''The Gallant Blade'' is a 1948 American

Cinecolor Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two-color motion picture process that was based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and the 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by Henry Levin and starring

Larry Parks Samuel Lawrence Klausman Parks (December 13, 1914 – April 13, 1975) was an American stage and film actor. His career arced from bit player and supporting roles to top billing, before it was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been ...

as a

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

hero of France in the 17th century after the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

Cast

as Lt. David Picard *

Marguerite Chapman Marguerite Chapman (March 9, 1918 – August 31, 1999) was an American film and television actress. Biography Born in Chatham, New York, Chapman was working as a telephone switchboard operator in White Plains, New York when her good looks br ...

as Nanon de Lartigues *

Victor Jory Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer N ...

as Marshall Mordore *

George Macready George Peabody Macready Jr. (August 29, 1899 – July 2, 1973) was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains. Early life Macready was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August 29, 1899. He graduated ...

as General Cadeau *

Edith King Edith King (1896– February 24, 1973) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Edith King was born Edith Keck, daughter of John Keck, in White Haven, Pennsylvania in 1896. She first visited a theater when she was 14, and decided the ...

as Madame Chauvignac *

Michael Duane William Michael Duane (26 January 1915 – 21 January 1997) was an Irish born, British teacher known for his progressive educational views, his belief in inclusivity and a multi-racial approach, his encouragement of informal relationships betwee ...

as Paul Brissac *

Onslow Stevens Onslow Stevens (born Onslow Ford Stevenson; March 29, 1902 – January 5, 1977) was an American stage, television and film actor. Early years Born in Los Angeles, California, Stevens was the son of British-born character actor Houseley Ste ...

as General de la Garance *

Peter Brocco Carl Peter Brocco (January 16, 1903 – December 20, 1992) was an American screen and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 credits, notably ''Spartacus'' (1960) and '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), during his career spanning over 60 ...

as Sgt. Jacques *Tim Huntley as Mayor Lanier *Ross Ford as Henri

Production

Columbia announced in 1945 they would make ''The Gallant Blade'' based on a short story by

Alexander Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer. ...

. It was to be a follow up to ''

The Fighting Guardsman ''The Fighting Guardsman'' is a 1946 American adventure film directed by Henry Levin. It was a swashbuckler starring Willard Parker based on a novel by Alexander Dumas. Plot A French baron (Willard Parker) leads rebels like a Robin Hood, steal ...

''. It was part of a boom in swashbuckling pictures in 1945. The film was not made immediately. In 1947

Irving Starr Irving Starr (1905–1982) was an American film producer.Hischak p.244 He worked for a number of studios including MGM, Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures, generally employed on lower-budget films. Later in his career he also worked in tele ...

was announced as producer and

Charles Vidor Charles Vidor (born Károly Vidor; July 27, 1900June 4, 1959) was a Hungarian film director. Among his film successes are ''The Bridge'' (1929), ''The Tuttles of Tahiti'' (1942), ''The Desperadoes'' (1943), ''Cover Girl'' (1944), '' Together A ...

as director. Then Vidor was replaced by Henry Levin.

was signed to star. He had just made a swashbuckler for Columbia, '' The Swordsman'', then initiated legal proceedings against the studio in July to get out of this contract with them. Parks had refused payment since then; he agreed to be paid for ''The Gallant Blade'' on the proviso it did not affect his legal actions. Filming started 1 December 1947. It was also known as ''The Gay Blade''.

References

External links

* * 1948 films American swashbuckler films Films directed by Henry Levin Films set in the 17th century Films set in France American historical adventure films 1940s historical adventure films Columbia Pictures films Cinecolor films 1940s American films {{adventure-film-stub