The Flame and the Arrow (1950)

Dardo, a Robin Hood-like figure, and his loyal followers use a Roman ruin in Medieval Lombardy as their headquarters as they conduct an insurgency against their Hessian conquerors.

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writer:

Waldo Salt

Stars:

Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, Robert Douglas

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Burt Lancaster	...	Dardo Bartoli
Virginia Mayo	...	Anne de Hesse
Robert Douglas	...	Marchese Alessandro de Granazia
Aline MacMahon	...	Nonna Bartoli
Frank Allenby	...	Count 'The Hawk' Ulrich
Nick Cravat	...	Piccolo
Lynn Baggett	...	Francesca (as Lynne Baggett)
Gordon Gebert	...	Rudi Bartoli, Dardo's Son
Norman Lloyd	...	Apollo, the Troubador
Victor Kilian	...	Apothecary Mazzoni
Francis Pierlot	...	Papa Pietro
Robin Hughes	...	Skinner

Storyline

Twelfth-century Lombardy lies under the iron heel of German overlord Count Ulrich 'The Hawk', but in the mountains, guerillas yet resist. Five years before our story, Ulrich stole away the pretty wife of young archer Dardo who, cynical rather than embittered, still has little interest in joining the rebels. But this changes when his son, too, is taken from him. The rest is lighthearted swashbuckling, plus romantic interludes with lovely hostage Anne.

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Plot Keywords:

rebel | rescue | niece | acrobat | betrayal | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hawk and the Arrow

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Norma-F.R. Productions, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nick Cravat, who plays Piccolo, was an acrobat who was teamed with Burt Lancaster before Lancaster became a star. He appears in many of Lancaster's movies. In this one, and in The Crimson Pirate, he plays a mute. The reason was that his thick Brooklyn accent, which he could not lose, would have been wildly out of place in such period pieces.

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Goofs

Just as the boy Rudy is captured by the soldiers (and when he should be frightened), you see him grinning quite broadly at someone off-camera.

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Quotes

Skinner: ...we're civilized and the art of civilization is doing natural things in an unnatural way.

User Reviews

Lancastrian Brilliance

"The Flame & The Arrow" (1950)was one of the last of the great Warner Bros. swashbucklers. From a screenplay by Waldo Salt this hugely enjoyable romp was directed with great flair by Jacques Tourneur. It was originally planned as a vehicle for Errol Flynn but by the time the picture went into production the erstwhile heroic Flynn was past his sell-by date and would be unable for the knockabout antics the part demanded (he had barely got through "The Adventures Of Don Juan" two years previously thanks to many short takes and having doubles perform a lot of his action scenes). Instead, a young and stunningly acrobatic Burt Lancaster was cast as Dardo, a sort of Robin Hood in medieval Italy fighting the oppression of the occupying Hessions.

Produced by Lancaster's Norma Productions (named after his wife) it was fully fleshed out with a splendid cast. Playing Dardo's mute friend Piccolo was Nick Cravat - Lancaster's friend and fellow performer from their circus days.The lovely Virginia Mayo played the love interest Anne of Hess. Robert Douglas is a likable rogue through most of the picture until he gets a taste of power and turns bad and Frank Allenby, looking remarkably like the Great Profile John Barrymore, played the villainous Hawk (the original title of the movie was "The Hawk & The Arrow").

Lancaster is marvellous to watch! Performing all his own stunts his high flying antics are a joy to behold. No other actor, before or since, would prove to be so agile and provide such a spirited performance! His athletic prowess is outstanding and little wonder he was Warner's first choice to play the great native American athlete Jim Thorpe in their biographical "Jim Thorpe-All American" (aka "Man Of Bronz") in 1952. Although he did a kind of follow-up to "The Flame & The Arrow" two years later with the more comical "The Crimson Pirate" it is a shame he then ceased doing this type of movie as we could have tolerated him in quite a few more of them.

Beautifully photographed in colour by the great Ernest Haller the movie has all the hallmarks of Warner's high production values. Adding greatly to the picture's proceedings is the wonderful Italianate score by Max Steiner! His ebullient music, like the picture, is a total delight especially his infectious and hum inducing main theme for Dardo scored for mandolins and orchestra and the gorgeous love theme for the scenes with Dardo & the lady Anne. There's a splendid driving battle theme too! Steiner's music was nominated for an Acadamy Award but lost out to Franz Waxman's darker "Sunset Boulevard".

The picture has transferred extremely well to disc with sharp images and fine colour resolution but quite dispensable are a Merrie Melodies cartoon and a tired Joe McDoakes short. It is also a pity that a documentary of Lancaster was not included.