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FilmographyThere are many films that show Mary Tudor, though none that focus entirely on her life. They portray her with varying degrees of accuracy, but all are worth watching. Lady Jane. Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes. 1985. PG-13. The story of Lady Jane Grey (Carter) and a fictional but charming romance with Guildford Dudley, who is known to history only as a drunkard and general no-good. In this tale, Mary Tudor (Jane Lapotaire) appears as a terrifying cross between Cruella DeVille and an unsympathetic Mother Superior. Brown-haired and robed in maroon, she sports a double-peaked French hood which, although certainly part of the Tudor wardrobe, appears in no existing portrait of Mary and seems intended to make her look demonic. This Mary, hissing "Take care, little cousin Jane," gives no hint of the real Mary's forgiving nature or her reputation for kindness and mercy. This is, after all, Jane's story, and it ends tragically on the block. Nevertheless, this movie has many virtues, including authentic scenes of hunting, dancing, and travel by barge on the Thames River. Also authentic is the scene in which Jane is beaten by servants for disobeying her mother, Frances Gray. Trekkies will be fascinated to note that Jane's indecisive and too-hearty father is played by none other than Patrick Stewart of "Next Gen." The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Volume 1, "Catherine of Aragon." Elizabeth R.
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