The Dark Avenger

Plot

Edward, Prince of Wales, son and heir to his father King Edward III of England, leads an English army to the French province of Aquitaine to protect the inhabitant from the ravages of the French. After defeating the French in battle, the defeated French plot to kill the prince. Failing in this, they kidnap his lady, the lovely Lady Joan Holland. Of course Prince Edward has to ride to the rescue, adopting numerous guises to save his paramour, which ultimately end in him leading his men into one final climactic battle against the French.

Cast

Production

The film was originally known as The Black Prince.

It was the prestige production for Allied Artists in 1953-54, a co-production with Associated British Pictures, to be filmed in England, shot in CinemaScope and Technicolor. It was personally produced by Walter Mirisch, who was production head of Allied Artists at the time. Mirisch had developed the project with Dan Ullman.

The use of CinemaScope saw 20th Century Fox became involved as partners in production and distribution on the movie, as part of an arrangement between it and Allied Artists. (It was a two-picture arrangement, the other film being The Adventures of Haji Baba). Allied Artists took Western Distribution Rights, Fox took Eastern. This enabled the studios to share costs, and for Allied to take advantage of Fox's superior distribution system in foreign countries when it came to handling CinemaScope films. It also enabled them to afford Errol Flynn in the lead role.

Joanne Dru was also imported to play the female lead; Peter Finch was cast as the main villain. Henry Levin was chosen to direct on the basis of several swashbuckling movies he had made for 20th Century Fox and Columbia. The film was reported to be the biggest undertaking in Allied Artists history.

Filming started on 2 August 1954. It mainly took place at Elstree Studios, using a castle constructed by MGM for Ivanhoe (1952).

Flynn made the film shortly after his proposed movie of William Tell had fallen over and was in bad need of funds. Walter Mirisch wrote in his memoirs that Flynn shaved off his moustache in preproduction to make him look younger; Mirish did not agree and arranged for the script to include Flynn growing his moustache back. The producer said that Flynn's drinking frequently held up the production, with the actor occasionally drinking during takes and being unable to remember his lines.

"He also did not look well in the picture," wrote Mirisch. "His face was puffy and he was clearly too old for the role, but I hoped careful photography might offset that. It didn't. Before we started to shoot, I asked him to diet and hopefully lose some weight, which he didn't do. There were only traces left of the face, physique and charm that he had brought to The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk and all those other great adventure films of his youth."

Reception

According to The New York Times, the film is "corn...every step of the way. But this Allied Artists presentation ... holds three assets that render it at least palatable. Number one, photographed (by Guy Green) in color at England's Elstree Studios, with a spanking array of period castles and costumes cluttering the lovely countryside, it all looks quite fetching. Number two, it moves. Finally—perhaps as a consequence—the familiar, history-laden plot unwinds with a surprising lack of pretentiousness for this type of film. Peeled of its vintage trappings, however, the picture would play—indeed, does—like the mouldiest kind of Western, the one about the noble cowboy who routs the greedy land barons (French), saving the land for the settlers and papa (His Majesty, King Edward I)."

The Los Angeles Times called it "an inferior but colorful swashbuckler."