That Lady (1955)

Set in Spain, a one eyed noblewoman and widow (Olivia De Havilland) has lived peacefully in the countryside with her young son (Andy Shine). But King Philip II (Paul Scofield in his film debut) coerces her to return to Madrid to tutor the commoner (Gilbert Roland) he has chosen to make his first secretary. Based on the novel FOR ONE SWEET GRAPE by Kate O'Brien and directed by Terence Young (WAIT UNTIL DARK). This historical romance shot in Spain in CinemaScope by Robert Krasker (THE THIRD MAN) uses actual historical characters for its tale of lovers caught in the middle of political intrigue in 16th century Spain. As cinema, its political shenanigans are interesting up to a point but eventually the creaking movie romance at the center of the film deflates everything else. De Havilland is particularly irksome as she gives one of those "great lady" performances where emoting with a capital E takes precedence over creating an identifiable human being. It doesn't help that she doesn't have any chemistry with the handsome Roland. To be fair, the transfer I watched was pretty shoddy so it's entirely possible I might have liked it better had I seen a pristine print. With Francoise Rosay, Christopher Lee and Dennis Price.