One of Cecil B DeMille's lesser known blockbusters, if that's not an oxymoron, as he tackles the weighty subject of the 12th Century Christian Crusade in typically extravagant fashion.
Undoubtedly mangling historical fact in the process, he nevertheless, for the times, plays fair one suspects with his treatment of the competing Muslims here in a way that Hollywood certainly didn't do with, say, Native Americans in countless Westerns. Their leader, the famous Sultan Saladin, is shown to be brave, wise and ultimately, considerate as he tends to Richard the Lionheart's wounded wife Berengera who he's captured, eventually allowing her to go back to her Christian husband for the sake of true love.
We follow the story from the initial sack of Jerusalem by Saladin's Muslim army and the rallying of the European Christian monarchs by the fervent call-to-arms proclaimed of a holy hermit who escaped the slaughter. Richard at the time is involved in delicate negotiations with the King of France to marry the latter's sister and so keep the fragile peace between the two forever-warring nations, but quickly seizes on the idea of entering a Holy War to put off his unwanted nuptials. Nevertheless, he requires to strike an uneasy bargain with the French King Philip who along with several other monarchs has likewise heeded the hermit's call. Worse than that, there are designing plotters in both courts with treachery afoot that will see Richard's throne claimed in his absence by his brother John and also the scheming French Marquis Montferrat attempt a power-play which will supplant his own King.
Into the mix enters the lovely Berengera, the beautiful daughter of a French Duke, who her dad craftily marries to Richard for basically the price of feeding and watering his tired and hungry army. Her relationship with Richard gets off on the wrong foot but it's not long before each sees the light, in more ways than one, culminating in a choice between war and peace which in the end has a decisive impact on the outcome of the war.
As others have said, the film lacks an eye-popping "miraculous" occurrence spectacularly shot by DeMille, like the parting of the Red Sea or the collapse of Samson's temple, but throughout he keeps the action charging along. Marshalling crowd scenes and employing monumental sets and props which he really scales up in the siege of Acre.
Like I said, this isn't a film for serious historians as it plays loose and looser with the known facts. The characterisations of the principal individuals are painted with rather broad strokes as we're expected to believe the sudden love which binds Richard and Berengera after we've witnessed their avowed antipathy, but the sympathetic portrayal of Saladin came as a welcome surprise. As a matter of both personal belief as well as taste, however, I could have done without the overbearing religious symbolism espoused at times but there's also some slightly bawdy leavening humour, as you'd probably expect, in between the action.
Loretta Young with her bright blonde hair, is very pretty as the ultimately resourceful Berengera, Ian Keith is convincing as the noble Saladin and Hrnry Wilcoxon, an actor with whom I was formerly unfamiliar, did well I thought as the mercurial King Richard.
Unlike say, his contemporary John Ford, it seems to me that De Mille's reputation as a director has fallen a little by the way-side, but the man knew how to craft a thrilling spectacle, especially here in the fight for Jerusalem with fireballs flaring and battering rams pounding away, even as I personally feared for the wellbeing of the numerous horses flung into battle.
Even if the events portrayed are more hysterically than historically accurate, the film is undeniably exciting and entertaining, just as you'd expect from Cecil B.
Undoubtedly mangling historical fact in the process, he nevertheless, for the times, plays fair one suspects with his treatment of the competing Muslims here in a way that Hollywood certainly didn't do with, say, Native Americans in countless Westerns. Their leader, the famous Sultan Saladin, is shown to be brave, wise and ultimately, considerate as he tends to Richard the Lionheart's wounded wife Berengera who he's captured, eventually allowing her to go back to her Christian husband for the sake of true love.
We follow the story from the initial sack of Jerusalem by Saladin's Muslim army and the rallying of the European Christian monarchs by the fervent call-to-arms proclaimed of a holy hermit who escaped the slaughter. Richard at the time is involved in delicate negotiations with the King of France to marry the latter's sister and so keep the fragile peace between the two forever-warring nations, but quickly seizes on the idea of entering a Holy War to put off his unwanted nuptials. Nevertheless, he requires to strike an uneasy bargain with the French King Philip who along with several other monarchs has likewise heeded the hermit's call. Worse than that, there are designing plotters in both courts with treachery afoot that will see Richard's throne claimed in his absence by his brother John and also the scheming French Marquis Montferrat attempt a power-play which will supplant his own King.
Into the mix enters the lovely Berengera, the beautiful daughter of a French Duke, who her dad craftily marries to Richard for basically the price of feeding and watering his tired and hungry army. Her relationship with Richard gets off on the wrong foot but it's not long before each sees the light, in more ways than one, culminating in a choice between war and peace which in the end has a decisive impact on the outcome of the war.
As others have said, the film lacks an eye-popping "miraculous" occurrence spectacularly shot by DeMille, like the parting of the Red Sea or the collapse of Samson's temple, but throughout he keeps the action charging along. Marshalling crowd scenes and employing monumental sets and props which he really scales up in the siege of Acre.
Like I said, this isn't a film for serious historians as it plays loose and looser with the known facts. The characterisations of the principal individuals are painted with rather broad strokes as we're expected to believe the sudden love which binds Richard and Berengera after we've witnessed their avowed antipathy, but the sympathetic portrayal of Saladin came as a welcome surprise. As a matter of both personal belief as well as taste, however, I could have done without the overbearing religious symbolism espoused at times but there's also some slightly bawdy leavening humour, as you'd probably expect, in between the action.
Loretta Young with her bright blonde hair, is very pretty as the ultimately resourceful Berengera, Ian Keith is convincing as the noble Saladin and Hrnry Wilcoxon, an actor with whom I was formerly unfamiliar, did well I thought as the mercurial King Richard.
Unlike say, his contemporary John Ford, it seems to me that De Mille's reputation as a director has fallen a little by the way-side, but the man knew how to craft a thrilling spectacle, especially here in the fight for Jerusalem with fireballs flaring and battering rams pounding away, even as I personally feared for the wellbeing of the numerous horses flung into battle.
Even if the events portrayed are more hysterically than historically accurate, the film is undeniably exciting and entertaining, just as you'd expect from Cecil B.