Richard the Lionheart

Let me start off by saying that I am a fan of the Danziger brothers. Edward J.and Harry Lee Danziger were born in New York and moved to England in 1952 where they set up shop as B movie producers. After producing a series of successful low budget films at various studios, they opened their own studio in 1956 which was dubbed New Elstree. It would be the Danziger's home until they decided to leave the motion picture business in 1962 and concentrate on owning and operating hotels in the London area. Between 1956 and 1961 over 60 B movies and 350 half hour TV episodes were shot at New Elstree. RICHARD THE LIONHEART was the last before the studio shut down.

A British film critic once remarked that the Danzigers were not in the movie business for art, they were in it for business and in that regard they were very successful. Historical action-adventure shows were all the rage on British TV in the 1950s and early 1960s led by the long running Richard Greene ROBIN HOOD series. The Danzigers were primarily known for second features and for such contemporary crime shows as SABER and THE CHEATERS but they wanted to cash in on the popularity of ROBIN HOOD and that is how RICHARD THE LIONHEART came about.

The standard 39 episodes for TV were produced in 1961 and aired during the 1962-63 season. LIONHEART starred Irish actor Dermot Walsh as a very chivalrous King Richard and Australian born Trader Faulkner as a nefarious Prince John (in addition to portraying 7 other characters). Sheila Whittingham is a demure Queen Berengaria while a young Iain Gregory got his first big break as Richard's court minstrel Blondel. The 39 half hour shows were shot in 26 weeks with a single episode being completed in either 2 or 3 days. That was the typical Danziger shooting schedule and in several episodes, it shows.

The series presents a whitewashed and simplified picture of Richard which is understandable as this was a TV show designed for the whole family just as ROBIN HOOD, WILLIAM TELL, and other historical shows of the 1950s were. The major difference between those shows and RICHARD can be seen in the writing and the characterizations. The LIONHEART scripts weren't written by blacklisted American writers all and the characters suffered accordingly. The supporting actors were also a mixed bag although there was Francis de Woffe as Leopold of Austria and a few appearances by Conrad Phillips and Nigel Green.

There was a theme song by Bill Le Sage (all the historical shows had theme songs) but this one was not up to the standards of the others. One of the amusing things in this Network 6 DVD set occurs during the theme song if you use the subtitles. One of the verses goes "humble in spite of his victories in war" but the subtitles read "humble as pie in victories at war". With or without pie, LIONHEART is humble which is commendable. Actually this Network set has much to recommend it. It has all 39 episodes on 5 discs and a bonus disc describing the background of the show and the history of the Danzigers. LIONHEART isn't as good as the ITV shows but is still worth seeing if you enjoy vintage Brit TV...For More Reviews Visit The Capsule Critic.

I was surprised to find this lacklustre television series had been resurrected and was now being shown on English television.

It is well over six decades old. And reflects the production values of its time. I do not fault it on that respect. I just question its historical perspective.

We have a fine actor Dermot Walsh portraying an Arthurian King Richard I of England. { There was no Britain at the time } A ridiculous theme tune, reinforcing his ' sainthood on earth '.

If you take the trouble to read accurate historical works. Contemporaneous and more recent.

You will not even recognise the character portrayed in the series.

He was the third legitimate son of King Henry II of England. So should never have become king.

After his eldest brother Henry died without issue. And he had managed to depose both his father and elder brother, Geoffrey. His route to the throne was clear.

But becoming King of England was just a means of access to revenue. Throughout his life he only spent six inconvenient months in the country.

He never spoke English. Only French and Occitan.

His obsession with crusades caused much misery for his English subjects. Apart from the money he had already extricated in taxes.

Richard deliberately made a further reckless blunder, in the full knowledge he had earlier. Grossly offended Leopold of Austria. He deliberately entered Austria on a return journey two England. Was inevitably captured and held to ransom. Actually 100,000 pounds of silver. £385,800,000 at today's value.

Which further caused every single one of his English subjects to be the poorer for that reckless folly.

I have to be fair and admit that most of the episodes in the series are located outside of England.

But it is unlikely Richard ever considered his subjects on the continent or in England at all.

Other than as a source of revenue to finance his crusades.

His unofficial title. Coeur De Lion or ' lionheart ' is accurate. Gained by being absolutely reckless during his military service. Like an Audie Murphy of his day. Until of course, unlike Audie Murphy, his luck finally ran out. And he sustained a mortal wound which caused him to die. Leaving the path finally open for Henry II's youngest son, John to become King of England.

Richard left no legal issue. Probably unsurprising because his marriage to Berengaria was never consummated. And there are certainly documented facts in a number of sources.

Which leads the conclusion he was bisexual.

He did produce one child, Phillip Of Cognac , whose mother is unknown. But he could have been conceived in an act of sodomy. Something Richard is known to have practised with both men and women.

Of course the Danziger brothers series was only meant to be entertainment.

Putting me in mind something allegedly said about the great CB deMille

' Cecil B deMille. Much against his will. Was finally persuaded to leave Moses. Out of The War Of The Roses '

I was about four years old when this was first broadcast on British TV and i have never seen it since. My recollections are therefore not the clearest and most of what i can write has to be in relation to my distant, immature impressions of the series.

I can remember the stirring theme tune, which I think accompanied Richard charging on his mount. Or am I conflating Richard the Lionheart with ITC's The Adventures of Sir Lancelot?

The show appealed to my love of 'historical' adventure, and of course there were plenty of such shows around at the time, either on first run or in repeat: The aforementioned Lancelot (with William Russell, later of Doctor Who), as well as the adventures of Sir Francis Drake, William Tell and the wonderful, unforgettable Robin Hood (starring Richard Greene) -- probably amongst many others.

Most of these shows -- indeed all of those named in the previous paragraph -- were produced by Lew Grade's ITC, and until fairly recently I had unthinkingly placed The Adventures of Richard the Lionheart in the same box. However, this series was produced by the Danziger brothers who were renowned for the way in which they made films and TV in (what might be termed) 'very strict production circumstances'. Watching the show as 'a bairn', this fact would have made no impression upon me, but it would be interesting to see how well it stacks up against the ITC output, which would have had more money and time allocated. I suspect the comparison would yield a rather stark contrast!

All the same, I can't help thinking that children's TV in the early 1960s was more involving, exciting, stimulating and adventurous than most of today's output. This may not have been remotely accurate as a historical portrayal, but it surely sparked an interest in the real thing in many children.

Or is that just rose-tinted glasses?

It started in the mid-fifties when Sir Lew Grade, without consulting his associates, committed nearly all his capital to making Robin Hood with Richard Greene. The series was an instant success, so more medieval adventures followed. There was Roger Moore as Ivanhoe - The Saint in armour. William Russell - man of action - as Sir Lancelot. Conrad Phillips as William Tell, a Swiss Robin Hood with an arblast. Later, were the sea adventures of Sir Francis Drake, with Terence Morgan carrying out Queen Elizabeth's special missions.

Richard the Lionheart, jumped on the medieval bandwagon. It even had the rousing theme song that you could sing along with, parts of which I can still remember to this day:

"Richard, the Lionheart, wrote a page in England's book of fame. History shall long recall his name."

What makes Richard different from most of the rest is that it is about a monarch who can mix with other monarchs who bear more power than the characters in the other series. He has to deal with a vicious but fair Sultan Saladdin; his captor Emperor Leopold; a scheming and dangerous Philip-Augustus; and William the Lion, who will give Richard his way so long as he wins the fight that the former just loves to watch.

And that is why these series were so successful. You might like to watch westerns or gangster movies, modern war movies or sword and sandal epics; but you just can't beat a good medieval scrap.