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IMDbPro

When Knighthood Was in Flower

  • 19221922
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Marion Davies in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
RomanceDrama
Mary Tudor, sister of England's Henry VIII, causes a stir by falling in love with a guardsman below her class.Mary Tudor, sister of England's Henry VIII, causes a stir by falling in love with a guardsman below her class.Mary Tudor, sister of England's Henry VIII, causes a stir by falling in love with a guardsman below her class.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
    • Robert G. Vignola
    • Luther Reed(scenario by)
    • Charles Major("When Knighthood Was in Flower" by)
    • William LeBaron
  • Stars
    • Marion Davies
    • Lyn Harding
    • William Norris
    • Robert G. Vignola
    • Luther Reed(scenario by)
    • Charles Major("When Knighthood Was in Flower" by)
    • William LeBaron
  • Stars
    • Marion Davies
    • Lyn Harding
    • William Norris
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 9User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos27

    Marion Davies in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    Marion Davies in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    Marion Davies in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    Marion Davies in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    Marion Davies in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    Marion Davies and Lyn Harding in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    Marion Davies and Forrest Stanley in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    Marion Davies and Forrest Stanley in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    William Powell in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    Marion Davies and William Norris in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
    Marion Davies, Lyn Harding, and Forrest Stanley in When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)

    Top cast

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    Marion Davies
    Marion Davies
    • Mary Tudor
    Lyn Harding
    Lyn Harding
    • King Henry VIII
    William Norris
    William Norris
    • King Louis XII
    Forrest Stanley
    Forrest Stanley
    • Charles Brandon
    Pedro de Cordoba
    Pedro de Cordoba
    • Duke of Buckingham
    Ernest Glendinning
    • Sir Edwin Caskoden
    William Powell
    William Powell
    • Francis, Duc d' Angoulême
    • (as William H. Powell)
    Arthur Forrest
    • Cardinal Wolsey
    Macey Harlam
    • The Duc de Longueville
    Johnny Dooley
    • The King's Jester
    William Kent
    • The King's Tailor
    Gustav von Seyffertitz
    Gustav von Seyffertitz
    • Grammont, the Soothsayer
    Charles K. Gerrard
    Charles K. Gerrard
    • Sir Adam Judson
    • (as Charles Gerard)
    George Nash
    George Nash
    • An Adventurer
    Arthur Donaldson
    Arthur Donaldson
    • Sir William Brandon
    Theresa Maxwell Conover
    Theresa Maxwell Conover
    • Queen Catherine
    Flora Finch
    Flora Finch
    • A French Lady-in-Waiting
    Ruth Shepley
    Ruth Shepley
    • Lady Jane Bolingbroke
      • Robert G. Vignola
      • Luther Reed(scenario by)
      • Charles Major("When Knighthood Was in Flower" by)
      • William LeBaron
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Marion Davies took weeks of fencing lessons to prepare for the scenes in which, masquerading as a boy, Mary has to fight a bully and six other men at a roadside inn.
    • Goofs
      Francis was Louis's son-in-law and first cousin once removed, not his nephew.
    • Quotes

      Mary Tudor: Jane, Jane, how lucky you are not to be a Princess... and for sale!

    • Connections
      Featured in American Experience: The Battle Over Citizen Kane (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      The Marion Davies March
      Music by Victor Herbert

    User reviews9

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Awe inspiring spectacle for its time
    I was quite impressed with the restoration of Marion Davies's breakout picture When Knighthood Was In Flower. For its time the film is quite lavish and an awe inspiring spectacle. I wouldn't be surprised if William Randolph Hearst made sure that Paramount had whatever financing it needed to bring his Marion's breakout film to the big screen. The only thing that surprised me was that he didn't get Cecil B. DeMille to direct. But more than likely DeMille did not want to be second guessed by WR Hearst.

    With or without DeMille this film is the definition of spectacle. Many of you have probably seen the Disney classic film The Sword And The Rose made during the 50s that starred Richard Todd as Charles Brandon and Glynis Johns as Mary Tudor with James Robertson Justice as Henry VIII. Marion Davies is Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII and a pawn in the power play game of medieval Europe.

    Lyn Harding is Henry VIII and this is back in the day before he became changing wives like underwear and beheading a pair of them. He's married to Catherine of Aragon aunt of the Hapsburg Emperor Charles V whose many titles also included King of Spain and ruler of the Netherlands as well as all that German and Eastern European territory. Henry VIII thought that if he could get sister Mary hitched to the aged Louis XII of France he'd have things all sewed up alliance wise.

    But Mary has a mind of her own. Marion Davies catches one look at Charles Brandon at jousting tournament and she decides this is the guy I want and I don't care if he's not noble.

    The long forgotten Forrest Stanley is Charles Brandon. I'm sure WR Hearst didn't want a leading man getting all the attention in Marion's film. Time and the coming of sound have erased our memories of most of the cast. But William Powell plays Francis I of France who succeeded Louis XII when he died. This was Powell's second film and he's properly sinister as Francis. Not that Francis was any more or less bad than any of the other monarchs of the day including Henry VIII in real life. But Powell in his silent years played swarthy sinister villains and Francis I is done in the best Snidely Whiplash tradition.

    Historically accurate its not. Anne Boleyn makes a brief appearance here as a girl Henry VIII was beginning to check out. Anne was a mere 13 when all this action is taking place and was not drawing Henry's or anyone else's attention yet.

    It's been remarked that Davies's strong suit was a gift for comedy and she has a great old time fleeing from the king with her lover and going to a tavern in male drag. She has a great old time in this part of the film, you could tell Davies was enjoying herself.

    I'm glad this film is now restored and we can see both Marion Davies and William Powell in their salad days.
    helpful•1
    0
    • bkoganbing
    • Dec 17, 2018

    Details

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    • Release date
      • September 15, 1922 (United States)
      • United States
      • None
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Paramount Studios, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production company
      • Cosmopolitan Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours
      • Black and White
      • Silent

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