 The play, Elizabeth the Queen, originally opened in New York on 3  November 1930 with Lynn Fontanne (qv) and Alfred Lunt (qv) as  Elizabeth and Essex. The title of the movie was to be the same as  the title of the play, but Errol Flynn (I) (qv) protested that he  wanted his presence acknowledged in the title. The choice of "The  Knight and the Lady" upset Bette Davis, and "Elizabeth and Essex"  was a book title already copyrighted. Thus the final unwieldy title  was used.