Laurence Harvey portrays a fictional Scottish knight on crusade with Richard the Lionheart in this brightly coloured but laboured adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's "The Talisman". The history is all over the place and the casting - particularly Rex Harrison as Saladin, but George Sanders as King Richard is pretty lame too. Robert Douglas reprises his oft-seen role as the baddie to some effect, and Virginia Mayo adds a touch of glamour but the dialogue is very dry, the acting overly theatrical and though well enough put together, this comes across as a lot-made film made to fulfil outstanding contractual obligations by the actors rather than to engage an adult audience.
Review of King Richard and the Crusaders
