The Black Knight *** (1954, Alan Ladd, Anthony Bushell, Peter Cushing, Patrick Troughton, Patricia Medina, Harry Andrews, André Morell, Laurence Naismith, John Laurie) – Classic Movie Review 3649

Alan Ladd came to Britain for a $1 million lowish-budget Camelot caper about modest sword-making blacksmith John, who disguises himself as a knight (The Black Knight) to try to win the hand of Lady Linet (Patricia Medina), daughter of the Earl of Yeonil (Harry Andrews). It also stars André Morell as Sir Ontzlake, Laurence Naismith as Major Domo and John Laurie as John.

As The Black Knight, John finds he can protect King Arthur (Anthony Bushell) when Saracens and Cornishmen, disguised as Vikings, plot to take over England. Then he has to protect King Arthur from baddies Sir Palamides and King Mark (Peter Cushing and Patrick Troughton), Camelot conspirators using the ‘Vikings’ to attempt to overthrow him. And Lady Linet becomes threatened…

Director Tay Garnett’s likeable 1954 British movie tells a busy if patchy tale, writtten by Alec Coppel. But the film is cheerfully acted with tongues firmly in cheeks and directed at a gallop, with plenty of fight action.

The Brits are in their element, especially Cushing, Troughton, Andrews and Bushell, who handle the fake-antique dialogue (‘Away with him, his presence doth offend our sense of honour’) to campy perfection. But little Ladd’s performance as a medieval warrior is as amusingly unconvincing as the hokum-packed script.

Also in the cast are Jean Lodge as as Queen Guinevere, Bill Brandon as Bernard, Ronald Adam as the Abbott, Paulene Jameson, Elton Hayes as the Minstrel, Owen Brookes, John Kelly, Thomas Moore and Basil Appleby.

Shooting took place at Pinewood Studios and on location in Spain, using 12 of its ancient castles as locations. Half way through production, Bryan Forbes was called in to do some rewriting of the script and he is credited for additional dialogue, and so is Dennis O’Keefe. Ladd’s wife, Sue, had script approval and instructed Forbes when writing dialogue for Ladd to ‘keep him monosyllabic’.

It was the fourth film Alan Ladd made outside the US to qualify for a tax exemption. He earned $200,000 plus 10 per cent of the gross. It earned $1.3 million at the US box office, so it must have been a nice enough little earner for Ladd. It is the last of his trilogy with Warwick Films, after The Red Beret and Hell Below Zero.

Extensive footage from this film is re-used in the low-budget 1963 film Siege of the Saxons, also set in Arthurian times.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3649
Check out more reviews on derekwinnert.com