The Black Rose
5.2 /10 1 Votes
43% Rotten Tomatoes Genre Adventure, History, War Screenplay Talbot Jennings Country United States | 6.3/10 IMDb Director Henry Hathaway Music director Richard Addinsell Duration Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date 1 September 1950 Based on The Black Rose (novel) Writer Talbot Jennings (screenplay), Thomas B. Costain (novel) Cast Tyrone Power (Walter of Gurnie), Orson Welles (Bayan), Cecile Aubry (Maryam), Jack Hawkins (Tristram Griffin)Similar movies Orson Welles and Tyrone Power appear in The Black Rose and Prince of Foxes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The black rose 1950 trailer
The Black Rose is a 1950 20th Century Fox Technicolor film starring Tyrone Power and Orson Welles, loosely based on Thomas B. Costain's book. It was filmed partly on location in England and Morocco which substitutes for the Gobi Desert of China. The film was partly conceived as a follow-up to the movie Prince of Foxes, and reunited the earlier film's two stars.
Contents
Talbot Jennings' screenplay was based on a popular novel of the same name by Canadian author Thomas B. Costain, published in 1945, introducing an anachronistic Saxon rebellion against the Norman aristocracy as a vehicle for launching the protagonists on their journey to the Orient.
It was nominated for Best Costumes-Color at the 23rd Academy Awards (Michael Whittaker).
Plot
The story takes place in England two centuries after the Norman Conquest (about 1300ce). Saxon scholar Walter of Gurnie is the illegitimate son of the Earl of Lessford and has been dispossessed of his inheritance by his father's Norman widow. After joining a group of Saxons who free hostages held by Lessford, Walter is forced into exile when he is recognized.
Walter flees England, accompanied by his friend Tristram Griffen, a Saxon archer, and sets out to make his fortune in Cathay during the times of Pax Mongolica. Walter seeks the patronage of Mongol warlord General Bayan of the Hundred Eyes and agrees to fight for him.
The "Black Rose" of the title is the beauteous Maryam, a half-English, half-Mongol girl who has escaped from the harem Bayan is escorting to China. Disguised as a servant boy, she travels with Walter and Tristram in the caravan. Maryam loves Walter but he is too interested in his adventure to pay her any attention. Tristram doesn't like all the killing and decides to get away. He takes Maryam with him, because she wants to go to England.
Bayan sends Walter on a mission to see the Yuan Empress of China. When he arrives he is told that he must stay in China as their 'guest' for the rest of his life. Then he finds Tristram and Maryam were also captured and imprisoned. During this time, Walter realizes he loves Maryam. The three of them decide to escape. Tristram dies. The small boat in which Maryam is waiting for Walter in drifts away before Walter can catch her. Walter returns to England alone.
Walter is welcomed back by the Norman King Edward because of all the cultural and scientific knowledge (including gunpowder) he has brought back from China. The king knights Walter and grants him a coat of arms. Two Mongol emissaries from Bayan show up. They have brought The Black Rose to England to join Walter there.
Cast
Reception
Trade papers called the film a "notable box office attraction" in British cinemas in 1950.
Controversy
There are stories regarding a 40 second scene in the movie where the bodies of two Moroccan peasants can be seen hanging from a tree. The two bodies were said to be offered to the movie director by a French colonel called Louis Morin (or Moran) due to his admiration for actor Orson Welles. The movie was shot in Morocco, which was colonized by French troops at the time.
References
The Black Rose WikipediaThe Black Rose IMDbThe Black Rose Rotten TomatoesThe Black Rose themoviedb.org