1952 – Ivanhoe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ivanhoe – 1952

I went into watching this movie having already seen it once before, and that was after I had already read the book.  The story is great.  The film has plenty of complex character development, fast-paced and exciting action, and lots of great sets and costumes.  It is just a lot of fun to watch.

Robert Taylor stars as the title character Ivanhoe, son of a wealthy land owner, Cedric, played by Finlay Currie.  The film starts as Ivanhoe is searching for the missing King Richard, the Lionhearted.  He is supposedly Richard’s bravest and most loyal knight, most skilled in battle and tournament.  He finds Richard locked in an Austrian prison with a ransom of 150,000 marks of silver.  He starts making plans to raise the ransom to set his king free.

But we all know the story.  The Normans, led by Richard’s evil brother Prince John, oppress Richard’s Saxon subjects, keeping them down and trying to seize the throne of England for themselves.  In challenge, Ivanhoe enters a jousting tournament to draw out his enemies, but fails!  He takes on the four best Norman knights and unhorses three of them.  But the fourth one, Sir Brian De Bois-Guilbert, excellently played by George Sanders, almost kills him!

The story smacks a little of Robin Hood, doesn’t it?  Well, it should.  It takes place during the same historical period.  In fact, the character of Robin Hood is a part of the plot, though he is called only Locksley.

Joan Fontaine plays Ivanhoe’s love interest, Rowena, Cedric’s ward.  I actually loved the way Rowena’s character was written.  She loved Ivanhoe, but also understood that he had duties of danger and honor.  She knew that because of them, he could not always be safely at her side, even when that meant rescuing another beautiful maiden who she knew to be in love with him.  She trusted him and was not so jealous as to forbid him to have any contact with her.

That other woman was the Jewess, Rebecca, played by the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor.  The secondary plot of the film involved Rebecca’s father, Isaac, played by Felix Aylmer.  Ivanhoe saves Isaac’s life and in return, he agrees to use all his resources and contacts to raise King Richard’s ransom.  And lest I forget, I have to mention the wonderful portrayal of the court jester who becomes Ivanhoe’s faithful squire, Wamba, played by Emlyn Williams.  Surprisingly enough, his character is actually killed off during an act of heroism.

Now, one of the really big themes in the original novel, written by Sir Walter Scott, was the oppression of the Jews.  They were treated like homeless vagabonds and looked down upon as money-grubbers.  I am happy that the film did not shy away from the subject of the negative stereotype.  On top of that, they made the incredibly popular Elizabeth Taylor play one of the wrongly oppressed race.  I have to give them props for including the touchy subject, which, in its way, was just as relevant in the 1950s as it was in 1194, when the story takes place.

The fighting sequences were certainly exciting, though the director tried to add a little more intensity by speeding up the film during a few of the sword fights.  Sure, it made the sword-play faster and dazzling, but it was obvious and looked unnatural.  The siege of the castle of Front de Boeuf was amazingly well done.

And though I wouldn’t have expected to enjoy it as much as the battle, I really enjoyed the jousting tournament scene and the final contest between Ivanhoe and his arch enemy, De Bois-Guilbert.  You see, the characters were so well written, that even though De Bois-Guilbert was the obvious bad guy, he was portrayed as a somewhat noble character.  He falls in love with Rebecca and is willing to give up everything, including his life to save her.

And that is why Ivanhoe was such a good movie.  The good guys were not flawless.  The bad guys were partly noble.  The Jews were selfless.  The maidens were smart without being sassy.  The jester is not just comic relief.  Everything seemed to fly in the face of the typical Hollywood stereotype.  Well done, Ivanhoe.  Well done.