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Wilmetunderwood
Reviews
The Silver Sword (1957)
It was gripping
I don't remember it very well because I was really young, but I do remember the sombreness and high seriousness of the desolate war-torn setting and the children's epic journey. I have since read the book many times and found it extremely gentle, not pushing the tragic elements even slightly, but as an adult I can see that it does have tragedy, however understated, and even as a small child that was what the film conveyed, though I didn't know it by that name at the time. I have since learned that the real Edek did not survive his terrible experiences and the TB that he is suffering throughout the latter half of the story. I would love to see the film again; it is impossible to judge how it would stand up, but the impression it left although so sketchy is still potent. My main clear recollection is of Jan, played by Frazer Hines as I now know, saying (probably at the end of an episode) "The sword will take us!!" Then for dramatic emphasis he plunged the silver sword into a table top. My friend's mother said something like "what a thing to do to a good table..." She was tongue-in-cheek I rather think, but at the time all I felt was that she could not have grasped the emotional power of that moment.