A long serving Knight named Chrysagon (Charlton Heston) is sent by his Duke to safeguard a dismal coastal outpost of swamps and fens from a lone tower. Here he finds himself troubled by the Frisian raiders, his non-Christian nature worshiping subjects and his own growing desire for a peasant girl named Bronwyn (Rosemary Forsyth).
Heston has some good scenes, but his character's seemingly irrational behavior and extreme mood swings seem somewhat forced and artificial. More impressive in their portrayals are both Maurice Evans as the local priest and Guy Stockwell as Draco, Chrysagon's sly younger brother. Rounding out the cast we have Richard Boone as Bors, Chrysagon's loyal right hand man. While the part may not be perfectly suited to Boone his imposing physical presence is quite effective in this role.
The film has some reasonably good action sequences (at least for the era in which it was made), some intrigue, some romance and considerable drama, but the problem seems to be that the film makers couldn't decide what kind of story they were trying to tell. In particular the romantic aspect of the film is definitely undersold. While Bronwyn is obviously smitten by the Chrysagon, other than physical attraction we don't really know why she is drawn to him, perhaps because she is given so few lines of dialog. Also given very limited time is the local mysticism and how it balances with the priests Christianity.
Director Franklin J. Shaffner (Patton) while not succeeding here would reunite four years later with both Charlton Heston and Maurice Evans for a much more successful film Planet of the Apes.
While not as realistic as todays films, this movie took a big step in depicting the feudal lifestyle in a more gritty and realistic fashion. This included the beliefs and attitudes of both the peasants and the lords.
The first time Heston appears on screen with his pageboy haircut it's somewhat difficult not to laugh out loud.
Heston has some good scenes, but his character's seemingly irrational behavior and extreme mood swings seem somewhat forced and artificial. More impressive in their portrayals are both Maurice Evans as the local priest and Guy Stockwell as Draco, Chrysagon's sly younger brother. Rounding out the cast we have Richard Boone as Bors, Chrysagon's loyal right hand man. While the part may not be perfectly suited to Boone his imposing physical presence is quite effective in this role.
The film has some reasonably good action sequences (at least for the era in which it was made), some intrigue, some romance and considerable drama, but the problem seems to be that the film makers couldn't decide what kind of story they were trying to tell. In particular the romantic aspect of the film is definitely undersold. While Bronwyn is obviously smitten by the Chrysagon, other than physical attraction we don't really know why she is drawn to him, perhaps because she is given so few lines of dialog. Also given very limited time is the local mysticism and how it balances with the priests Christianity.
Director Franklin J. Shaffner (Patton) while not succeeding here would reunite four years later with both Charlton Heston and Maurice Evans for a much more successful film Planet of the Apes.
While not as realistic as todays films, this movie took a big step in depicting the feudal lifestyle in a more gritty and realistic fashion. This included the beliefs and attitudes of both the peasants and the lords.
The first time Heston appears on screen with his pageboy haircut it's somewhat difficult not to laugh out loud.