''Adventures of Sir Galahad'' is the 41st serial released in 1949 by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. Directed by

Spencer Gordon Bennet Spencer Gordon Bennet (January 5, 1893 – October 8, 1987) was an American film producer and director. Known as the "King of Serial Directors", he directed more film serials than any other director. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Benne ...

, it stars

George Reeves George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952–1958). His death at age 45 from a g ...

Nelson Leigh Nelson Leigh (born Sydney Talbot Christie; January 1, 1905 – July 3, 1985) was an American motion picture actor of the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Born in Mississippi, Leigh was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Christie. He was a graduate ...

, William Fawcett,

Hugh Prosser Hugh Prosser (March 2, 1907 – November 8, 1952) was a Hollywood actor who appeared in over 90 films between 1936 and 1953. A native of Illinois, Prosser was a versatile supporting performer particularly adept at playing unscrupulous villain ...

, and

Lois Hall Lois Grace Hall (August 22, 1926 – December 21, 2006) was an American actress. Early years Hall was born on August 22, 1926, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the daughter of Lois Grace (née Lambert), a teacher, and Ralph Stewart Hall, a businessm ...

. It was based on

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

, one of the very few serials of the time with a

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

setting that was not a

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Plot

The Arthurian film cycle started with the ''Adventures of Sir Galahad'' serial. In this version, the youth

Galahad Sir Galahad (), sometimes referred to as Galeas () or Galath (), among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of S ...

, trying to emulate his father

Sir Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

, wants fervently to be admitted to the

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...

order. When he defeats

Sir Bors Bors (; french: link=no, Bohort) is the name of two knights in Arthurian legend, an elder and a younger. The two first appear in the 13th-century Lancelot-Grail romance prose cycle. Bors the Elder is the King of Gaunnes (Gannes/Gaunes/Ganis) du ...

and

Sir Mordred Mordred or Modred (; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a figure who is variously portrayed in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he ...

in tournament,

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

agrees to knighthood, but only if Galahad can guard

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...

for one night. Unfortunately, during that night the sword is stolen by a mysterious personage known only as the

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...

. Possession of Excalibur makes the holder invincible and without it the sovereignty of Arthur is endangered. Galahad is refused knighthood until the sword is found. Galahad, aided by Sir Bors, is hindered in his quest by Ulric, the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

King, who invades England, and by

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

the

magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

, who harasses our hero at every turn. Galahad suspects that the Black Knight is a traitor within

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

who seeks the throne in alliance with the Saxons, while

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morg e, Morgant Morge , and Morgue namong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful ...

, Arthur's half sister and also a magician, helps him fight both Merlin's magic and the Saxons.

Cast

as Sir Galahad. In the opinion of Cline, Reeves makes this a superior serial to ''

Son of the Guardsman ''Son of the Guardsman'' is an American film serial released in 1946 by Columbia Pictures. It was the 31st of the 57 serials produced by that studio. ''Son of the Guardsman'' is a rare serial with a period setting, in this case 12th century Englan ...

'', another period serial made by the same studio. *

as King Arthur *

William Fawcett William or Bill Fawcett or ''variation'', may refer to: People * William Fawcett (actor) (1894–1974), American actor who was awarded the ''Légion d'honneur'' * William Fawcett (author) (1902–1941), English journalist and writer on horses, hun ...

as Merlin, the Magician *

as Sir Lancelot *

as Lady of the Lake * Charles King as Sir Bors * Pat Barton as Morgan le Fay * Don Harvey as Bartog, Ulric's Aide * Jim Diehl as Sir Kay *

Marjorie Stapp Marjorie Stapp (September 17, 1921 – June 2, 2014) was an American actress who was mainly in low-budget pictures. Biography Stapp began her film career when she signed a contract with the film studio 20th Century-Fox in the 1940s. Her fir ...

as Queen Guinevere *

John Merton John Merton (born Myrtland F. LaVarre; February 18, 1901 – September 19, 1959) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1927 and 1959, mostly as a villain. He was the brother of filmmaker André de la Varre an ...

as Ulric, the Saxon King *

Pierce Lyden Pierce W. Lyden (January 8, 1908 – October 10, 1998) was an American actor best known for his work in television and film Westerns. Early life Lyden was born in a sod house on a ranch near Hildreth, Nebraska on January 8, 1908. The son of a hor ...

as Cawker *

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during ...

as The Black Knight (voice)

Chapter titles

# The Stolen Sword # Galahad's Daring # Prisoners of Ulric # Attack on Camelot # Galahad to the Rescue # Passage of Peril # Unknown Betrayer # Perilous Adventure # Treacherous Magic # The Sorcerer's Spell # Valley of No Return # Castle Perilous # The Wizard's Revenge # Quest for the Queen # Galahad's Triumph _Source:

Production

''The Adventures of Sir Galahad'' was based on Arthurian myth and legend, a setting that gave it "unique" opportunities for a serial.

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers. Ea ...

said he was prompted to make it after reading a 1948 article which said

J. Arthur Rank Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank (22 December 1888 – 29 March 1972) was a British industrialist who was head and founder of the Rank Organisation. Family business Rank was born on 22 or 23 December 1888 at Kingston upon Hull in England into ...

wanted to make a film about the Arthurian legend. "King Arthur and his knights are important to our kids," said Katzman. "I knew what would happen. If Rank made the picture there would be too much history and not enough action and that would spoil it all. So I decided to make ''The Adventures of Sir Galahad''." Katzman elected not to feature the Holy Grail because "we don't want religious complications" and said there was some romance but not too much as "the kids don't want too much romance. We just suggest that Galahad might work something out later on."

References

External links

* *
Cinefania.comeMoviePoster.comSerial-Experience.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures Of Sir Galahad 1949 films 1940s fantasy adventure films 1940s English-language films Arthurian films American fantasy adventure films Columbia Pictures film serials American black-and-white films Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton 1940s American films