Ivanhoe (1952)

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers (WGA):

Noel Langley (screenplay) and
Æneas MacKenzie (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

31 July 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Romance

Plot:

In the centre of this Walter Scott classic fiction inspired film the chivalrousness and the daring stand...

Plot Keywords:

Knight | Ransom | Austria | Robin Hood | Jester

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Robert Taylor	...	Ivanhoe
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Rebecca
Joan Fontaine	...	Rowena
George Sanders	...	De Bois-Guilbert
Emlyn Williams	...	Wamba
Robert Douglas	...	Sir Hugh De Bracy
Finlay Currie	...	Cedric
Felix Aylmer	...	Isaac
Francis De Wolff	...	Front De Boeuf (also as Francis DeWolff)
Norman Wooland	...	King Richard
Basil Sydney	...	Waldemar Fitzurse
Guy Rolfe	...	Prince John
Harold Warrender	...	Locksley
Patrick Holt	...	Philip DeMalvoisin
Roderick Lovell	...	Ralph DeVipont
Sebastian Cabot	...	Clerk of Copmanhurst
John Ruddock	...	Hundebert
Michael Brennan	...	Baldwin
Megs Jenkins	...	Servant to Isaac
Valentine Dyall	...	Norman Guard
Lionel Harris	...	Roger of Bermondsley
Carl Jaffe	...	Austrian Monk
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Martin Benson	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Robert Brown	...	Guard at Torquilstone Castle - 'Horseman approaching from the south!' (uncredited)
Pamela Davis	...	Minor Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Thorpe

Writing credits (WGA)
Marguerite Roberts		(screenplay) originally uncredited and
Noel Langley		(screenplay)
Æneas MacKenzie		(adaptation)
Sir Walter Scott		(novel)

Produced by
Pandro S. Berman	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(as Miklos Rozsa)

Cinematography by
Freddie Young		(as F.A. Young)

Film Editing by
Frank Clarke

Casting by
Irene Howard		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Alfred Junge

Costume Design by
Roger K. Furse		(as Roger Furse)

Makeup Department
Joan Johnstone	....	hairdressing
Charles E. Parker	....	makeup artist (as Charles Parker)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yakima Canutt	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Cecil F. Ford	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Brian Humphries	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Jack Martin	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
A.W. Watkins	....	recording director

Visual Effects by
Tom Howard	....	photographic effects

Stunts
George Bruggeman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Clegg	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paddy Ryan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Simmons	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jeremy Taylor	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jim Body	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Stephen Dade	....	additional photographer (uncredited)
Skeets Kelly	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Eddie Frewin	....	unit driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Joan Bridge	....	technicolor color consultant
Angela Martelli	....	continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Loew's (produced by) (as Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (as Metro Goldwyn, Mayer)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1952) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1952) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1961) (USA) (VHS) (reissue)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Vídeo Arte (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Intrada  score album released by (Excalibur Collection) (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U | USA:Approved (#15505) | Finland:K-12 | Norway:11 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:Btl | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Doune Castle, Doune, Stirling, Scotland, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Scriptwriter Marguerite Roberts was a member of the American Communist Party and in 1951 she was ordered to appear before the House of Un-American Activities Committee. Roberts and her husband John Sanford refused to name fellow members of the party and were both blacklisted. M-G-M received permission from the SWG (Screen Writer's Guild) to remove Roberts' name from the film after she refused to testify before HUAC.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the fire at the castle where Ivanhoe and his father and Squire are held captive, one of the soldiers runs to the fight and you can see his sword wobble and shake because it is made of rubber.

Quotes:

Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert: Rebecca, you must blame the fates that it was I who loved you, and not Ivanhoe - for you were always mine, and only mine - God keep you.
[dies]
Rebecca: My lady, in death he spoke the truth.
Lady Rowena: Do you still love Ivanhoe?
Rebecca: No, my lady. I may still have a little happiness, perhaps - but not from you - or him - only from my dreams.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "De familie Knots: Enge dingen (#1.6)" (1981)

The Tournament of the Black Lady

I love this film, especially the jousting tournament scene. I think one of the reasons why it touched me so deeply because the tournament scene was based on 'The Tournament of the Black Lady' held by King James lV of Scotland in 1507 at Edinburgh Castle. He competed against five knights (whom he defeated) and presented himself in black armour to conceal his identity. His Queen of Love and Beauty was his African attendant, Ellen, whom he dedicated to the tournament to. Sir Walter Scott would have had this fresh in his mind when he was re-writing the Robin Hood story.