La rose et l'épée

Amazingly, although this film is 62 years old, having come out when I was a teenager, and stars a load of some of my favorite English actors (Glynis Johns, James Robertson Justice and Michael Gough, to name only three), I had never seen it until tonight. I was absolutely amazed at how delightful it was, how great and authentic every scene in it looked, how seriously the actors took their very excellent dialogue - it's a bit more of a comedy than anything else, but it has its dramatic moments - and just the general air of intelligence that permeated what was, of course, a Disney film primarily intended for young audiences. Yet much in the screenplay was quite adult, perhaps most especially Mary Tudor's idea of getting the old French King (and her new husband) to imbibe liberally of the wine at their wedding festivities in order to incapacitate him and not have to consummate their marriage that night. That may not be very much in 2015, but in 1953 it was nearly licentious and quite a great deal to put into a Disney film meant primarily for kids. Of course, the trick here is that if one accepts the overly romantic nature of the film, it is one that will appeal to most intelligent adults, too, if only due to the excellence of the dialogue in the hands of Johns and Justice. And at the start I actually thought Michael Gough was going to play somebody truly noble - Michael Gough, noble? - but by the middle of the film he was deep into his usual villainy; one should never trust Michael Gough any more than one might have trusted Victor Jory a decade or two earlier! Anyway, the wrestling scene, the Mary Tudor ball and the dance introduced into it, the hunting scene, etc. looked totally authentic to me, whether they really were or not, and remember folks, this is all make-believe and made to be enjoyed rather than examined too closely. All in all, I think this has immediately become my favorite Disney live-action film (certainly of the "costume-variety" ones) thanks to the wonderful give-and-take of the dialogue. I think it achieves 100% of what was intended by its makers, and it's hard to find fault with that!

Todd, Johns and Justice deliver excellent performances. This is not a "B" movie. Being a romantic adventure movie, there is not the tension of a disaster occurring. Still the plot keeps us absorbed and interested in the outcome.

Obstinate princess Mary Tudor , (Glynis Johns) , sister of king Henry VIII (James Robertson Justice) , shuns the advances of a nobleman , Duke of Buckingham (Michael Gough) , for the love of a commoner named Charles Brandon (Richard Todd) . She attempts to escape to America with her love but is captured on board ship . In return for her consent , Henry VIII agrees to marry her the elderly King of France Louis XII , who'll be succeded by Francisco I . But things go wrong when she is abducted . Then his sweetheart , the valiant commoner Charles Brandon, attempts to rescue her love by exciting feats and thrilling fights againt enemies .Now ! Walt Disney brings new excitement to romance !. A Forbidden Love That Threatened Two King !

Historical film packs romance , emotion , sword-play and being fast-moving . Interesting and attractive screenplay based on the book : ¨When knighthood was in flower¨ . Main and support cast are pretty well . Glynis Johns and James Robertson Justice make an extraordinary battle of wits , they were two of the foremost British talents at the time , while Richard Todd plays adequately a brave communer . They're well accompanied by a nice cast , such as : Michael Gough as the nasty Duke of Buckingham , Jane Barrett , Peter Copley , Rosalie Crutchley , Anthony Sharp , Patrick Cargill, the French Gérard Oury as Dauphin of France , among others.

In The Sword and the Rose (1953) stands out the colorful and brilliant cinematography in Walt Disney style by cameraman Geoffrey Unsworth . As well as the evocative and imaginative musical score by Clifton Parker . The motion picture was uneven but competently directed by Ken Annakin , though being sporadically fun and entertaining enough . In the 1960s he was one of several British directors along with Guy Green, John Guillermin who specialized in turning out all-star , splashy, big-budget European/American co-productions, shot on the Continent . He was one of the directors of the epic World War II spectacle The longest day (1962) and went solo on Battle of the Bulge (1965), both of which were financial--if not exactly critical--successes. Ken was an expert on Adventure genre as ¨The new adventures of Pippi Longstockings¨, ¨Pirate movie¨ , ¨Paper tiger¨, ¨The fifth Musketeer¨ , ¨Call of wild¨, ¨The Swiss family Robinson¨, ¨Land of fury¨, ¨The Sword and the Rose¨, ¨The story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men¨, ¨Third man on the mountain¨ and Wartime genre as ¨Battle of the Bulge¨, and ¨The Longest day¨. Rating 6/10 . Acceptable and passable. The flick will appeal to historical genre enthusiasts . Well worth watching ,

It's important to remember that this is actually a true story, Henry VIII had a sister like that, and she finally got her Charles Brandon after many ordeals on the way. This Walt Disney production directed by Ken Annakin is a sumptuous costume film, and your eyes will gloat in the flamboyant colours and scenery - it is a regular feast for the eyes all the way. Although Charles Major's novel romanticised the true story somewhat, and the film has romanticised it even more, there is still a great amount of original charm coming so to say directly from the 16th century, giving a very positive and inspiring picture of the golden age of the Tudors. The novel was my grandfather's favlourite novel, he read it many times, and it was by surprise I came across the film and found it was a screening of that novel. Richard Todd is irresistible as Brandon, as is also Glynis Johns as Mary and James Robertson Justice as a slightly overdone Henry VIII, but above all it is a thoroughly enjoyable and uplifting film, more Hollywood than Tudor England, but still with very much of the Tudor spirit well taken care of.

James Robertson Justice gives an Oscar-caliber performance as King Henry VIII, tangling with little sister, Princess Mary Tudor, over her love life: he wants to sell her to France where she would marry elderly King Louis XII, but she is madly in love with adventurer Charles Brandon. Disney film encompasses all of their early strengths as a studio: enchanting romance, sly good humor, sword-fighting action, terrific production values and beautiful background score (which, by the way, if you find on vinyl is worth a pretty penny). Pure fun, with captivating Glynis Johns as Mary, Richard Todd dashing as Brandon, and Justice the best English King I have ever seen on film. A joy! *** from ****