Circa the 14th century, Saxon scholar Walter (Tyrone Power) returns to his father's estate after the old man has passed. Walter's Norman stepmother has him exiled after he aids other Saxons in rescuing some of their brethren from wrongful imprisonment. Walter, accompanied by archer Tristram (Jack Hawkins), travels to the Far East, where they join the army of Mongol conqueror Bayan (Orson Welles). Walter and Tristram end up helping captured French girl Maryam (Cecile Aubry), who had been placed into Bayan's huge harem.
Filmed on location in England and Morocco, this film features impressive sets, costumes, and large crowd scenes. However, it lacks focus of story, or a compelling arc for any of the characters. The film's first quarter, featuring the simmering hatred between the Saxons and the Normans, could have made for its own film, but it gets dropped once the characters leave, only to be touched on a superficial manner at the end. When all is said and done, not a lot happens in the movie, despite running 2 hours in length.
Tyrone Power is okay as the hero, sporting a militaristic, high-on-the-sides haircut. I liked Jack Hawkins as his archer sidekick. Orson Welles, who literally just did this for the quick paycheck to help pay for his troubled Othello, is wasted. Cecile Aubry, a young French actress that Fox had big plans for, is irritating and the weakest link in the cast. The producers wanted Leslie Caron, and Aubry is a Caron type, but even more annoying (I'm not a Caron fan). Her child-like features also render the romantic scenes uncomfortable, at best.
One notable oddity in the cast is Alfonso Bedoya as a Chinese-descent retainer of Herbert Lom's trader character. Bedoya, best known for his "Stinking badges!" scene in Treasure of the Sierra Madre, is here dubbed by a then-unknown-in-the-US British radio comedian named Peter Sellers. It was Sellers first screen work. The movie earned an Oscar nomination for Best Color Costume Design.
Filmed on location in England and Morocco, this film features impressive sets, costumes, and large crowd scenes. However, it lacks focus of story, or a compelling arc for any of the characters. The film's first quarter, featuring the simmering hatred between the Saxons and the Normans, could have made for its own film, but it gets dropped once the characters leave, only to be touched on a superficial manner at the end. When all is said and done, not a lot happens in the movie, despite running 2 hours in length.
Tyrone Power is okay as the hero, sporting a militaristic, high-on-the-sides haircut. I liked Jack Hawkins as his archer sidekick. Orson Welles, who literally just did this for the quick paycheck to help pay for his troubled Othello, is wasted. Cecile Aubry, a young French actress that Fox had big plans for, is irritating and the weakest link in the cast. The producers wanted Leslie Caron, and Aubry is a Caron type, but even more annoying (I'm not a Caron fan). Her child-like features also render the romantic scenes uncomfortable, at best.
One notable oddity in the cast is Alfonso Bedoya as a Chinese-descent retainer of Herbert Lom's trader character. Bedoya, best known for his "Stinking badges!" scene in Treasure of the Sierra Madre, is here dubbed by a then-unknown-in-the-US British radio comedian named Peter Sellers. It was Sellers first screen work. The movie earned an Oscar nomination for Best Color Costume Design.