Elizabeth I's Secret Agents (2017)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth I’s Secret Agents is a documentary film divided into three episodes which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2017.

 

Here is some basic information about it:

 

** Directors: Chris Durlacher and Julian Jones

** Writer: Julian Jones

** Narrator: Colin Tierney

** Available on DVD and via Amazon Prime Video

** Run time: 3 x 58 minutes = 174 minutes

 

This film is a combination of interviews with historians and historical scenes which are dramatized by actors.

 

Here are the names of the talking heads (listed in alphabetical order):

 

** Jerry Brotton

** Jessie Childs

** Alexander Courtney

** James Daybell

** Jan Graffius

** Dominic Green

** Lisa Hilton

** Robert Hutchinson

** Ronald Hutton

** Robert Lacey

** Kate Maltby

** Onyeka Nubia

 

Here are the names of the actors and the roles they play when historical scenes are dramatized (the actors only act; with one brief exception, they never speak):

 

** Philip Rosch as William Cecil (1520-1598) – spymaster (the father)

** Kevin James as Robert Cecil (1563-1612) – spymaster (the son)

** Julie Neubert as Elizabeth I – Queen of England 1558-1603

** Adam Jackson-Smith as James I – King of England 1603-1625 (James was also King of Scotland where he is known as James VI)

** Tony Parkin as Dr Rodrigo Lopez (1517-1594) – Elizabeth’s personal physician

** Joe Wredden as the second Earl of Essex (1565-1601) – a rival spymaster

** Stuart McMillan as John Gerard (1564-1637) – a Catholic priest

 

This film, which covers the history of England shortly before and shortly after the year 1600, offers an interesting angle on the topic:

 

We are introduced to the secret network of spies that was set up and run by William Cecil and his son Robert Cecil in order to protect Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.

 

What do reviewers say about the film?

 

Here are some results:

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 75 per cent.

 

On Amazon there are at the moment 71 ratings of this product, 18 with reviews.

 

The average rating is 4.4 stars which corresponds to a rating of 88 percent.

 

If you ask me, the rating on IMDb is too low, while the rating on Amazon is too high.

 

Why do I say this?

 

Because there are some flaws.

 

Let me explain:

 

# 1. We are told that Elizabeth (Queen of England) and Mary (Queen of Scotland) are first cousins. This is not true. They are first cousins once removed, this means there is a generation between them.

 

# 2. Historian Kate Maltby claims that Mary was “ill-educated.” This is not true.

 

# 3. We are told that Mary is “living in the north of England” in 1586. This statement is highly misleading, as it implies that the former Queen of Scotland is a free person.

 

In fact, Mary was under house arrest. She had been confined to a number of locations in the north of England, since she crossed the border between Scotland and England in 1568.

 

# 4. Sir Francis Walsingham (1532-1590), who was the principal secretary to Elizabeth from 1573 to his death in 1590, is popularly remembered as her spymaster, but he is virtually ignored in this film.

 

Walsingham appears in the second episode, where he is portrayed by Anthony Webster, who is uncredited!

 

Walsingham’s role as the primary spymaster to Elizabeth is covered and explored in several books. For details, see the references listed at the end of this review.

 

# 5. The title of the program is misleading: only two of the three episodes cover events during the reign of Elizabeth. 

 

The third and final episode covers events during the reign of her successor James I.

 

A better title would be:

 

The Secret Agents of Elizabeth I and James I

 

This title has another advantage: it avoids the awkward apostrophe in the original title 

 

Elizabeth I’s Secret Agents

 

I like this film and I want to give it a good rating, but as you can see, there are some flaws, which cannot be ignored.

 

I have to remove one star because of these flaws. This product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).

 

PS. In 2018, this film was shown on US television (PBS) with a slightly different title:

 

Queen Elizabeth’s Secret Agents

 

REFERENCES

 

Her Majesty’s Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage

By Stephen Budiansky

(Hardcover 2005)

(Paperback 2006)

 

Elizabeth’s Spymaster: Francis Walsingham and the Secret War that Saved England

By Robert Hutchinson

(2007)

 

The Queen’s Agent: Sir Francis Walsingham and the Rise of Espionage in Elizabethan England

By John Cooper

(Hardcover 2011)

(Paperback 2013)

 

*****

Elizabeth I's Secret Agents

A documentary film divided into three episodes

which premiered on British television (BBC)

in 2017

*****

Queen Elizabeth's Secret Agents

A documentary film divided into three episodes

which premiered on US television (PBS)

in 2018

 

*****

Sir Francis Walsingham

(1532-1590)

Principal secretary and spymaster for 

Queen Elizabeth 1573-1590

 

*****