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:

Medieval Times | Wife And Husband Lead Actors | Sword Fight | Based On Novel | Character Name In Title

Cast

Tony Curtis	...	Myles Falworth
Janet Leigh	...	Lady Anne of Mackworth
David Farrar	...	Gilbert Blunt, Earl of Alban
Barbara Rush	...	Meg Falworth
Herbert Marshall	...	William, Earl of Mackworth
Torin Thatcher	...	Sir James
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Prince Hal of Wales (as Daniel O'Herlihy)
Patrick O'Neal	...	Walter Blunt
Craig Hill	...	Francis Gascoyne
Ian Keith	...	King Henry IV
Doris Lloyd	...	Dame Ellen, Lady-in-Waiting
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) | 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)

Enjoyable Adventure, Memorable Characters; Vivid as a Tapestry Come to Life

This is an adaptation of Howard Pyle's "Men of Iron", and an unusually enjoyable film from start to finish. Ignore Tony Curtis's accent; it hardly matters to anyone that young and everyone in the film is bright, lively and suitable to his/her part. The direction by Rudolph Mate gives a light, sunny feel to the entire piece, and he keeps the action moving splendidly in my judgment. The storyline is classic. Myles and his sister Meg have been raised as peasants. One day they journey to Mackworth Castle and enter a new world, the world of noble landowners, quarrelsome young prigs and knights. Myles continues to search for the secret of his origins and finds it in the Library finally, the Black Shield of Falworth, shield of an attainted traitor--his father; of course he was innocent; and when Myles turns out to be a promising young knight of courage and natural skills, he is willing to be knighted in order to fight it out--at Prince Hal (the future Henry V's) plan--with the villain of the piece to claim his rightful heritage and wear the family symbol again. Along the way, he falls in love with the daughter of the household and his sister with his best friend in the dangerous and unruly body of young knights. In the cast along with Curtis and Barbara Rush as Meg are Janet Leigh, then Curtis's wife, as his love, Torin Thatcher in top form as the master of knights, David Farrar, Herbert Marshall as Mackworth, Dan O' Herlihy as Prince Hal, Patrick O'Neal as Walter Blunt (very good), and Craig ill as his friend Frances; others in the stellar cast include Ian Keith as Henry IV, Doris Lloyd, Rhys Williams, Maurice Marsac and others. Music was supplied by Hans J. Salter, and the screenplay adaptation of Pyle's novel is the work of Oscar Brodney. Irving Glasberg's cinematography is delightfully rich,the art direction by Alexander Golitzen and Richard H. Ledel very good indeed. Rosemary Odell's costume are worth the price of admission. But this is an in-depth adventurous look behind the grim tapestries that usually baffle the seeker into the late Medieval Age, There is humor in this film, much hard learning for the young knight-to-be, mystery, skillful dialogue and unusually well-developed characters. This is an enjoyable and memorable work that is bright and lively from start to finish.