Quentin Durward (1955) It took a lifetime of catching up with classic movies, but we finally got around to checking out this long forgotten MGM Cinemascope swashbuckler......based, like their more famous 1952 costume pageant "Ivanhoe", on yet another novel by Sir Walter Scott.
And sufferin' swordplay! We couldn't believe how much this one surprised and delighted us, in all sorts of ways........
First off, it's a man-out-of-his-time story. It's 1465 and Scottish knight Quentin Durward (Roberrt Taylor at his sturdiest) is already an ancient anachronism, a hero raised as a chivalrous, Lancelot-like champion of the defenseless.
In the 15th century, Durward knows he a lone decent brave soul in a changing European landscape of greedy tyrants and political alliances and adversaries that shift faster than the blowing winds.
In the midst of all this treachery, he's sent to France by his aging uncle to scope out the uncle's future, wedding-of-convenience bride, the young beautiful Countess Isabelle (that live-wire redhead comedienne Kay Kendall, who tragically died young of leukemia)
Of course Durward falls hard for Isabelle. No time for smooching though, as the two of them find themselves caught in the middle of nefarious power grabs by the imperious Duke Of Burgundy (Alex Clunes) who's pitted against his equally wily and double-dealing cousin, King Louis XI (a wonderfully sly Robert Morley)
Then the chases and swordfights are on, with Isabelle and Durward taking on a entire black-clad gang of creeps led by the foul (boo! hiss!) Count De La Marck (Duncan Lamond).
Here's what surprised us: Robert Ardrey's screenplay is so peppered with sharp wit, we started to think MGM might have meant this to be a spoof of swashbucklers, a la their Judy Garland-Gene Kelly musical "The Pirate".
Instead of the usual MGM backlot pageantry and parading, this film fills the wide screen with picture postcard views of actual French castles......and they're a sight to behold.
The comedy relief here raises the film even higher, with Robert Morley's deadpanned duplicity counterbalanced by Wilfred Hyde-White as his minion-barber.....whom he knows he can trust since his minion holds a razor as his throat every morning....
Even more stuff we loved.......a eye-catching long shot of Kendell fleeing through a field of windblown grass, pursued by Taylor. And in place of those usual massive pitched battles, the action here involves only Taylor taking on hordes of villains.....(yells one of them "How many are you? Snaps Taylor, "How many do you want?")
Best of all (and this moment knocked our socks off).....a literally ring-a-ding battle between Durward and De La Marck as they wield ax and sword against each other while swinging from bell ropes in a burning tower. These guys know how to really ring each others bells......
Loads of fun, tons of well staged action and in the words of our favorite drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs....as least one head rolls.....throw in a rip-roarin' symphonic score by Bronislau Kaper and you've got what we call a 4 star (****) treat.
For a refreshing change of pace, we'd recommend that one night skip Quentin Tarantino and try "Quentin Durward" instead.
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