King Richard and the Crusaders (1954)

★ 6.3 1h 54m IMDb

Based on Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman, this is the story of the romantic adventures of Christians and Muslims during the battle for the Holy Land in the time of King Richard the Lionheart.

King Richard and the Crusaders

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Cast

Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison as Emir Hderim Sultan Saladin Died 1990 · Huyton, Lancashire, England, UK Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor..
Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo as Lady Edith Plantagenet Died 2005 · Saint Louis, Missouri, USA ​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Virginia Mayo (November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American film actress. After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during th...
George Sanders
George Sanders as King Richard I Died 1972 · Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia] George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British film and television actor, singer-songwriter, music composer, and author. His career as an actor spanned over forty years. His heavy up...
Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey as Sir Kenneth of the Leopard Died 1973 · Jonischkis, Lithuania Laurence Harvey (1 October 1928 – 25 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born actor who achieved fame in British and American films..
Robert Douglas
Robert Douglas as Sir Giles Amaury Died 1999 · Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. [now Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, UK] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Douglas (9 November 1909 - 11 January 1999) was born as Robert Douglas Finlayson in Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire. He was a successful stage and film a...
Michael Pate
Michael Pate as Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat Died 2008 · Drummoyne, New South Wales, Australia ​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Michael Pate (26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer and director. Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Pate, lic...

Audience Reviews

John Chard 6/10 May 31, 2014
By Saint George – Or Andrew…

King Richard and the Crusaders is directed by David Butler and adapted to screenplay by John Twist from the novel “The Talisman” written by Sir Walter Scott. It stars Rex Harrison, Viginia Mayo, George Sanders, Laurence Harvey, Robert Douglas, Michael Pate and Paula Raymond. A WarnerColor/CinemaScope production, music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by J. Peverell Marley.

Unfairly maligned as one of the 50 worst movies of all time, David Butler’s picture has enough spectacle about it to ensure it can be enjoyed by fans of such fluffy fare. The script is often awful, the historical accuracy equally so, while Rex Harrison – who is otherwise excellent – singing like a love sick minstrel, is a touch bizarre! But on the other side of the fence is the lush colour, the costuming, Harrison and Sanders’ playful jostling, Steiner’s rumbling score and the lively action scenes (mucho jousting high in calibre).

It for sure isn’t approaching the top end of the swords and shields list of movies, but is it really worse than the likes of Androcles and the Lion, Helen of Troy, Sword of Lancelot etc? No say I! There’s fun to be had, both intentional and otherwise. 6/10
CinemaSerf 6/10 Nov 21, 2022
Laurence Harvey portrays a fictional Scottish knight on crusade with Richard the Lionheart in this brightly coloured but laboured adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's "The Talisman". The history is all over the place and the casting - particularly Rex Harrison as Saladin, but George Sanders as King Richard is pretty lame too. Robert Douglas reprises his oft-seen role as the baddie to some effect, and Virginia Mayo adds a touch of glamour but the dialogue is very dry, the acting overly theatrical and though well enough put together, this comes across as a lot-made film made to fulfil outstanding contractual obligations by the actors rather than to engage an adult audience.

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