The Golden Blade (1953)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Nathan Juran

Writers:

William R. Cox (writer)
John Rich (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 August 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

His Blade Of Gold... A Legend In Battle! Her Kiss Of Surrender... The Prize Of Victory!

Plot:

Harum (Rock Hudson) is a fearless man of the people who comes to Bagdad to avenge the murder of his father and meets Krairuzan (Piper Laurie)...

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Swashbuckler | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Rock Hudson	...	Harun
Piper Laurie	...	Princess Khairuzan
Gene Evans	...	Capt. Hadi
George Macready	...	Jafar
Kathleen Hughes	...	Bakhamra
Steven Geray	...	Barcus
Edgar Barrier	...	Caliph
Alice Kelley	...	Handmaiden
Anita Ekberg	...	Handmaiden
Erika Nordin	...	Handmaiden (as Erika Norden)
Valerie Jackson	...	Handmaiden
Victor Romito	...	Sherkan (as Vic Romito)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #16383) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Castle, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Tony Curtis turned down the lead role.

Lively, physically beautiful, with delightful comedy and John Rich's script

Young Piper Laurie and handsome newcomer Rock Hudson were both featured to great advantage in this clearly-plotted and lively adventure-comedy. Imaginative veteran Nathan Juran directs very accurately and imaginatively, and the acting by George Macready as the ambitious villain, aided by Gene Evans (not quite up to a classical accent) and Kathleen Hughes and that of their opponents played by Edgar Barrier, the crafty Stephen Geray and others is above average for any genre. Adding to the fun is lovely Laurie impersonating a boy, a mysterious magic sword (which in lesser hands would have been a detriment) and its magical unwillingness to obey other than a virtuous owner. There is a prolonged sequence when various magicians attempt to remove the sword--which Macready needs to claim the throne--that has become embedded in a wall, and more physically colorful and beautifully-realized scenes than in any ten mean-streets melodramas of the post 1970s. If you do not fall in love with the spirited Khairozan, as Hudson does in the film, then you are probably dead. If you cannot delight in this youthful and stirring adventure of a bygone era, you had best give Grecianized Near-Easterns, our richest adventure genre in so many ways, a consistent miss.