King Richard and the Crusaders (1954)
Director: David Butler
Starring: Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders
Synopsis:
A Scottish knight in the Third Crusade struggles against a treacherous castellan while pursuing the hand of King Richard's cousin.
Impressions:
This movie is an adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman. Though I love Ivanhoe, I have my share of problems with this story, but we'll set that aside and not let it prejudice my view of the film too much. The story is decent enough and the characters a bit of mixed bag, but the actors portray them well. Rex Harrison really has fun with the role of Saladin and brings a lot of charisma and magnetism to the character. George Sanders is too sedate an actor to bring the same liveliness to the role of Richard. While I don't have any particular problems with his portrayal, it would've been nice to see a bombastic Richard set against Saladin. I honestly wasn't that invested in the main character or his romance, but your mileage may vary. Though the heraldry has been noted to be inaccurate, the costuming is nice and the action sequences are okay. If you want a medieval romp, you may enjoy this well enough, but you won't have much to cry over if you miss it.
50/50