Lowly blacksmith must save Camelot from the treachery of Conrish King Mark and Saracen Sir Palamides, as well as win the hand of his lady.
Well mounted and performed Arthurian saga with the typical medieval setting. Fairly accurate to Malory, as well, though the Stonehenge scenes are a little ludricrous, to say the least. Ladd is a bit too old for the lead, but is still charming enough to pass. Still, the film belongs to Cushing and Troughton, who make a nicely venomous pair of villains. Noteworthy for the prominent billing of Brandon as a henchman (a role that ten years later would undoubtedly have gone to Milton Reid), and a remarkably subdued performance from Harry Andrews. Medina's character is a bit of a drip who doesn't seem worth the effort to woo, though. The matte painting of Camelot looks a lot like Hogwarts!
The working title of the film was Lochinvar, but very little of Scott's tale remain in the finished work. Many of the outdoor scenes, including the climatic battle and the fake Stongehenge, were filmed in the desert around Madrid, which explains the rather spaghetti western atmosphere.
Remade, with much reuse of this film's footage, as Siege of the Saxons in 1963.
-Dave W. |