The Black Rose *** (1950, Tyrone Power, Orson Welles, Cécile Aubry, Jack Hawkins, Michael Rennie, Finlay Currie, Henry Oscar, Herbert Lom) – Classic Movie Review 4555

The 1950 medieval times romantic historical adventure romp film The Black Rose stars Orson Welles as powerful Mongol warlord Bayan of the Hundred Eyes, facing up to co-star Tyrone Power as Saxon scholar-nobleman Walter.

Director Henry Hathaway’s 1950 medieval times England and China late-13th-century romantic historical adventure romp The Black Rose stars Orson Welles, who hams it up nice and rotten as powerful Mongol warlord Bayan of the Hundred Eyes, facing up to co-star Tyrone Power’s Saxon scholar-nobleman Walter, who is forced by the Normans to flee England.

Jack Hawkins plays ace bowman Tristram ‘Tris’ Griffin, who helps Power’s Walter of Gurnie to discover such treasures of the Far East as silk stockings, gunpowder and his movie love interest Cécile Aubry, who plays the captured Maryam, the Black Rose of the title.

A rousing cast, fine, striking adventure sequences, a big, expensive 20th Century Fox production (with a budget of $3,000,000), Jack Cardiff ‘s extremely pretty Technicolor photography, beautiful production and costume designs, and lots of local colour make this epic enjoyable good fun for the escapist, non-historically minded.

Michael Whittaker was Oscar nominated for Best Costume Design, Colour.

Screen-writer Talbot Jennings adapts Thomas B Costain’s novel.

The Black Rose was made in England at the London Film Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, at Warwick Castle, Warwickshire, and Allington Castle, Maidstone, Kent;, and in Morocco at Casablanca, Meknes, Ouarzazate and Marrakech.

Peter Sellers allegedly provides the voices of Alfonso Bedoya’s Lu Chung and a Chinese actor playing a guard, his first film work.

Welles took his role to continue financing Othello (1952).

Also in the cast are Michael Rennie as King Edward, Finlay Currie as Alfgar, Henry Oscar as Friar Roger Bacon, Herbert Lom as Anthemus, James Robertson Justice as Simeon Beautrie, Robert Blake as Mahmoud, Laurence Harvey as Edmond, Mary Clare as Countess Eleanor of Lessford, Gibb McLaughlin as Wilderkin, George Woodbridge, Torin Thatcher, Rufus Cruickshank, Jon Pertwee, Peter Drury, Ley On, Madame Phang, Hilary Pritchard, Ben Williams, Thomas Gallagher, Alan Tilvern, Alexi Chesnakov, Carl Jaffe and Valery Inkjinoff.

The Black Rose is directed by Henry Hathaway, runs 116 minutes, is made and released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Talbot Jennings, based on Thomas B Costain’s novel, is shot in Technicolor by Jack Cardiff, is produced by Louis D Lighton, is scored by Richard Addinsell and is designed by Paul Sheriff.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4555

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