Thomas B. Costain gave us CAPTAIN FROM CASTILLE, a much better historical romance than his THE BLACK ROSE, and Fox has spared no expense in bringing this version of his novel to the screen. It's handsomely photographed by Jack Cardiff in England and North Africa as it spins the tale of two Saxons (TYRONE POWER and JACK HAWKINS) who join a tribal war party enroute to meeting a Tartan general in the Far East (ORSON WELLES, in swarthy make-up), during a period in the 13th century of great unrest between Normans and Saxons.
The plot thickens once they reach the Orient where a girl known as The Black Rose (CECILE AUBRY) is hiding out and needs rescuing from Power and Hawkins. All of the desert scenes are filmed in Morocco to great effect, but the script never allows any of the characters to come alive. Power struggles manfully with a part that seldom allows him to swing into action, while Jack Hawkins (as a skilled bowman who can hit his targets accurately) has a little more to do than Power and does it well. He's particularly effective in a scene involving his marksmanship while the Tartan general watches, the penalty for losing being losing his head.
But all the other events provide nothing but the eye candy of seeing Tyrone Power and his fellow players wearing colorful costumes. As an action adventure, this one fails to deliver the goods and there is a less than robust background score by Richard Addinsell.
Trivia note: Power does not even attempt a British accent while Hawkins, of course, already has one. Cecil Aubry should have been dubbed or replaced by someone who could be understood.
Summing up: Too much talk, too little action for an historical romance of this kind.
The plot thickens once they reach the Orient where a girl known as The Black Rose (CECILE AUBRY) is hiding out and needs rescuing from Power and Hawkins. All of the desert scenes are filmed in Morocco to great effect, but the script never allows any of the characters to come alive. Power struggles manfully with a part that seldom allows him to swing into action, while Jack Hawkins (as a skilled bowman who can hit his targets accurately) has a little more to do than Power and does it well. He's particularly effective in a scene involving his marksmanship while the Tartan general watches, the penalty for losing being losing his head.
But all the other events provide nothing but the eye candy of seeing Tyrone Power and his fellow players wearing colorful costumes. As an action adventure, this one fails to deliver the goods and there is a less than robust background score by Richard Addinsell.
Trivia note: Power does not even attempt a British accent while Hawkins, of course, already has one. Cecil Aubry should have been dubbed or replaced by someone who could be understood.
Summing up: Too much talk, too little action for an historical romance of this kind.