''The Castilian'' (in Spanish ''El valle de las espadas'') is a 1963
independently made biographical film
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
drama in
Eastmancolor
Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak.
Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...
, produced by
Sidney W. Pink
Sidney W. Pink was an American film producer and occasional director. He has been called the father of feature-length 3-D movies. He is also noted for producing early Spaghetti Westerns and low-budget science-fiction films, and for his role in act ...
, directed by
Javier Setó
Javier Setó (1926–1969) was a Spanish screenwriter and film director.
Selected filmography
* ''Forbidden Trade'' (1952)
* '' Bronze and Moon'' (1953)
* ''Bread, Love and Andalusia'' (1958)
* ''Pelusa'' (1960)
* ''The Castilian'' (1963)
* '' The ...
, that stars
Cesar Romero
Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years.
His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...
,
Frankie Avalon
Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...
,
Broderick Crawford
William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Willie Stark in ''All t ...
,
Alida Valli
Alida Maria Laura, ''Freiin'' Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg (31 May 1921 – 22 April 2006), better known by her stage name Alida Valli (or simply Valli), was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films in a 70-year career, s ...
, Espartaco Santoni,
Tere Velázquez
María de los Ángeles Teresa de Jesús Villar Dondé, better known as Tere Velázquez (; 8 March 1942 – 7 January 1998) was a Mexican actress. She appeared in 86 films and television shows between 1957 and 1996. She starred in the film ...
,
Fernando Rey
Fernando Casado Arambillet (La Coruña (Spain), 20 September 1917 – Madrid (Spain), 9 March 1994), best known as Fernando Rey, was a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States. A suave, i ...
, and
Soledad Miranda
Soledad Rendón Bueno (9 July 1943 – 18 August 1970), better known by her stage names Soledad Miranda or Susann Korda (or sometimes Susan Korday), was an actress and pop singer who was born in Seville, Spain. She starred in several erotic th ...
. ''The Castilian'' was distributed in the U.S. by
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...
. All of film's exteriors were shot in
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...
and
Peñafiel (Valladolid), Spain.
The film's storyline concerns
Fernán González of Castile
Fernán González (died 970) was the first autonomous count of Castile. Fernán González was a colourful character of legendary status in Iberian Peninsula, Iberia, and founder of the dynasty that would rule a semi-autonomous Castile, laying the ...
, the first independent
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
of
Castile, who lived and reigned in the early 10th century. He is considered an important figure in the Spanish
Reconquista
The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
.
Plot
Don Sancho (
Broderick Crawford
William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Willie Stark in ''All t ...
) is a despotic 10th century castilian king who, in league with the invading
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
, has banished handsome Castilian nobleman Fernán González (Espartaco Santoni). With the surreptitious aid of Don Sancho's daughter, Sancha (
Tere Velázquez
María de los Ángeles Teresa de Jesús Villar Dondé, better known as Tere Velázquez (; 8 March 1942 – 7 January 1998) was a Mexican actress. She appeared in 86 films and television shows between 1957 and 1996. She starred in the film ...
), Fernán González assembles an army to march against the Moors.
Cast
*
Cesar Romero
Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years.
His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...
as Jerónimo
*
Frankie Avalon
Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...
as Jerifán
*
Broderick Crawford
William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Willie Stark in ''All t ...
as Don Sancho
*
Alida Valli
Alida Maria Laura, ''Freiin'' Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg (31 May 1921 – 22 April 2006), better known by her stage name Alida Valli (or simply Valli), was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films in a 70-year career, s ...
as Reina Teresa
* Espartaco Santoni as
Fernán González Fernan or Fernán is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Fernán Blázquez de Cáceres, Spanish nobleman
* Fernán Caballero (1796–1877), Spanish novelist
* Fernando Fernán Gómez (1921–2007), Spanish actor ...
*
Tere Velázquez
María de los Ángeles Teresa de Jesús Villar Dondé, better known as Tere Velázquez (; 8 March 1942 – 7 January 1998) was a Mexican actress. She appeared in 86 films and television shows between 1957 and 1996. She starred in the film ...
as Sancha
*
Fernando Rey
Fernando Casado Arambillet (La Coruña (Spain), 20 September 1917 – Madrid (Spain), 9 March 1994), best known as Fernando Rey, was a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States. A suave, i ...
as
Ramiro II of León
Ramiro II (c. 900 – 1 January 951), son of Ordoño II and Elvira Menendez, was a King of León from 931 until his death. Initially titular king only of a lesser part of the kingdom, he gained the crown of León (and with it, Galicia) after s ...
*
Soledad Miranda
Soledad Rendón Bueno (9 July 1943 – 18 August 1970), better known by her stage names Soledad Miranda or Susann Korda (or sometimes Susan Korday), was an actress and pop singer who was born in Seville, Spain. She starred in several erotic th ...
as Maria Estevez
Production
The film was known during production as ''The Valley of the Swords''. Linda Darnell was supposed to star in the film but had to bow out and was replaced by Alida Valli.
Comic book adaption
*
Dell
Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies.
Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
Movie Classic: ''The Castilian'' (January 1964)
See also
*
list of historical drama films This is an index of lists of historical films.
By country of origin
* List of Estonian war films
* List of Polish war films
* List of Romanian historical films
* List of Russian historical films
* List of Vietnamese historical films
By era
* ...
References
External links
*
*
*
1960s historical films
Spanish historical films
1963 films
Films set in the 10th century
Films set in Spain
Spanish biographical films
Films directed by Javier Setó
Films adapted into comics
Films produced by Sidney W. Pink
1960s biographical films
English-language Spanish films
1960s English-language films
1960s Spanish films
{{1960s-Spain-film-stub