Prince Valiant (1954)

A young Viking prince strives to become a knight in King Arthur's Court and restore his exiled father to his rightful throne.

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Dudley Nichols (screenplay), Hal Foster (based on King Features Syndicate's "Prince Valiant" by) (as Harold Foster)

Stars:

James Mason, Janet Leigh, Robert Wagner

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Mason	...	Sir Brack
Janet Leigh	...	Princess Aleta
Robert Wagner	...	Prince Valiant
Debra Paget	...	Ilene
Sterling Hayden	...	Sir Gawain
Victor McLaglen	...	Boltar
Donald Crisp	...	King Aguar
Brian Aherne	...	King Arthur
Barry Jones	...	King Luke
Mary Philips	...	Queen of Thule
Howard Wendell	...	Morgan Todd
Tom Conway	...	Sir Kay

Storyline

Young Prince Valiant, son of the exiled King of Scandia, journeys to Camelot to become a knight at King Arthur's Round Table. He hopes to help his father reclaim his throne from the pagan Viking usurper Sligon and restore the Christian faith to their homeland. On his journey he stumbles upon a mysterious Black Knight plotting with Sligon's representatives to overthrow Arthur. Barely escaping with his life, Valiant encounters Sir Gawain, one of the most illustrious knights of the Round Table, and an old friend of his father's, who tutors the young Viking in the skills needed to be a knight. Valiant and Gawain's pupil-mentor relationship is complicated by their romantic involvement with Princess Aleta and her sister Ilene, daughters of the King of Ord. If Valiant is to restore his father's throne and prevent the coup d'etat against Arthur, he must uncover the true identity of the Black Knight.

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Plot Keywords:

knight | viking | king arthur | based on comic strip | pageboy hair cut | 

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Taglines:

From the land of the Vikings ... into the hearts of millions ...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prins Valiant

Filming Locations:

Arroyo Sequit Park, Ventura County, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,970,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alnwick Castle in Northumberland served as Camelot in all of the panoramic CinemaScope shots, whilst Warwick Castle was used for the main gate and courtyard. Although Alnwick is made of brown sandstone, and Warwick pale gray granite, carefully placed cameras, use of filters and post production color timing masked the difference in hues.

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Goofs

When Prince Valiant (Robert Wagner) is hiding underwater from the Black Knight, the reed through which he is breathing changes size between shots. When he first cuts it, it is so large in diameter it barely fits in his mouth, but in the next shot it is only half that size, easily discernible as a smaller reed than the original one.

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Quotes

Sir Gawain: A man does not risk banishment or death in borrowed armor unless the stakes are high.

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Connections

Referenced in Broadway by Light (1958)

User Reviews

Loosen Up

There are only few - VERY few - classic sword & sorcery adventures out there which deserve more than a glance. Yes, this one's pretty ignorant of Hal Foster's original, and I pity that. But as far as 40's/50's first class adventure romps go, this one ranks right beneath the all-time classic 'The Adventures Of Robin Hood', bravely levels with 'Ivanhoe', and easily settles above 'Knights Of The Round Table'.

This is a classic Sunday afternoon couch with a bag of chips movie.

As long as you don't expect something else, this is the movie for you.

9 out of 10 for what it is and always will be.

* Schogger13