Black Cross (1960)
"Krzyzacy" (original title)

A tale of a young impoverished nobleman, who with his uncle returns from a war against the order of the Teutonic Knights in Lithuania. He falls in love with a beautiful woman and pledges an... See full summary »

Director:

Aleksander Ford

Writers:

Aleksander Ford (dialogue), Aleksander Ford (screenplay),

Stars:

Urszula Modrzynska, Grazyna Staniszewska, Andrzej Szalawski

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Urszula Modrzynska	...	Jagienka Zychówna
Grazyna Staniszewska	...	Danusia
Andrzej Szalawski	...	Jurand of Spychów
Henryk Borowski	...	Siegfried de Löwe
Aleksander Fogiel	...	Macko of Bogdaniec
Mieczyslaw Kalenik	...	Zbyszko of Bogdaniec
Emil Karewicz	...	Wladyslaw II. Jagiello - King of Poland and Lithuania
Tadeusz Kosudarski	...	Bother Rotgier
Lucyna Winnicka	...	Duchess Anna Danuta of Masovia
Tadeusz Bialoszczynski	...	Duke Janusz I Mazowiecki
Mieczyslaw Voit	...	Kuno von Liechtenstein
Janusz Strachocki	...	Konrad von Jungingen
Stanislaw Jasiukiewicz	...	Ulrich von Jungingen
Leon Niemczyk	...	Fulko de Lorche
Zbigniew Skowronski	...	Tolima

Storyline

A tale of a young impoverished nobleman, who with his uncle returns from a war against the order of the Teutonic Knights in Lithuania. He falls in love with a beautiful woman and pledges an oath to bring her "three trophies" from the Teutonic Knights.

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Plot Keywords:

knight | kidnapping | one word title | polish history | middle ages | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Film Datebase entry(Polish)

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Release Date:

January 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Cross

Filming Locations:

Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland

Box Office

Budget:

PLN 33,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zespol Filmowy "Studio"

Technical Specs

Runtime:

166 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was made to commemorate the 550th anniversary of the battle in Grunwald, which took place on 15th July 1410. The movie's first screening was held exactly on 15th July 1960.

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Goofs

Several knights can be seen wearing sneakers beneath the armor, although at the time the film is set, these were not available.

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Connections

Referenced in 1409. Afera na zamku Bartenstein (2005)

User Reviews

Beautiful movie!

Good acting. Great plot. This is a very sad movie, but it presents the true facts in history. It should be released on DVD. One of the best Polish movies. I recommend this movie to everyone.