King Richard and the Crusaders | |
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Theatrical poster
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Directed by | Oren W. Haglund (assistant director) |
Produced by | Henry Blanke |
Written by |
John Twist Sir Walter Scott |
Starring |
Rex Harrison Virginia Mayo George Sanders Laurence Harvey Robert Douglas Michael Pate Paula Raymond Lester Matthews Anthony Eustrel Henry Corden Wilton Graff Nejla Ates Nick Cravat |
Narrated by | Lester Matthews |
Music by | Max Steiner |
Cinematography | J. Peverell Marley |
Edited by | Irene Morra |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date
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Running time
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114 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3,000,000 (estimated) |
Box office | $2,100,000 (USA) |
King Richard and the Crusaders , also known as The Talisman, is a 1954 historical drama film made by Warner Bros. It was directed by David Butler and produced by Henry Blanke from a screenplay by John Twist based on Sir Walter Scott's novel The Talisman. The music score was by Max Steiner and the cinematography by J. Peverell Marley. This was Warner Bros.' first essay into CinemaScope. The film stars Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders and Laurence Harvey, with Robert Douglas, Michael Pate and Paula Raymond. King Richard and the Crusaders was listed in the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time.
In 1191, King Richard the Lionheart, along with several other European monarchs, is in the Holy Land intent on retaking Jerusalem from the Saracens. There is much infighting and outright treachery in the European encampment however. Two nobles in particular, Sir Giles Amaury and Conrad of Montferrat, want to eliminate the English king and attempt to have him assassinated. Severely wounded and on his deathbed, Richard is brought back to health by a Saracen doctor recruited by one of his loyal knights, Sir Kenneth of Huntington. The king recovers from his wounds but when he hears that Sir Kenneth wishes to marry Lady Edith Plantagenet, the knight is banished only to be taken in by the very doctor who treated the king and who has an altogether different identity.