L'avventuriero di re Artù

Robin Hood meets King Arthur, as performed by the Batley Townswomen's Guild?

The film is ludicrously bad, in too many ways to list. However, the leading actors give it their all, and they have nothing to be ashamed of.

The result is surprisingly enjoyable, and I might even watch it again on another day when my brain (like King Arthur at the start of the film) needs a complete rest.

Other than that, I have nothing to add to the reviews by Jonathan Dabell and Paul Round, which are both spot-on.

Director Nathan Juran spent much of the '50s and '60s churning out low budget potboilers like Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman, The Brain From Planet Auros and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad. In 1963 he brought us Siege Of The Saxons, a fairly enjoyable mixture of Arthurian legend, Robin Hoodery and historical epic which doesn't stick in the mind for very long. The film is aimed mainly at adventurous schoolboys – it's a bit too silly for adults, though they might find some nostalgic value in it if they're of a certain generation.

King Arthur (Mark Dignam) is gravely ill and so goes to stay with his champion knight Edmund of Cornwall (Ronald Howard). Arthur does not realise that Edmund is actually a traitor who plans to murder him and seize control of the throne in the name of the Saxons. Edmund thinks he will accelerate his route to the throne if he marries Arthur's daughter Katherine (Janette Scott), but this part of his plan falls apart when a roguish outlaw, Robert Marshall (Ronald Lewis), witnesses the king's murder. Robert spirits Katherine away from the usurper and takes her into hiding in outlaw country. Meanwhile, Edmund claims that the king's daughter has died and that as a consequence of this he will assume the crown for himself. While all this is going on, Robert and Katherine are busy seeking out the magician Merlin (John Laurie – who would later find fame as Private Frazer in Dad's Army). With Merlin's help they head for Camelot, hoping to prove that Edmund has no genuine claim to the throne, and that Katherine is in fact the true heir. The Saxons plan to discredit her but as everyone knows only someone from the true royal bloodline can wield Arthur's famous sword Excalibur….

The film looks very much of its time, with budgetary limitations which are evident throughout. In the battle sequences, for instance, no amount of editing, photography and costumed extras can hide the utter lack of realism. Having said that, the film has compensations along the way. Lewis and Scott make an attractive leading couple and they give enthusiastic performances, while Laurie hams it up amusingly as the crusty old wizard Merlin. The Technicolor photography is pleasing on the eye, and Laurie Johnson's score lends suitable dramatic impact to all the scenes that need it. Siege Of The Saxons is enthusiastic nonsense…. fun while it lasts, but the next morning there's absolutely nothing left to remember!

A film so awful it can only appeal to swashbuckler buffs. I enjoy watching this take on the Arthurian legend with its anachronisms etc as detailed by other "fans". Check out Alan Ladd in the Black Knight and see how much footage Siege of the Saxons borrowed. Its very amusing how they shoe-horn in the armour and helmet worn by Alan Ladd in his superior swashbuckler to allow use of the final battle scenes which were obviously beyond the Siege's budget to stage properly. The first time I saw this tremendous film I was only about ten and I spotted Alan Ladd's helmet and armour straight away - I don't think I have seen another arthurian/medieval knight wearing short-sleeved armour which was another pointer to Alan Ladd's film and sure enough jousting and battle scenes are lifted in their entirety. And since when did King Arthur have a daughter?? Nice to see Dad' Army stalwart John Laurie playing Merlin though.

I agree with most of the positive reviews above. But nobody mentioned the superb cinematography. It's so crisp, so clear, so focused … Which is a pity as the blurred footage inserted from other films therefore sticks out like a sore thumb. The film reminds me of "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid," in so far as the actors are obviously garbed in costumes that will match those we see later in this inserted footage. And half the fun is trying to identify from where the inserts come: Alan Ladd fighting at Castell Coch in Cardiff is the most obvious. But if you're a student of architecture, you'd better avoid this, as there are so many styles all mixed up, but all post-1066. And all this and Laurie Johnson too!

The King Arthur legend gets a fanciful spin in this colourful but weak British offering. Directed by Nathan Juran and starring Janette Scott and Ronald Lewis, it's all about medieval malarkey as Lewis' Robin Hood type character wanders the lands with Scott's disguised princess in search of Merlin (John Laurie). They need the great wizard to stop the dastardly Edmund of Cornwall (Ronald Howard) from seizing the throne of Arthur with help from the Saxons.

It's played for light hearted thrills, the cast having fun prancing about in their borrowed costumes (much of the production uses props, costumes and footage from some earlier swords and shields movies), and Juran never lets the story sag and knows when to perk things up with an action scene or some character merriment. Harmless fluff really. Played as the "B" picture to Jason and the Argonauts and in that context it's a fun enough warmer upper! 5/10