The Scarlet Blade

Oliver Reed once said that "Hammer gave me my start, (Michael) Winner gave me my craft, and (Ken) Russell gave me my art." Well in 1963's THE SCARLET / CRIMSON BLADE you can see the arrival of the Oliver Reed we all know 5 years before his international success in OLIVER!. Here he crystallizes his screen trademarks. The quiet voice that can suddenly erupt, the smoldering look of rage and/or pain, and his sheer physical presence that can dominate the screen. This was Reed's penultimate film with Hammer (out of 6) and he owns the movie.

Although the nominal stars are Lionel Jeffries (usually known for comic roles in movies like CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG but quite good here) ,Jack Hedley and June Thornburn, Reed's portrayal of the adventurer Captain Tom Sylvester is clearly the focus of the film. Writer-director John Gilling, who made a number of films for Hammer including the celebrated "Cornish Double Feature" THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES and THE REPTILE, had worked with Reed before on THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER showing that he could handle the actor as well as make a well mounted period action-adventure movie.

The story is set in 1648. Colonel Judd (Jeffries), once a royalist but now a follower of Cromwell, is trying to capture King Charles I to further his own career. Sylvester (Reed) is his second in command and has eyes for Judd's daughter Claire (Thornburn) who is secretly helping the local Royalists led by Edward Beverly (Hedley) aka The Scarlet Blade (the movie's original title). Claire exploits Sylvester's feelings for her while really loving Beverly. When Sylvester realizes this he is none too pleased but, rather than flying into a typical rage, Reed internalizes his anger and makes us feel his character's pain and sadness at what has happened.

The rest of the film is a solid period adventure yarn with swordfights and ambushes and an authentic look to the film despite the low budget. In fact parts of this film reminded me of Michael Reeves' WITCHFINDER GENERAL with Vincent Price made 5 years later only less brutal. This release of the American version (hence the title change) is its first appearance ever and the transfer is first rate. Not a great film by any means but a surprisingly engaging one thanks to Oliver Reed...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

When Hammer's production schedule was cleared in 1956 to make way for more horror films, the plug was pulled on the long-in-preparation 'King Charles and the Roundheads'.

Having in the intervening seven years made another Robin Hood adventure and a pirate yarn, Hammer finally made their Cavaliers v. Roundheads picture with a suitably gory title and Lionel Jeffries, of course, as a roundhead (with Oliver Reed as his saturnine young henchman ironically sporting a fake scar on his face in an entirely different place from the real one he acquired on his left cheek in a pub brawl a year later). Jack Hedley makes a rather gentle leading man, and although improbably cast as Jeffries' daughter, the late June Thorburn (who gets to wear a magnificent hat) plays a far greater role in the plot than the leading lady usually does in such nonsense.

Plenty of people get killed - and Hedley is flogged at one point - but compared to Tigon's harrowing Civil War subject 'Witchfinder-General' a few years later it's a pretty placid affair, with a jaunty score by Gary Hughes.

This was the first Oliver Reed film I ever saw and it's still one of my favourites. He gives an impressive early performance in this good Hammer production. The downslide of it is the main character, played by Jack Hedley, who is a bad actor. One to watch for any Oliver Reed fan.

This was a good action/adventure film, with a historical background of 17thc England, in the last days of the reign of Charles I. Colonel Judd, (Lionel Jeffries) a former loyalist, has joined the Roundheads, and he and his men are responsible for the imprisonment of the king, much to the chagrin of his daughter, Claire (June Thorburn), a staunch Loyalist. She joins a group planning to free the king, whose leader (Edward Beverly, played by Jack Hedley) is known by the logo "The Crimson Blade". The group includes Edward's brother, Philip and sister, Constance (Clifford Elkin and Suzan Farmer) seeking vengeance for the murder of their father by Colonel Judd's officers.

There's romance in the story too, as well as a rivalry, when Claire and Edward fall in love, and face the anger of Captain Tom Sylvester (Oliver Reed), who wants Claire, and pledges to support her cause, despite being her father's right-hand man, to try and win her over. But his loyalty, like his love, is self-serving.

It's a movie that'll hold your interest, quick paced, not long and drawn out. I recommend checking it out.

Swashbuckler from the renowned Hammer studio who are more famous for their classic horror movies. This movie suffers from some poor casting decisions and a general lack of dynamic action to set the pace in a genre that demands excitement. Jack Hedley just doesn't suit as the hero and Oliver Read is much more interesting as the bad guy I think Reed could have done a better job in the lead role (he did go on to play Athos in Richard Lesters production of the Three Musketeers).

The script is generally poor and no one comes out to well in the acting stakes but this could have been excused had there been some great set pieces but action is another element somewhat lacking in what is a fairly disappointing movie by any standards 4/10