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:

red wine | chess | knighthood | king henry iv | men in tights | 

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Taglines:

All the wast pageantry...the towering excitement , the thundering thrills of knighthood's epic age !

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Genres:

Adventure | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

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

Mediaeval shields were not made of metal, but of wood covered in leather of parchment.

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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

Thanks for the impression

I guess this qualifies as an overdue "thank you" to this movie for getting me started in a lifelong love of history. I saw this movie originally as an 8 year old. I knew nothing about movies, stars, plots, directors or anything else about film, but Oh how I wanted to swash and buckle after seeing it!

It also got me interested in reading more about the era, and beyond that to other eras as well. Since then I have always been sympathetic to historical epics and movies on screen--and elsewhere. No matter how horrendous they might be (and some of them are pretty horrendous), I figure if it gets people interested they can go from there. The funny thing is is that the real history is often much more fascinating--and can be more fun--than the Hollywood variety. In fact I never fully understood why people thought history was boring--perhaps it was too many dates.

So thanks Tony, Janet, David, and Craig for getting me started.

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