TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

GManfred Someone actually said this, in an outburst of sophomoric exuberance during the Trial By Movie called "The Black Knight". This picture is shot through with banal dialogue and is typical of what you can purchase on the cheap in Hollywood. The alternative is to hire a screenwriter. It is a comic book movie about coming of age to win a fair lady's heart, but suppose you are pretty old to start with? Alan Ladd, who was so handsome and vital in "Shane", looks lined and puffy here as a blacksmith trying to woo Patricia Medina, who is above his station. But he is undeterred, and sets out to 'prove himself'. The movie is riddled with two-dimensional characters and situations full of contrivances, and if you are older than 14 this picture is probably not for you. The star rating is in the heading. The website no longer prints mine.

cruhl32 I saw most of Alan Ladd's 1950's movies in a theatre (or drive-in) as a kid and most of his 1940's movies were being shown on TV by that time. I thought he was the handsomest man I had ever seen in my life. Just caught this one on TCM -- didn't plan to watch, but couldn't stop because it was so very awful in so many ways as many other reviewers have explained. I agree, Ladd looks rough in this one (boozing)? He didn't look as bad in many of the other movies made around this time.He was totally miscast here -- like John Wayne as Ghengis Khan in The Conqueror --- and I thought he knew it and looked embarrassed to be there. It was so obvious that all the action was stuntmen, especially when his mentor was teaching him swordsmanship. The other actor had his faceplate up exposing his face (I assume because he could handle a sword) while the stuntman playing Ladd's part had his faceplate down.I was surprised at the end to realize it had been made in England. It looked very "Hollywoodized" -- really over the top costumes and historically inaccurate. I guess I thought the Brits usually do a much better job at being historically accurate.Nonetheless, I would have loved this movie when it first came out in 1954 and I was 7 years old. I has no gore -- I only remember seeing blood when the heroine slashed the bare arm of her attacker -- very tame by today's standards. A fun family movie if you have young children.

scribe1270 I 1st saw this movie when I was a kid when it came on TV. I also saw it's contemporary "The Black Shield of Falworth" around the same time, and enjoyed them both. Both take some liberties with history I'm sure but they do something more important than being completely historically accurate. They entertain the viewer. It's the classic tale of the underdog who has to fight against the odds in order to have a chance of achieving what he wants set against the backdrop of the middle ages. The colors and pageantry of the film and it's musical score add to the excitement of watching to see if the hero will triumph or not. Some will claim that Alan Ladd was too short or too old for the part or some such, and I grant he's not a big action hero type like Errol Flynn for example but I think those facts add to rather than take away from his portrayal of the hero. His character of John the Blacksmith is the "everyman" who may not be the likely winner but is willing to fight for what he wants against a world that doesn't say yes easily.

wes-connors Yikes! This movie begins with a Knight riding by on a horse, singing a little ditty about Knightly daring douze. Though this film was made around the same time as "Shane", Alan Ladd looks quite different; he appears to be ill in many scenes. Since Mr. Ladd's stuntman is very energetic, he might have been a better choice to play the lead role of "John" in this film. Peter Cushing has a very deep tan, which made me wonder if, perhaps, the actors thought they were being filmed in "Black and White"? Oh well, I guess Mr. Cushing would have recognized that color cameras are different. Still, the movie has a very inexpensive look. I was so distracted by the costumes, I lost track of the plot. There is some fire, and they try to burn a man in a cage, but Mr. Ladd interferes with the burning. He also saves the woman This movie has no trouble earning a most "awful" rating. * The Black Knight (8/26/54) Tay Garnett ~ Alan Ladd, Patricia Medina, Peter Cushing