Nominated for five Academy Awards; Michael Curtiz's expansive period drama sets the tumultuous on-again, off-again affair between Queen Elizabeth I (Bette Davis) and the second earl of Essex (Errol Flynn) against Essex's powerful ambition to assume the throne of England. Having won several important battles, Essex's popularity among the masses is soaring. Fearing the earl's power over the people, Elizabeth sends him on a disastrous campaign to Ireland. Returning defeated with his troops behind him, Essex marches into London and demands the heirless queen share her throne with him. Though agreeable at first, the crafty Elizabeth begins to plot a way to get rid of her cunning suitor for good.