The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)

Director:

Rudolph Maté

Writers:

Oscar Brodney (screenplay)
Howard Pyle (novel)

Release Date:

2 September 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Romance

Plot:

Technicolor & tights. In the days of King Henry IV, stalwart young Myles and his sister Meg have been raised as peasants...

Plot Keywords:

Prince | King | Shield | Castle | Knight

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

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

West Germany:6 (f) | UK:U (video rating) (2008) | UK:U (tv rating) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16907, General Audience)

Filming Locations:

Castle, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

This was Universal-International's first feature in CinemaScope.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the final battle, Myles gets a number of scuff marks on his shield from deflecting his enemy's mace blows. These damage marks appear and disappear between shots.

Quotes:

Myles Falworth: [Sir James instructs Myles to ride a horse among a series of pells - upright supports - with his hands over his head. When he fails, he complains to Sir James that he cannot control the horse] How is the horse supposed to know, unless he has more sense than I?
Sir James: A possibility not so remote as you might imagine.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga (2008) (TV)

GO, TONY, GO.

This romp plays like a medieval martial arts movie.It is very similar to the early Jackie Chan films with its story of a young man who goes to a fighting school to hone his brawling skills into those of a true warrior. Tony Curtis,like Chan,is energy personified in this movie.He doesn't walk when he can run, he doesn't run when he can jump and most of all he doesn't talk when he can fight. This bears comparison with "THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD" and "THE PRISONER OF ZENDA" and that over-used word 'camp' is only used by people who do not like or appreciate action fests like this and seek to denigrate them. Ignore those types and enjoy this zesty and bright adventure as an aperitif before watching Curtis in the truly great historical adventures like "THE VIKINGS" and "SPARTACUS."