The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)

Peasant Myles Falworth is trained for knighthood and is groomed by various nobles to defeat the evil Earl of Alban who's plotting to usurp King Henry IV's throne.

Director:

Rudolph Maté

Writers:

Oscar Brodney (screenplay), Howard Pyle (novel)

Stars:

Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, David Farrar

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Curtis	...	Myles
Janet Leigh	...	Lady Anne
David Farrar	...	Gilbert Blunt - Earl of Alban
Barbara Rush	...	Meg
Herbert Marshall	...	William - Earl of Mackworth
Torin Thatcher	...	Sir James
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Prince Hal (as Daniel O'Herlihy)
Patrick O'Neal	...	Walter Blunt
Craig Hill	...	Francis Gascoyne
Ian Keith	...	King Henry IV
Doris Lloyd	...	Dame Ellen
Rhys Williams	...	Diccon Bowman
Leonard Mudie	...	Friar Edward
Maurice Marsac	...	Count de Vermois
Leo Britt	...	Sir Robert

Storyline

Technicolor and tights. In the days of King Henry IV, stalwart young Myles of Crisby Dale, and his sister Meg, have been raised as peasants, without any knowledge of their father's true identity. They are sent Mackworth Castle by their foster father with a letter to Lord Mackworth, urging him to take in Myles and Meg as wards. There, Myles is smitten with Mackworth's daughter, Lady Anne, incurs the enmity of the chief knight-in-training, and is assigned by Lord Mackworth to train for knighthood, himself so that he may claim his birthright and assist Mackworth and the stalwart Prince Hal in defeating the evil Duke of Alban, who plots to usurp King Henry's throne.

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Plot Keywords:

knighthood | king henry iv | men in tights | jeu de mail | father daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

A timeless story of Love, Honor and Glory.

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Genres:

Adventure | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 September 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Men of Iron

Filming Locations:

San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,171,750 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints) (Western Electric Recording) Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (optical prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Universal-International's first feature in CinemaScope. Whilst it was released in the widescreen format, it was not filmed in the new anamorphic process, but in standard 1:37 Academy ratio and then matted to 1:2.35 CinemaScope.

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Goofs

During the final battle, one of Mackworth's squires pushes two of Alban's soldiers off a parapet onto the drawbridge. One man-at-arms falls into the moat, the other slashes the squire, who falls to the ground near the drawbridge winch. The squire cuts the rope, lowering the drawbridge, then faints by the wheel, as the other man-at-arms falls off the drawbridge into the moat. When a group of knights ride across the drawbridge, it's the man-at-arms who lies by the drawbridge winch instead of a Mackworth squire.

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Quotes

Sir James: I don't like your manners. Change them. Nor your truculence. Drop it. Nor your impudence. Mask it. As for your temper, curb it. If I learn of your brawling just once more, I'll fling you from the walls of Mackworth Castle myself.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: ENGLAND

In the reign of King Henry IV

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Connections

Referenced in The Founder (2016)

User Reviews

Perfectly Watchable

Instead of trying to portray real historical events, Hollywood instead opts for a fictitious story set in the England of Henry IV. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Unusually for Hollywood, they actually make an effort to get things right historically, and broadswords are used as broadswords and not as rapiers. The weaponry and military techniques are pretty OK for a Hollywood film, and are, on the whole, accurate.

The fight sequences are very exciting and, along with the training methods, are probably the best bits of the film.

As to Tony Curtis's accent. Well, we have in Geoffrey Chaucer an authentic idea of what the English language in London was like in the early 15th century. It is ridiculous to write the script in Chaucerian English - not if you want to fill the cinemas, at any rate. Compare Tony Curtis in Black Shield with Olivier in Henry V. Is Olivier's accent any more correct or authentic? This is not the deepest film ever made, but there is plenty to enjoy about it.