jc-osms An interesting production this, with two American stars, Alan Ladd and Patricia Medina, dropping in on Arthurian England alongside a host of English actors in a homegrown swashbuckler. Neither import even remotely attempts an English accent, Ladd has to contend with a shoulder-length hair-do which makes him look like his own sister while Medina doesn't have too much to do other than heave her bosoms and be the damsel in distress.Unusually for a film set at the time of the Knights of the Round Table, there's barely a glimpse of Queen Guinnevere, Sirs Lancelot, Galahad or Gawain and certainly no Merlin. That being so, one wonders why the film was set in the Arthurian era at all as the King, sans Excalibur, barely lives up to the legend of his own leadership, bravery and wisdom. The nefarious plot this time is a planned invasion of England by Vikings, with the connivance of the local King Mark Of Cornwall, where Arthur, even while Mark is staying at his Court, fails to spot him for the schemer he is. Never mind, Ladd's lowly blacksmith John, out to restore himself in the eyes of Medina's Lady Linet, trains himself as a knight under the aegis of Laurence Naismith's eventually friendly tutorship and leads the counter-rebellion which saves King and country.Of interest to Dr Who fans will be the appearances of two future Doctors of the mid-60's, fine British actors Patrick Troughton and Peter Cushing, the latter pancaked out as a dark-skinned Saracen rogue. They're by far the best actors in the film, overshadowing their bigger-named Holloywood lead. The exterior and interior shots of the besieged castle are excellent, as are the crowd scenes. The battle scenes, with innumerable numbers of combatants falling off the castle ramparts in usually delayed-reaction falls are less so, with the climactic duel between Ladd and Cushing on the battlements not exactly hitting Flynn / Rathbone standards. There's even an unlikely episode supposedly showing how Stonehenge was formed.A pleasant matinée adventure movie then, light in content and somewhat predictable in action terms, but watchable family entertainment all the same.

writers_reign Okay, Tay Garnett was a journeyman director at best, who got lucky when MGM turned him loose on the first Hollywood version (France got there first) of The Postman Always Rings Twice, but he was still too classy to be imported to helm this turkey which would have been far better suited to the likes of John Paddy Carstairs. You can get a flavour of what's in store by a look at the screenplay credits; journeyman Alec Coppel and, wait for it, 'additional dialogue' by 1) Dennis O'Keefe, veteran actor of close to 300 'B' pictures roughly half of which were 'uncredited' and our own Nobby Clarke, a.k.a. Bryan Forbes, inept actor turned writer-director winning here, in 1954, his very first writing credit. It's difficult if not impossible to believe that Ladd had just made arguably his best ever film as the eponymous Shane because as the blacksmith, John, he is pathetic at best. It's like a nightmare from which you can't awaken and are forced to keep watching.

kevin olzak 1954's "The Black Knight" marked the coming out for Peter Cushing's screen career, his top villain Sir Palamides outshining Alan Ladd's miscast hero John, serving King Mark of Cornwall (Patrick Troughton) as they perform their pagan misdeeds disguised as Vikings in trying to overthrow King Arthur (Anthony Bushell) and Christianity. In just his second feature, Harry Andrews appears all too briefly as the Earl of Yeonil, but Andre Morell shines as Sir Ontzlake, who teaches John the skills he needs to win, but to wait until they can confirm the treachery of the sly Palamides (actors Bryan Forbes and Dennis O'Keefe are credited with 'additional dialogue'). Wearing earrings, hair carefully curled, bearing a faintly Arabian accent that makes each line a cherished treasure, the bearded Cushing is a menacing, awesome sight, his blue eyes accentuated by his dark skin, certainly a match for his idol Basil Rathbone in either "The Adventures of Robin Hood" or "The Mark of Zorro." For an actor who loved Westerns and derring do, this would remain a cherished role that Christopher Lee would get to play far more often. This was only the first of six times that Cushing would be paired with Andre Morell, most memorably as Holmes and Watson in 1958's "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Like Cushing a future Dr. Who, Patrick Troughton was so prolific on television that he rarely strayed from horror on screen, working again opposite his evil cohort in both "The Gorgon" and "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell." Though best remembered as an actor (appearing with Boris Karloff in both "Five Star Final" and "The Ghoul"), Anthony Bushell later directed Christopher Lee in 1960's "The Terror of the Tongs" (previously appearing with Lee in 1957's "Bitter Victory").

Deusvolt I liked it only because I fancy swords and medieval armor. However, you're not going to learn anything factual nor fascinating about medieval combat here unlike in Robert Taylor's Ivanhoe or Knights of the Round Table.The character portrayed by Alan Ladd wears an abbreviated armor eschewing the greaves and other gear to protect the legs and arms. Save for the breastplate and chain mail (short sleeved at that!), there is little to suggest that he wears authentic knightly armor. Even his helmet covers only the top of his face (no doubt to display his handsome features.) Robocop is the same way. The reason for the light armor becomes apparent when Ladd performs acrobatics in combat unlikely to have been part of a knight's dueling or battle paces. Robert Wagner in Prince Valiant does similar things.The heroic Black Knight is actually a commoner and thus barred from bearing knightly arms and so has to keep his identity secret.The villains are a Saracen knight (Peter Cushing) allied with Cornishmen. Why the people of Cornwall who are as British as the English? Beats me.Cushing gives a luscious performance as a baddie. His quip after humiliating the blacksmith Alan Ladd before his lady love (Patricia Medina) is memorable. After failing to egg the meek Alan Ladd into fighting him, he turns to Patricia saying: "Please pardon this shameful exhibition."The photography and location shots are excellent.