Medieval Times Double Feature: ‘The Black Shield Of Falworth’ And ‘Knights Of The Teutonic Order’

Let the jousting begin with this double dose of knightly cinema:

Rudolph Maté‘s The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)

Myles (Tony Curtis) and Meg (Barbara Rush) have never been told who their father was, yet it’s because of this anonymous father that they are taken in by the Earl of Mackworth (Herbert Marshall) when they need a place to stay. Myles is supposed to train as a squire. Meg is assigned to the kitchens, but neither proves very good at following orders.

When Myles’ skills with a sword make him a candidate for knighthood despite his unknown origins, the question then becomes whether he can control his temper long enough to succeed, all while secretly courting Mackworth’s daughter, Lady Anne (Janet Leigh).

Curtis’ athleticism gets put to full use as his character can’t stay out of a fight to save his life, but it’s Leigh who really shines, both in Rosemary Odell‘s costumes and in a role that allows her to showcase her comedic timing. A surprise standout is Craig Hill as Myles’ best friend and biggest ally, Francis, whose romantic pairing with Myles’ sister feels more convenient than anything else. That decision to give Myles a sister is an interesting one and could’ve been built up even more (especially after it’s established she has the family temper) but sadly, she gets ultimately sidelined in favor of Myles and Anne. With more time and care, this film could’ve had two power couples instead of one, but Marshall and Dan O’Herlihy (as the fake drunk Prince Hal) provide plenty of political intrigue courtesy of Oscar Brodney‘s screenplay (which adapts Howard Pyle‘s novel, Men Of Iron).

Aleksander Ford‘s Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960)

Knights of the Teutonic Order isn’t the first period drama to show religious corruption or Christians committing horrible acts in the name of religion, but it is wild sometimes to see how differently the church can be portrayed depending on the movie. For instance, there’s the classic portrayal you see in Black Shield of Falworth where Myles and Meg seek refuge in a church when Myles first runs afoul of some gentlemen. Meanwhile, the Teutonic Order are the unequivocal bad guys in this Polish historical drama – constantly given the benefit of the doubt because of their status and the expectation that, as Christians, they should be on the side of God, but their actions don’t reflect that.

Whether there was a Zbyszko (Mieczyslaw Kalenik) or a Jurand of Spychów (Andrzej Szalawski) is where the fiction comes into play (though it is funny that both of these movies feature a man with an eyepatch, though maybe eye injuries were more common in medieval times) but the Battle of Grunwald was real and Professor Anna Misiak‘s booklet essay is extremely helpful for providing historical context as well as some background on the film’s director, Ford.

At almost three hours long, Knights of the Teutonic Order keeps moving, but despite having the extras to be convincing, the fight choreography is on the careful and considered side and not always filmed to its benefit, in closeups instead of pulled back so you can see full body shots. While Zbyszko technically has the young male hero role, he’s not given the centrality that Curtis is given in Black Shield.

Also, while there are two featured female roles, they both suffer for different reasons. Grazyna Staniszewska‘s Danusia gets little to do while Urszula Modrzynska‘s Jagienka is forced to wait in the wings and is very Eowyn-coded (for any Lord of the Rings fans out there) without the Eowyn story arc.

It is really cool to see another country’s take on an epic film and that time period from a different national perspective. Adding to this release is Michael Brooke‘s 45-minute video essay on ‘superprodukcje’ (or Polish blockbusters), which is stacked with clips and Brooke’s amazing know-how.

The Black Shield of Falworth is available on Blu-ray from Universal Studios and can be purchased from Movie Zyng. Knights of the Teutonic Order is available on all-region Blu-ray from Second Run.