The Gallant Blade (1948)

What’s probably most remarkable about this standard swashbuckler is that for a change George Macready isn’t actually the baddie! Don’t worry, we find that out almost immediately as his boss (Victor Jory) decides that the best way to defuse a worryingly noisy French population was to give them someone else to hate. To that end, he orders his general “Cadeau” (Macready) to invade Spain. He’s not so keen on following orders, so together with his loyal lieutenant “Picard” (Larry Parks) sets off to change some minds. Along the way, the encounter the glamorous “Nanon” (Marguerite Chapman) who takes a bit of a shine to the young man and who also happens to be the lady love of the war-mongering marshal. Once they arrive in Paris, it’s conspiracies galore and it quickly falls to the young man to try to save the day, the general and get the gal! Sure, it is all old hat that has borrowed plenty from other films, but Parks is an amiable hero who works well with both Chapman and Macready; there is plenty of swordplay and there’s even a special ring. You’ll never remember it, but it’s a lively eighty minutes that I quite enjoyed.