Overblown and yet underpowered epic. Based on the wonderful source material of Sir Walter Scott's novel, all the dressing (big name cast, extras a-plenty, expensive set-pieces) can't stop this vintage swashbuckler from dragging in places as it reaches the end. Frequently beautiful to look at, a tribute to Freddie Young's excellent cinematography, I occasionally got the feeling the actors were only playing the clothes. Robert Taylor is handsome but lacking magnetism in the title role. George Sanders is altogether too polite to really work as Ivanhoe's nemesis whilst the womenfolk mainly get to react rather than act, as the camera too frequently cuts to their responses as our hero takes yet another beating. Of the three big set-pieces, the jousting tournament and Taylor's final duel with Sanders play best with some great horseman stunt work in the former while in the latter you do at least get to see the protagonists' shields battered and dented as the fight progresses. However the fire at the castle as Robin Hood's men attack seems about as dangerous as a dead sheep with some pretty unconvincing fight scenes to boot. On the whole, though it stays fairly true to its novel source, the film lacks drama and true emotion and is the weaker for this.
