The Crusades (1935)

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Harold Lamb (screenplay) &
Waldemar Young (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 October 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

Wonders to dazzle the human imagination - in a flaming love story set in titanic world conflict!

Plot:

King Richard and the Third Crusade (1190-1192) are given the DeMille treatment with more spectacle than history.

Plot Keywords:

Crusades | Attack | Jerusalem | France | Spectacle

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Loretta Young	...	Berengaria, Princess of Navarre
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Richard, King of England
Ian Keith	...	Saladin, Sultan of Islam
C. Aubrey Smith	...	The Hermit
Katherine DeMille	...	Alice, Princess of France (as Katherine De Mille)
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat
Alan Hale	...	Blondel - Troubadour
C. Henry Gordon	...	Philip the Second, King of France
George Barbier	...	Sancho, King of Navarre
Montagu Love	...	The Blacksmith - Hercules
Ramsay Hill	...	John, Prince of England
Lumsden Hare	...	Robert, Earl of Leicester
Maurice Murphy	...	Alan, Richard's Squire
William Farnum	...	Hugo, Duke of Burgundy
Hobart Bosworth	...	Frederick, Duke of the Germans
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Karakush
Mischa Auer	...	Monk
Albert Conti	...	Leopold, Duke of Austria
Sven Hugo Borg	...	Sverre, the Norse King (as Sven-Hugo Borg)
Paul Sotoff	...	Michael, Prince of Russia
Fred Malatesta	...	William, King of Sicily
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski	...	Nicholas, Count of Hungary (as Hans von Twardowski)
Anna Demetrio	...	Duenna - Tina
Perry Askam	...	Soldier
Vallejo Gantner	...	Marshal of France
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Adair	...	English Chamberlain (uncredited)
Richard Alexander	...	Crusading Warrior (uncredited)
Stanley Andrews	...	Amir (uncredited)
Maurice Black	...	Amir (uncredited)
Georgia Caine	...	Nun (uncredited)
John Carradine	...	Leopold of Austria (uncredited) (voice)
Harry Cording	...	Amir (uncredited)
William B. Davidson	...	Amir (uncredited)
Edgar Dearing	...	Cart Man (uncredited)
Emma Dunn	...	Alan's Mother (uncredited)
Suzanne Emery	...	Christian Slave Girl (uncredited)
Alphonse Ethier	...	Priest (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	(uncredited)
Jean Fenwick	...	Christian Slave Girl (uncredited)
Sam Flint	...	Captain of Hospitalers (uncredited)
Kenneth Gibson	...	Captain of English Men-at-Arms (uncredited)
Harold Goodwin	...	Wounded Soldier (uncredited)
Gordon Griffith	...	Templar (uncredited)
Winter Hall	...	Archbishop (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Boyd Irwin	...	Templar (uncredited)
George MacQuarrie	...	Captain of Templars (uncredited)
Edwin Maxwell	...	Ship's Master (uncredited)
Jack Montgomery	...	Christian Cavalryman (uncredited)
Pat Moore	...	Leicester's Squire (uncredited)
J. Carrol Naish	...	Arab Slave Dealer (uncredited)
Gertrude Norman	...	(uncredited)
Gilda Oliva	...	Alice's First Lady-in-Waiting (uncredited)
Addison Richards	...	Sentry (uncredited)
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Amir / Slave in Saladin's Garden (uncredited)
Dewey Robinson	...	Whipping Master (uncredited)
Oscar Rudolph	...	Philip's Squire (uncredited)
Jack Rutherford	...	Knight (uncredited)
Ann Sheridan	...	Christian Slave Girl (uncredited)
Josef Swickard	...	Buyer (uncredited)
Colin Tapley	...	Stranger - Messenger (uncredited)
Guy Usher	...	Greybeard / Templar (uncredited)
Mildred Van Bueren	...	Alice's Second Lady-in-Waiting (uncredited)
Blue Washington	...	One of Saladin's Guards (uncredited)

Directed by
Cecil B. DeMille

Writing credits
Harold Lamb		(screenplay) &
Waldemar Young		(screenplay) and
Dudley Nichols		(screenplay)
Charles Brackett		contributor to treatment (uncredited)
Howard Higgin		contributor to treatment (uncredited)
Jeanie Macpherson		contributor to treatment (uncredited)

Produced by
Cecil B. DeMille	....	producer
Henry Herzbrun	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Rudolph G. Kopp		(as Rudolph Kopp)

Cinematography by
Victor Milner		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Anne Bauchens		(uncredited)

Casting by
Hollingsworth Morse		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Roland Anderson		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Nellie Manley	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Monte Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Hippard	....	assistant director (uncredited)
David MacDonald	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Russ Brown	....	prop storeman (uncredited)
Bob McQuellis	....	props (uncredited)
George Scully	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Daniel Ulrich	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Joseph E. Aiken	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Ray Cossar	....	stage engineer (uncredited)
Harry Lindgren	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
'Curley' Nelson	....	sound crew (uncredited)
Buck Walters	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Barney Wolff	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Gordon Jennings	....	technical effects
Dewey Wrigley	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Harold Goodwin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Montgomery	....	stunts (uncredited)
Spike Spackman	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lloyd Ahern	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Kenneth De Land	....	grip (uncredited)
Fred Geiger	....	set lighting foreman (uncredited)
Russell Harlan	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Jack Lefferman	....	grip (uncredited)
William C. Mellor	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Lorne Netten	....	set lighting assistant (uncredited)
Ted Powell	....	mike grip (uncredited)
Guy Roe	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
William Walling	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Travis Banton	....	costume designer: Miss Young and Miss DeMille
Joe Kaplan	....	wardrobe: men (uncredited)
Edna Shotwell	....	wardrobe: women (uncredited)

Music Department
Herman Hand	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
W. Franke Harling	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Friedrich Hollaender	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
John Leipold	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Milan Roder	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Irvin Talbot	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Adolph Zukor	....	presenter
Emily Barrye	....	script clerk (uncredited)
Roy Burns	....	business manager (uncredited)
Jack Cooper	....	publicist (uncredited)
Bernice Hook	....	script clerk (uncredited)
Chester Seay	....	archery instructor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (as Paramount Productions Inc.)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #859) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Director Cecil B. DeMille used the same sets from The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) in this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Conrad and Prince John play a chess game in which Conrad makes four moves to John's one.

Quotes:

Berengaria, Princess of Navarre: We've been blind. We were proud dearest when we took the cross in our pride, we fought to conquer Jerusalem. We tried to ride through blood to the Holy Place of God. And now... now we suffer.
Saladin, Sultan of Islam: The Holy City of Allah.
Berengaria, Princess of Navarre: What if we call him Allah or God? Shall men fight because they travel different roads to him? There is only one God.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage (1983)

Soundtrack:

The Man in the Moon

Historical Spectacle - DeMille Style

A playboy king & a beautiful princess. A holy hermit & a sacred mission. Intrigue & romance & sin & spectacle. In fact, another Cecil B. DeMille history lesson.

This time, DeMille takes on THE CRUSADES, a highly complex military & political enterprise that actually played out over 200 years. He focuses on one episode: The Third Crusade & England's King Richard the Lionheart's thrust to claim Jerusalem & the Holy Land from the Seljuk Turks in 1188-1192. Interestingly enough, DeMille gets a lot of his historical facts correct, but he does spend quite a bit of time detailing Richard's lustful, wanton ways.

Literature & film have tended to wildly romanticize Richard. In historical fact, he was a bad king interested primarily in his own glory. He spent only 6 months of his reign in Britain, he bankrupted the Treasury with his Crusading schemes and he abandoned his young wife. But such is the power of Romance that he is generally seen as the beau ideal of kingliness.

Henry Wilcoxon is a good, sturdy, if unspectacular, Richard. Loretta Young is beautiful, as always, as the Princess he marries. Sir C. Aubrey Smith is magnificent as the Holy Hermit who is the spiritual leader of the Crusade. Others in the fine cast are Alan Hale, Joseph Schildkraut, Mischa Auer & John Carradine (pay close attention to find him).

As a master of spectacle, DeMille really comes through towards the end of the film with the siege & capture of Acre (north of present day Haifa in Israel).All the stops are pulled out to show the full panoply & horror of mediaeval battle.