When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)

Mary Tudor, sister of England's Henry VIII, causes a stir by falling in love with a guardsman below her class.

Director:

Robert G. Vignola

Writers:

William LeBaron, Charles Major (novel)

Stars:

Marion Davies, Forrest Stanley, Lyn Harding

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marion Davies	...	Mary Tudor
Forrest Stanley	...	Charles Brandon
Lyn Harding	...	Henry VIII
Theresa Maxwell Conover	...	Queen Catherine
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Duke of Buckingham
Ruth Shepley	...	Lady Jane Bolingbroke
Ernest Glendinning	...	Sir Edwin Caskoden
Arthur Forrest	...	Cardinal Wolsey
Johnny Dooley	...	Will Sommers
William Kent	...	King's Tailor
Charles K. Gerrard	...	Sir Adam Judson (as Charles Gerard)
Arthur Donaldson	...	Sir Henry Brandon
Downing Clarke	...	Lord Chamberlain
William Norris	...	Louis XII
Macey Harlam	...	Duc de Longueville

Storyline

Mary Tudor, sister of England's Henry VIII, causes a stir by falling in love with a guardsman below her class.

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Plot Keywords:

royal family | saved from execution | soothsayer | secret entrance | jester | 

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Genres:

Romance | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1922 (USA)

Also Known As:

Da Mænd var Riddere

Filming Locations:

Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cosmopolitan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only film in which Marion Davies worked with William Powell, even though they both worked at MGM for years.

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Quotes

Mary Tudor: We shall await the King, ladies... the King who struts about, ready to walk on anybody!
Mary Tudor: [continues] But he shall not walk on me!... though he be twice as swaggering, thrice as blustering and seven times the King of England!

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Connections

Version of When Knighthood Was in Flower (1908)

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Soundtracks

The Marion Davies March
Music by Victor Herbert

User Reviews

The Marion Davies show

What can be said about at the time the most expensive movie ever made with cost an estimated at $1.8 million. The pet project of the famous media magnate William Hearst, it is the tale of a woman, sister who defies all royal conventions, especially one; she falls in love with a commoner - Knight Charles Brandon - while bethrothed not of her choice, of course, to King louis XII of France. Action ensues as the forces of tradition conspire to keep them apart. The sets are very good and Marion davies is extremely good. When I watch a silent movie and I wish to hear what the actor is saying, then the performance is classic. Everyone else is adequate and passable. The director who isn't very good throws in a lot of gothic subtext and an unusual editing style of what I'll term "flash cutting" is used. Cinematography is especially wonderful. Deeper meanings or detailing beyond the obvious social strata innuities and foresight castigations of a by-gone era, is pitifully missing. Entertaining yes, action-packed - agreed but a bit quaint, unlike Robin Hood released around the same time but which holds up much better. (It alsao looks as if it cost more; it did not). But Garbo, Shearer and Dietrich did this too and theirs are better. Worth watching but watch out for sappiness in many moments. Just as a note, this movie was the biggest hit of the 1922-23 movie season, ahead of Robin Hood and Safety last.