The Sword and the Rose (1953)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Ken Annakin

Writers:

Lawrence Edward Watkin (screenplay)
Charles Major (novel)

Release Date:

23 July 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family | History

Tagline:

A Forbidden Love That Threatened Two Kingdoms!

Plot:

Tells the story of Mary Tudor and her troubled path to true love. Henry VIII, for political reasons...

Plot Keywords:

Historical | Based On Novel | Kids And Family

Cast

Glynis Johns	...	Princess Mary Tudor
Richard Todd	...	Charles Brandon
James Robertson Justice	...	King Henry VIII
Michael Gough	...	Duke of Buckingham
Jane Barrett	...	Lady Margaret
Peter Copley	...	Sir Edwin Caskoden
Rosalie Crutchley	...	Queen Katherine
D.A. Clarke-Smith	...	Cardinal Wolsey
Ernest Jay	...	Lord Chamberlain
John Vere	...	Lawyer Clerk
Philip Lennard	...	Chaplain
Bryan Coleman	...	Earl of Surrey
Phillip Glasier	...	Royal Falconer
Jean Mercure	...	King Louis XII
Gérard Oury	...	Dauphin of France (as Gerard Oury)

Also Known As:

When Knighthood Was in Flower (UK) (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved (PCA #16289) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:PG (re-rating) (1992)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The first film of Patrick Cargill.

Movie Connections:

Edited into "Disneyland: When Knighthood Was in Flower: Part 1 (#2.15)" (1956)

Okay kiddie costume drama

I really think Disney, when doing period films, did best when sticking to the musical comedy vein, as in "Mary Poppins" or the lesser-known (but hilarious) "Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin." When they tried to play it straight, the results are usually nothing to write home about, such is the case in "The Sword and the Rose." Now, Glynis Johns is beautiful and provides a very fine performance, and James Robertson Justice as Henry VIII, doing his best Falstaff impersonation, is quite amusing. I also enjoyed many of the supporting players, from the pratfalling King of France to his evil Pepe le Pew successor, Francis.

Unfortunately, Richard Todd as Charles Brandon is dull, dull, dull. One thing is for certain, he is no Errol Flynn. I kept thinking- why would Princess Mary want to run off with this guy? Todd is unfortunately typical of many 1950s leading men, like Cornel Wilde and Rory Calhoun, who seemed to substitute square jaws and blank stoicism for actual charm, charisma, and talent. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the film more if there had been more action scenes and swashbuckling, but there were so many scenes of Brandon and the Princess cooing over each other that I found myself getting restless. At times like this, a vaudeville number would be much appreciated.

However, the movie is relatively fast paced enough, so I wasn't too bored. The costuming, for a '50s Disney movie, is okay, although of course no one will be surprised to hear that it actually bears little resemblance to early Tudor fashions circa 1514. Justice is way too old to be playing Henry (Henry would have been in his mid 20s at the time) and all of his clothes look to be taken from the Holbein portraits from the 1530s and 1540s. All the women are wearing farthingales (not introduced until later), and most annoying, is that Catherine of Aragon, who was really a plump, sweet-natured redhead, is portrayed as a dour stick-thin black-haired hag who flounces around in a succession of horrifically gaudy outfits. Well, what else can be expected of a Disney movie, I suppose. It's a reasonably pleasant, inoffensive way of passing the time, and I very much liked Glynis Johns, although I constantly expected her to burst out singing: "Well done, Sister Suffragette!"