Movie review - "Ivanhoe" (1952) **1/2

The enormous success of Quo Vadis revived Robert Taylor's career and saw him cast in a series of big budget adventure spectaculars in which you could unanimously say his performances were "OK". 

You don't think of Taylor when discussing the great 50s swashbucklers, like Errol Flynn, Stewart Granger, Doug Fairbanks Jnr, or even Cornel Wilde, Louis Hayward, Richard Greene and Tony Curtis - all of whom were alive when this film was made, and all of whom would have been better as Ivanhoe. The non-casting of Granger is especially bewildering as he was under contract to MGM at the time and had just hit big in King Solomon's Mines - maybe there was a scheduling problem or something.

Of course, Taylor had just made Quo Vadis, so who knows. George MacDonald Fraser once argued that Taylor did make a contribution of a kind to these movies, a"stern but gentle good natured-ness" or something. I guess that's true - it's not much of a contribution. You do get used to him, he suits the beard - but you just wish it had been someone else.

Anyway, taken from Sir Walter Scott's novel, Ivanhoe has a very simple plot. It's set during the Middle Ages and Ivanhoe returns from the Crusades to raise money for Richard I's ransom. You might be thinking "hang on - wasn't that Robin Hood's job?" - and sure enough Robin turns up to help out Ivanhoe, only as a supporting actor which is kind of weird.

I don't know how Robin reconciles his stealing-from-the-rich-to-give-to-the-poor with the raising-money-for-Richard thing - maybe he charges a "ransom tax". He borrows most of the money off a Jewish family, gets kidnapped, gets rescued, and fights the baddy in a duel to save Elizabeth Taylor from being burned as a witch. Then Richard arrives to make things right.

Ivanhoe has no character (its not Taylor's fault) - no humour, or rebellious swagger even seemingly much interest in what is going on, he is brave and dutiful and that is pretty much it. (The best swashbucklers eg Robin Hood, Zorro, were far more rebellious). The character of Rowena (Joan Fontaine) does nothing in the story - I mean nothing. OK she helps count the money towards the end and is kidnapped and looks smug when Ivanhoe picks her over Rebecca (Elisabeth Taylor).

Rebecca is a far more interesting character - not only is she better looking, she's actually useful: she's the one who raises money for Ivanhoe, makes him better when he is injured, and gets put on trial. And she loses the guy at the end!

The Jewish factor in this story does give it a tang. Even more interesting is the "villain" Sir Boris (George Sanders, wonderful presence and voice - NB the sound design on this is very good with great drum sand swords and stuff - but not really the physically believable in the sword fights in the way say Basil Rathbone or Robert Douglas were) - he's really just an efficient hired hand for King John, but he falls for Rebecca and has this beautiful moment where he's willing to give it all up for her. Jeffrey Richards points out in his book on swashbucklers that the character isn't really done justice in the writing or playing to which I'd tentatively agree (you really could have made something of this) but he's still the most interesting character on screen, certainly more so than Ivanhoe and Rowena. Sanders and Liz Taylor are what keep the film going.

Most of the time watching this I couldn't help but think what a better movie The Adventures of Robin Hood was, a similar show piece extravaganza. Richard Thorpe's direction is a bit pedestrian, lacks the leads, and the supporting cast is irritatingly erratic - while there are some good performers, eg Felix Aylmer, and I got used to the actor who plays King John, others are just nothings (eg the guy who plays Robin).

The whole film lacks a bit of magic and seems to have been made by people who lack a real feel for its topic (cf David O Selznick's version of The Prisoner of Zenda). Having said that once it gets to the siege of the castle it starts to improve - this fight is a good sequence, as is the earlier joust and the final duel. And it certainly ticks boxes for a colourful kiddy town medieval movie: there's a damsel in distress (actually two), evil knights, good knights, minstrels, witch trials, the throwing down of the gauntlet, jousts, trial by combat, chivalry (I love the "referees" during the final fight - if you do something chivalrous you get shot by an arrow! Certainly a lot tougher than the mid-week judiciary), castles with drawbridges and moats and people who pour cauldrons of rocks down the side, sieges with ladders.

 

I was going to give it three stars - but at the ending Richard I just rocks up with his troops, no intro or build up, just arrives in deux ex machina style and I thought "stuff it, no". Still some fun - just could have been so much better.