After the huge success of WHEN KNIGHTHOOD WAS IN FLOWER (1922) it was only natural that Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst would look to another novel by Charles Major as the source for another mammoth medieval story.
Huge castle sets were built at Cosmopolitan Studio's 2nd Avenue location on the Harlem River. As usual, Hearst spared no expense in producing this lavish medieval story of romance, mistaken identities, disguises, and political intrigue.
Davies stars as Princess Mary of Burgunudy, who travels in disguise as Yolanda, when she meets a mysterious knight (Ralph Graves). He is actually Prince Maximillian, who is later imprisoned in a political plot to overthrow the King of Styria. Meanwhile, Davies is being forced by the evil Bishop La Balue, into marriage with the half-witted Dauphin of France in order to prevent war. Maximillian escapes and, learning of the princess' predicament, travels to Burgundy to rescue her. But the threat of war still looms and threatens to doom their romance.
Davies is wondrous as the beleaguered princess and wears more than a dozen elaborate gowns and headdresses. Graves is solid as the hero. Others in the cast include Holbrook Blinn as King Louis, Lyn Harding as the Duke of Burgundy, Theresa Maxwell Conover as Queen Margaret, Johnny Dooley as the Dauphin, Macklyn Arbuckle as La Balue, Mary Kennedy as Antoinette, Leon Errol as the innkeeper, and Gustav von Seyffertitz as Oliver.
As with several earlier films, Joseph Urban designed the lavish interiors, and they are stunning. Costumes were designed by Urban's daughter, Gretl Urban. As with KNIGHTHOOD, this one was directed by Robert Vignola.
Despite huge openings in New York and Los Angeles, the film was not a financial success, perhaps too similar to KNIGHTHOOD. Be that as it may, this is a stunning film of epic proportions and one of the very best silent films in the medieval genre.
