King Richard and the Crusaders (1954)

While leading the Third Crusade, King Richard Lionheart battles treachery in his own camp as well as the Saracenesand their charismatic leader Saladin.

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

Sir Walter Scott (novel), John Twist

Stars:

Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rex Harrison	...	Emir Hderim Sultan Saladin
Virginia Mayo	...	Lady Edith Plantagenet
George Sanders	...	King Richard I
Laurence Harvey	...	Sir Kenneth of Huntington
Robert Douglas	...	Sir Giles Amaury
Michael Pate	...	Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat
Paula Raymond	...	Queen Berengaria
Lester Matthews	...	Archbishop of Tyre / Narrator
Anthony Eustrel	...	Baron De Vaux
Henry Corden	...	King Philip of France
Wilton Graff	...	Duke Leopold of Austria
Nejla Ates	...	Moorish Dancing Girl
Nick Cravat	...	Nectobanus
Leslie Bradley	...	Castelaine Captain
Bruce Lester	...	Castelaine

Storyline

In 1191, King Richard the Lionhearted, along with several other European monarchs, is in the Holy Land intent on retaking Jerusalem from the Saracens. There is much infighting and outright treachery in the European encampment encampment however. Two nobles in particular, Sir Giles Amaury and Conrad of Montferrat, want to eliminate the English king and attempt to have him assassinated. Severely wounded and on his death bed, Richard is brought back to health by a Saracen doctor recruited by one of his loyal knights, Sir Kenneth of the Leopard. The king recovers from his wounds but when he hears that Sir Lawrence wishes to marry Lady Edith Plantagenet, the knight is banished only to be taken in by the very doctor who treated the king and who has an altogether different identity.

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Plot Keywords:

king | saracen | knight | richard lionheart | death | 

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Taglines:

From Sir Walter Scott's Epic Adventure-Romance... "The Talisman"!

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Genres:

Adventure | History | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 August 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Talisman

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$2,100,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (RCA Sound System) Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (35 mm optical prints)

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film invents a military order of "Castelaines" or "Castlers", of which Sir Giles (Robert Douglas) is the Master. In the source novel, these characters are Knights Templar, whom Sir Walter Scott invariably depicted as villains. It is unclear whether the change was made because of the Production Code (Templars were a monastic order, so hostile depictions might fall under the rules against negative depictions of clergy), or to avoid upsetting the Masonic Knights Templar, of which a number of distinguished Hollywood figures were members.

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Goofs

Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat, is described as a "wise Venetian" in the script, ignoring the fact that his title indicated where he is from. Montferrat (Monferrato) is in Piedmont, in NW Italy; Venice is in the NE.

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Quotes

Sir Kenneth: In the desert no man meets a friend.

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Connections

Version of The Talisman (1980)

User Reviews

A cardboard costumer, if ever there was one

The problem with this movie isn't so much the hokey dialogue, the relatively cheap sets, and the slapdash makeup. The story isn't bad, but it never gets as gripping as Max Steiner's spectacular musical score suggests it should be.

There are a few good battle scenes and a good jousting match, but only Rex Harrison (in absurd makeup as Saladin) and George Sanders (as Richard the Lionheart) give the film any substance. Virginia Mayo still looks like Cody Jarrett's wife in WHITE HEAT; this is a substandard performance for her. For that matter, Rex Harrison still looks like 'Enry 'Iggins, despite all the soot they've smeared on his face to make him look like a Kurd.

This is a fun film, but I can bring myself to give it five stars, because it was somewhat boring. It's campy, but not campy enough to be enjoyable from start to finish.

At least I saw it in a widescreen German print (in English); to my knowledge there has been no video widescreen release of this film in any format.