September 8, 2022

This is my kind of film! A good old Robin Hood style adventure yarn with Tyrone Power on decent form as the dashing "Walter of Gurnie". He falls foul of the new Norman hierarchy in England and so with his skilful archer friend "Tris" (Jack Hawkins) signs up with the formidable warrior "Bayan" (a wonderfully hammy Orson Welles) and heads off for some escapades that take the two to the glitter court of Kublai Khan where they hope to make their fort… read the rest.

This is my kind of film! A good old Robin Hood style adventure yarn with Tyrone Power on decent form as the dashing "Walter of Gurnie". He falls foul of the new Norman hierarchy in England and so with his skilful archer friend "Tris" (Jack Hawkins) signs up with the formidable warrior "Bayan" (a wonderfully hammy Orson Welles) and heads off for some escapades that take the two to the glitter court of Kublai Khan where they hope to make their fortune. It's not a great film, this, no - the plot is an hybrid of loads of other stories, but the cast are clearly having fun here and I found it rather contagious. There are intrigues a-plenty, with plenty of arrows whistling about and a gently simmering romance with "Maryam" (Cécile Aubry) keeping it ticking over too. It is far, far, too long - indeed at times it comes across as just a bit too episodic but there is a degree of entertaining chemistry between Power and Hawkins and a solid supporting cast of familiar faces to keep the swash buckling. Henry Hathaway does manage to get everyone pulling in the same direction, it's a colourful and jolly romp through English history with some Oscar winning costume design, a jolly score from Richard Addinsell and messy and derivative as it is, I still rather enjoyed it.

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