King Richard and the Crusaders (1954)

While leading the Third Crusade, King Richard the Lionheart (George Sanders) battles treachery in his own camp as well as the Saracens and their charismatic leader Emir Hderim Sultan Saladin (Sir Rex Harrison).

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

Walter Scott (novel) (as Sir Walter Scott), John Twist (screen play by)

Stars:

Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rex Harrison	...	Emir Hderim Sultan Saladin
Virginia Mayo	...	Lady Edith Plantagenet
George Sanders	...	King Richard I
Laurence Harvey	...	Sir Kenneth of Huntington
Robert Douglas	...	Sir Giles Amaury
Michael Pate	...	Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat
Paula Raymond	...	Queen Berengaria
Lester Matthews	...	Archbishop of Tyre / Narrator
Anthony Eustrel	...	Baron De Vaux
Henry Corden	...	King Philip of France
Wilton Graff	...	Duke Leopold V of Austria
Nejla Ates	...	Moorish Dancing Girl
Nick Cravat	...	Nectobanus
Leslie Bradley	...	Castelaine Captain
Bruce Lester	...	Castelaine

Storyline

In 1191, King Richard the Lionheart, along with several other European monarchs, is in the Holy Land intent on retaking Jerusalem from the Saracens. There is much infighting and outright treachery in the European encampment however. Two nobles in particular, Sir Giles Amaury (Robert Douglas) and Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat (Michael Pate), want to eliminate the English King and attempt to have him assassinated. Severely wounded and on his death bed, Richard is brought back to health by a Saracen doctor recruited by one of his loyal knights, Sir Kenneth of the Leopard (Laurence Harvey). The King recovers from his wounds but when he hears that Sir Lawrence wishes to marry Lady Edith Plantagenet (Virginia Mayo), the knight is banished only to be taken in by the very doctor who treated the King and who has an altogether different identity.

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Plot Keywords:

third crusade | crusade | based on true story | based on novel | manipulative female | 

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Taglines:

The Mighty Story of Richard the Lion-Hearted!

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Genres:

Adventure | History | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite being played by a British actor, Saladin was Kurdish.

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Goofs

Saladin is depicted as ignorant of the existence of ice. In fact, ice was found in the mountains of the Middle East, and was used to cool drinks. Saladin famously offered King Guy of Jerusalem a cup of iced water after the battle of Hattin, in an incident which led to the killing of Reynaud de Châtillon, Lord of Oultrejourdain.

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Quotes

Sir Kenneth: In the desert no man meets a friend.

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Connections

Referenced in Tsukiyo no kasa (1955)

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Soundtracks

Dream, Dream
Music by Ray Heindorf
Lyrics by John Twist
Performed by Rex Harrison

User Reviews

Pretty Good Adventure Flick

King Richard and the Crusaders is an entertaining movie, with plenty of action, nice costumes, some good scenery, and a fast-moving plot. Everything you would normally want from an adventure movie.

However, the script is horrible, many of the actors are completely miscast, the actual story is pretty poor, and it has next to nothing to do with the Crusades. It is not Crusaders versus Saracens. It is Good Crusaders and Good Saracens versus Bad Crusaders. Also, they most certainly do not have a cast of thousands, looking like it has a very low budget.

As a result, if you are looking for a historically accurate epic about the Third Crusade, you will be disappointed. Although it is not a great movie, it is underrated, being far better than a lot of other adventure movies, and is overall entertaining.

If you want to enjoy it, simply do not go into the movie looking for an award winning script and brilliant acting.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German Arabic Scottish Gaelic Latin

Release Date:

7 August 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Talisman

Filming Locations:

Lasky Mesa, Calabasas, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. First National

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (RCA Sound System) Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (35 mm optical prints)

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1