I don't expect or even want precise historicity in a costume drama, so I love this beautifully-filmed production. Did anybody else find Rex Thompson's portrayal of Edward, the little king, as remarkable as I did? Rex was only 11 at the time, and no matter how visionary the director, how plausible the writing or how facile the film editor, it takes real brilliance for a person that young to perform so believably. He perfectly reproduced Laughton's characterizations of Henry VIII in miniature, and was as matter-of-dactyl bloodthirsty as Henry ("I wish he'd die," he remarks about his "Oncle Ned," seeing nothing untoward about it). He worked again with Deborah Kerr playing Louis in "The King and I." He was "The Page" in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of the same name in 1966, but there are no later entries about him on this site. Also, no death date, which I'm glad to see...was he one of those unfortunate child actors who was robbed blind by unscrupulous relatives/agents/investors? Did he just get sick of the grind and chuck it all? Or did he change his name and vocation? I would have liked to have seen him as an adult. He was such an appealing child!
Review of Young Bess
