Prince Valiant (1954 film)

Prince Valiant is a 1954 American adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway and produced by Robert L. Jacks, in Technicolor and Cinemascope from 20th Century Fox. Based on the King Features syndicated newspaper comic strip of the same name by Hal Foster, the film stars James Mason, Janet Leigh, Robert Wagner, Debra Paget and Sterling Hayden.

Prince Valiant
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHenry Hathaway
Written byDudley Nichols
Based onPrince Valiant by Hal Foster
Produced byRobert L. Jacks
StarringJames Mason
Janet Leigh
Robert Wagner
Narrated byMichael Rennie
CinematographyLucien Ballard
Edited byRobert L. Simpson
Music byFranz Waxman
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • April 2, 1954 (1954-04-02) (Los Angeles)[1]
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.97 million[2]
Box office$2.6 million (US rentals)[3]

Plot

Usurper Sligon, a worshipper of the old Norse god pantheon, and other rebel Vikings have forced into exile the Christian royal family of the Viking kingdom of Scandia: King Aguar, his wife, and their son, Prince Valiant. Aguar and his family come under the protection of King Arthur. When Valiant has grown to be a man, he is sent to Camelot to undergo training as a knight under the tutelage of Aguar's family friend, a noble knight of the Round Table, Sir Gawain.

During his wanderings, Valiant witnesses a clandestine meeting between a group of Sligon's Vikings and a black-clad knight. Valiant is discovered by the Vikings, but with cleverness and improvisation he manages to elude his pursuers. During his flight, Valiant runs into Sir Gawain. After Valiant convinces Gawain that he is indeed the son of Aguar, Gawain listens to the prince's story of the mysterious Black Knight, a knight known only by rumor in Camelot. He takes Valiant to King Arthur. Arthur decrees that Valiant be trained as a prospective knight by undergoing the rigors of a squire's training. One of Arthur's knights, Sir Brack, offers to take him on, but Valiant is instead made squire to Sir Gawain.

Brack offers to take Valiant to the place where the young prince has seen the Black Knight in order to backtrack the mysterious figure. Once there, they separate, but shortly afterwards Valiant is ambushed by a group of bowmen and escapes with an arrow in his back. He stumbles into the territory of King Luke and is taken in by his daughters, Aleta and Ilene. Aleta and Valiant fall in love, but Luke disapproves of Valiant's Viking origin; so their relationship must remain a secret. From Aleta, Valiant also learns that Ilene is secretly attracted to Sir Gawain.

Valiant returns to Camelot and discovers to his shock that Gawain tried to find him, also ran into an ambush by the Black Knight, and barely escaped with his life. Noting that Sir Brack had disappeared around the same time, Valiant becomes suspicious but on the advice of Gawain and with no evidence he takes no action.

Drive-in advertisement from 1954.

Some time later, Aleta and Ilene attend a tournament held in Camelot in their honor. As an added prize, the victor of the tournament will win Aleta's hand. Sir Gawain, who fancies Aleta, is too seriously wounded to participate. Valiant dons Gawain's armor in order to win Aleta, but fails to win his joust and is unmasked. Another contender appears and wins the bout before falling off his horse. This knight is revealed to be to be Gawain, who has reopened his earlier wound. Awakening on his sickbed, Gawain beholds Aleta and falls head over heels in love with her. Out of respect for his patron, Valiant does not tell him it is Ilene who loves him, not Aleta.

For the presumption of a squire fighting a knight – and in borrowed armor, no less – Valiant is confined to his quarters and forced to tend his wounded knight. A mysterious messenger comes to the castle to see Brack, and the same night Aguar's seal ring is thrown through the window of Gawain's chambers. Realizing that his parents are in trouble, Valiant immediately leaves Camelot, leaving a bewildered Aleta behind. But as he prepares to return to his home he is ambushed and captured by Sligon's Vikings and the Black Knight, who reveals himself as Sir Brack. Brack has made a pact with Sligon: For delivering Aguar's family, Sligon will aid him in conquering Camelot and becoming the King of Britain.

Shortly Aleta, unwilling to let Valiant run off, arrives and is captured. The two are brought to Scandia, where Sligon prepares to execute them and Valiant's captured parents. However, a group of Christian Vikings, led by Aguar and Valiant's old friend Boltar stage a revolt.

Boltar infiltrates the castle to assassinate Sligon. Valiant escapes his cell and teams up with him, who orders Valiant give the attack signal to their fellow Vikings once Sligon has fallen. But Valiant is discovered before Boltar manages to kill Sligon; and during his struggle with a guard a false signal is given, causing the Christian Vikings to attack too soon. As the situation turns grim for the Christian Vikings, Valiant sets several parts of the castle ablaze, breaching the wall and throwing the defenders into confusion. He then slays Sligon in single combat and retrieves his father's sword.

Some time later, Valiant returns to Camelot with Aleta and accuses Sir Brack of treachery before the King and the assembled Round Table knights. Sir Brack calls for a trial by combat, which King Arthur by law must allow. Despite Gawain's protest it is not mete to fight for a knight to fight a squire and his offer to fight in Valiant's stead, the young prince accepts the challenge. After a long fight, Valiant succeeds in killing the traitor. He offers Aleta to his liege lord; but during the long period of worry about them, Sir Gawain had finally learned the truth. While consoling each other over the presumed loss of Valiant and Aleta, he and Ilene fell in love. Gawain joins the hands of Aleta and Valiant, and gives them his blessing to wed.

In the end, having redeemed his honor by exposing the traitor, Valiant is made a full-fledged Knight of the Round Table by King Arthur.

Cast

Production

20th Century Fox obtained the rights to the comic strip after MGM allowed their option to lapse. The film was the idea of producer Robert Jacks, the son-in-law of Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck. Fox bought the rights to eight years of published comic strip stories, but adapted only a 1937 storyline.[5]

In December 1952 Henry Hathaway was assigned as director.[6] Medieval swashbucklers had been an experiencing a recent surge of popularity since the success of MGM's Ivanhoe (1952). Hathaway later called Jacks "a beach bum surfer" and did the film only as a personal favour for Zanuck. "I didn't particularly care one way or the other and the film looked it," said Hathaway.[7]

In March 1953 Robert Wagner was cast to star in the title role.[8] He had his hair cut to match that in the comic strip. The actor later joked "Dean Martin passed me on the lot and thought I was Jane Wyman".[9]

Shot in CinemaScope,[10] the film - along with The Robe - would be the studio's biggest production of the year, with a budget of $3 million. Michael Rennie was going to play King Arthur and Robert Newton Bolthar. Hathaway and producer Robert Jacks left for England in April to scout locations.[11] Eventually, neither Rennie or Newton would appear in the final film.

The castle was constructed at a cost of $83,000. The castle battle sequence cost $250,000.[12] Filming started July 7, 1953 on the Fox backlot although Hathaway shot background footage in Scotland from April through to June. The shoot took until November 1953.[13]

A sequel, Valiant and Aleta dealing with Valiant's married life with Aleta, was planned[14] but never produced.

Reception

Box Office

According to contemporary reports the film made $2.6 million in North America, which did not recoup its reported cost of $2.9 million.[3]

Critical

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that the film was a faithful adaptation of the comic strip, and that the best part were the epic action scenes. He observed that the film would satisfy younger viewers.[15] Variety wrote: "Although the picture comes in a bit overlength at 100 minutes, the direction and Dudley Nichols' scripting combine to bring it off acceptably against some rather dazzling settings, including authentic castles actually lensed in England".[16] A rave review in Harrison's Reports called it "one of the most exciting and thrilling action-filled romantic adventure melodramas ever brought to the screen", and called Wagner "a human dynamo" in the title role.[17] John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote in a negative review of the film that "as it flounders about, it cuts some unintentionally comic capers that might amuse you if you are feeling amiable ... Prince Valiant is played by Robert Wagner, who reads his lines in a vacant monotone and wears a long Dutch bob and a jerkin with the skittish air of a man trying to be funny in a lady's hat".[18] The Monthly Film Bulletin declared, "Judged as an articulated comic strip, the film is intermittently amusing; by any other standards, it is merely a tasteless costume-piece".[19]

References
  1. "Prince Valiant – Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  2. Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p248
  3. 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1954', Variety Weekly, January 5, 1955
  4. Freese, Gene Scott (April 10, 2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary (2nd ed.). McFarland & Company. p. 75. ISBN 9780786476435.
  5. R.D.M. (Sep 22, 1953). "CinemaScope Chosen For Comic Strip Hollywood Letter". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 7.
  6. THOMAS M. PRYORS (Dec 9, 1952). "GUNPLAY IN TEXAS ON FILM SCHEDULE: Dana Andrews and Randolph Scott Set for Hard Shooting, Riding in New Pictures". New York Times. p. 43.
  7. Eyman, Scott (September–October 1974). "'I made movies' an interview with Henry Hathaway". Take One. p. 12.
  8. THOMAS M. PRYOR (Mar 26, 1953). "IDA LUPINO ENTERS DISTRIBUTION FIELD: She and Collier Young Set Up Filmakers Releasing Unit With Outlets in 29 Cities". New York Times. p. 36.
  9. Jim Bawden (Aug 4, 1985). "Wagner does it all in high style Lime Street is suave Robert Wagner's fourth series. He's sure it will be a hit and he should know. He's calling all shots". Toronto Star. p. G1.
  10. THOMAS M. PRYORS (Jan 29, 1953). "FOX SLATES 2 FILMS WITH NEW PROCESS: ' Prince Valiant' and 'Princess of Nile' Will Be Made for 3-Dimensional Screening". New York Times. p. 24.
  11. Hopper, Hedda (Apr 2, 1953). "Looking at Hollywood: Olivia de Havilland Off This Week for Europe". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. c5.
  12. WILLIAM H. BROWNELL Jr. (Nov 1, 1953). "COMICS COME ALIVE". New York Times. p. X7.
  13. "'Dream Wife' Due Friday". Los Angeles Times. 15 July 1953. p. A6.
  14. Louella O. Parsons (Mar 27, 1954). "'Prince Valiant' to Have Sequel". The Washington Post and Times-Herald. p. 43.
  15. Crowther, Bosley (April 7, 1954). "The Screen in Review; 'Prince Valiant' Comes to the Roxy Theatre". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  16. "Prince Valiant". Variety: 6. April 7, 1954.
  17. "'Prince Valiant' with James Mason, Robert Wagner and Janet Leigh". Harrison's Reports: 55. April 3, 1954.
  18. McCarten, John (April 10, 1954). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. pp. 93–94.
  19. "Prince Valiant". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 21 (245): 86. June 1954.
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