Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe

source: Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe

Much of the storyline in IVANHOE is similar to that of THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, with evil Prince John scheming to win the throne over his brother King Richard. But there the comparison ends. This IVANHOE never once manages to reach the heights of the Flynn-de Havilland tale that has become an enduring classic of its kind. Furthermore, the performances are weaker. Even the usually reliable villain GEORGE SANDERS seems a bit tired and weary of his part and gives a performance that is less than inspired in the sort of role Basil Rathbone would have played to the hilt. ROBERT TAYLOR makes a handsome hero but there's an emptiness to his character and he never quite comes alive as the hero. Likewise, the youthful ELIZABETH TAYLOR, while making a gorgeous Rebecca, stares vacant-eyed at the camera in all of her close-ups. When she has to make a life or death decision involving Ivanhoe, she looks as though she's deciding whether to choose between a banana split or a chocolate soda. So much for her acting depth. Only JOAN FONTAINE, as Rowena, seems to know what her role is all about and plays it with a delicacy and warmth that are refreshing and natural. The main fault is the script which is a tedious thing. Nothing has been spared to give the production all of the handsome values one expects in a film of this sort--but none of it is compelling or even believable. The most redeeming factor is Miklos Rozsa's interesting musical score which underscores the action scenes. But with a bland Taylor in the lead, a bored Sanders as the villain and an inexperienced actress as Rebecca, the film fails to achieve anything approaching the magic of a similar tale--THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.

This film is a respectable adaptation of Scott's Waverley novel, full of passion and pageantry, knights templar and damsels fair. George Sanders makes a delicious villain Bois Gilbert. Robert Taylor's Hollywood accent seems a bit out of place, but the film is primarily visual and succeeds on a cinematographic level. The dramatic Elizabeth Taylor plays a sweet Rebecca. Icon Joan Fontaine, looking here much like her sister Olivia De Havilland (of "Gone with the Wind" and "Robin Hood" fame), is a stately, refined Rowena. Tournaments, courtly love, and hand to hand combat abound. This is classic 50's epic drama at its best.

One of those costume epics made in the years following Flynn's The Adventures of Robin Hood which takes itself too seriously and retains none of the charm and heart characteristic of that timeless classic. Though handsomely mounted it moves like a knight in rusty armor and relies far too much on insipid writing. The film needed a vibrant leading actor to carry it through and Robert Taylor just goes through the motions as the hero of the title. Actually it's probably his best role considering the other mediocre or downright awful performances he registered over the course of his lacklustre career. The film does contain some great British actors, but George Sanders as de Bois Guilbert isn't challenged in the least by the flat dialogue and just phones his lines in. Joan Fontaine does the best she can with her role as Rowena while Elizabeth Taylor is just simply eye candy and offers little more. The picture is left to Guy Rolfe to steal and he does just that, turning in a properly nasty performance as the wicked Prince John. The guy just looks like bad tidings and plays the part with relish. The best sequence is of course the Jousting tournament, while the castle siege sequence is a routine and at times cheesy (all those arrows) exercise leading to the final battle between de Bois and Ivanhoe which has the worst sound effects you can imagine. What should be an entertaining two hours just isn't. Aside from the wooden script, the direction is also culpable leaving one wishing Michael Curtiz or someone of his ilk had have helmed it. The fifties were strewn with bland swashbucklers, Knights of the Round Table, also starring Taylor, another example. Only Danny Kaye in the great send-up The Court Jester managed to deliver a swashbuckling masterpiece full of charm and humor in that decade. Ivanhoe is watchable but mostly forgettable.

A very boring and foreseen movie, with an awful Robert Taylor playing the leading role. Many old movies are effective even today, but this movie is surpassed... dead and gone. I don't realize how the 1950's people could enjoy such stuff. The actors are one more awful and unpleasant than the other (in such a contest Robert Taylor wins easily: he smiles only once in the whole movie and all the time he stands with a facial expression like a tomb stone), the fighting scenes are often ridiculous because the tricks are visible, the plot doesn't exist and the dialogues are heavy in their attempt to be Shakespeare-like. When you see that Elizabeth Taylor among the others seems skilful and nice, you can realize the rating of this movie: low.

When audiences think of Hollywood's 'Golden Age', its movies like this one that sums up that concept. Gloriously garish Technicolour, beautiful sets and costumes that have nothing to do with historical accuracy, and a story that is so full of inaccuracies (both historical and compared to the novel) that it would be quite laughable if it wasn't so much fun. And that's what this movie is all about - good, clean fun and pure, 100% entertainment. I'd like to mention something about the musical score. Miklos Rozsa was one of the great movie composers, and his score to this movie is truly great. No composer today could write a score so lush and full of beautiful melodies. Each of the main characters gets their own theme, and all themes are gorgeous, especially those written for Rowena and for Rebecca. Ivanhoe's theme, heard first over the main titles, is one of Rozsa's greatest pieces. In fact, its worth watching this movie and concentrating listening to the music rather than the dialogue.

"Ivanhoe," filmed in bright techicolor was nominated for best picture in 1952. Miklos Rosza again provides us with a major musical score. I always felt that his scores, so rich in textures, would be a prelude to his Oscar-winning score in "Ben-Hur." (1959) The film deals with the ongoing fight between the Anglo-Saxons and Normans, the latter having ruled England since the infamous Battle of Hastings in 1066. While fighting in the crusades, Richard the Lionhearted has been kidnapped and held captive in Austria. This has been done with the help of the Austrian emperor Leopold and Prince John, Richard's evil brother, who assumes the throne in his brother's absence. I laughed at the beginning of the film when Robert Taylor, who plays Ivanhoe, loyal to Richard, asks someone for a translation as he doesn't read Austrian. Didn't they mean German? While it is true that Germany did not become a unified country until 1871 following the Franco-Prussian war, the dialect spoken in the entire region was German. Taylor rallies to the aid of his people. Hurt, he is given refuge by the Jewess Rebecca, played with warmth and skill by Elizabeth Taylor. Her father, Isaac the Jew, played by the always serious Felix Aylmer, promises to help pay the ransom for Richard so that his people can have religious toleration in England. Naturally, Rebecca loves Ivanhoe but so does Lady Rowena played by a much reserved Joan Fontaine. Her guardian, the father of Ivanhoe in the film, is portrayed by Finlay Currie, who played in numerous bible films. The Technicolor and cinematography are breathtaking in the film. A story of love and devotion, especially that of George Sanders, who sacrifices all for Rebecca.

An engrossing movie about 12th century England. It has everything you would want to see in a movie about medieval Europe: knights, fair maidens, jousting tournaments, battles, and feuding crowns. Yet the movie is not boring in any way. I enjoyed every minute of it. The title character is an Anglo-Saxon knight who's on a mission to return the imprisoned king, Richard the Lionhearted, to his throne. Along the way, Ivanhoe encounters some obstacles that may endanger his own life and threaten the future of England. Everything about this movie is enchanting. The movie is very colorful, the score is outstanding, and it's exciting to watch the battle scenes. I really enjoyed seeing one of my favorite actors, George Sanders, playing yet another villain. It was also great to see the always ravishing Elizabeth Taylor (at a very young age), who plays a jewish maiden. I liked the way the movie demonstrated the persecution of jews living in England at the time, and how they were looked down upon in spite of the different ethnic groups that made up the English population. Above all, I really liked the ending--it was awesome. Interestingly, this movie (which is from 1952) is more entertaining than and not as theatrical as some of the historical dramas that were made AFTER this movie.

It's sort of a paradox, but a huge, sprawling novel is more likely to adapt well to film when it's bad. A good example is the hideous novel THE GODFATHER. By the time Coppola got through hacking away all the garbage, what was left was just enough plot to make a great movie. On the other hand, there's Peter Jackson's FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. Far too much of interest is lost to the necessity of getting through the plot in the allotted time. The same fate befalls IVANHOE. Athelstane (and Cedric's dream of a Saxon restoration), the journey of the Black Knight (who is not Ivanhoe in the novel), Bois-Guilbert's membership in the Knights Templar, and many other things which do not strictly contribute to the advancement of the basic plot, are simply lost. I can imagine people who haven't read the book wondering who this Locksley person is, and what he and his friend "the clerk of Copmanhurst" have to do with Ivanhoe and Richard. Of course, those who know who Locksley is might be even more confused at what he's doing here. In an example of political correctness *avant la lettre*, Isaac of York is transformed from a rich moneylender who plays both sides of the political fence, into a poor inoffensive victim. This may have been inevitable, but it does make Isaac a much less interesting character. On the other hand, the acting is passable (and Guy Rolfe steals the show as Prince John), the film is gorgeous-looking, and the battle scenes are excellent (the final "showdown" is far more exciting here than it is in the novel). 6/10.

In his return from the crusades king Richard of England is captured and held for ransom by Austrian king Leopold. His loyal knight Wifred of Ivanhoe tries to collect the amount for his liberation but Prince John (Richard's brother) sits now in the throne and will do anything to stay there with the aid of some Normand knights. This is a real good action and adventure medieval film with knights, maidens, castles, tournaments, battles, duels and else. Richard Thorpe direction is excellent (perhaps his best work ever); you'll find also good color photography, well made settings and an interesting plot. Costumes and armours -though perhaps too "hollywoodish" perfect- are also a plus. Robert Taylor (Ivanhoe) was in his peak and does well as the reliable and faithful knight who fights for his captive king. George Sanders is very well casted as Brian de Bois Gilbert the Templar warrior-monk that would give up his honor for the love of the Jewish maiden Rebbeca (Elizabeth Taylor) but will rather see her death when he is rejected. Joan Fontaine is Lady Rowena Ivanhoe's bride. The rest of the cast includes some all time favourites as Felix Aylmer (Rebbeca's father), Finlay Currie (Cedric the Saxon), Robert Douglas (as Sanders's sidekick Sir Hugh de Bracy) and in a typical role for him Guy Rolfe as the treacherous and ambitious Prince John (this guy was born to play villains). The tournament in which Ivanhoe challenges the five top Saxon knights and the assault on Front de Beuf's castle by Robin of Locksley and his men are very well achieved action scenes and even more if you consider it was the early 50's. And the final duel between Taylor and Sanders is a great climax for the film (notice they chose war axe and iron ball and chain instead of the usual swords). A most enjoyable film in its genre.