Came In: Seventy Years of the British Film Industry''. Routledge, 2013.

External links

* 1913 films 1910s historical drama films British silent feature films British biographical drama films British historical drama films Films set in London Films set in England Films set in the 19th century Films directed by Bert Haldane British black-and-white films Cultural depictions of Queen Victoria on film 1910s biographical drama films 1913 drama films 1910s English-language films 1910s British films Silent historical drama films {{1910s-UK-film-stub