Ivanhoe (1952 film)
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''Ivanhoe'' is a 1952
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-
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adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...
directed by
Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Biography Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, Richard Thorpe began his en ...
and produced by
Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal Pictures durin ...
for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
. The film was shot in
Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
, with a cast featuring Robert Taylor,
Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
,
Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...
,
George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...
,
Emlyn Williams George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor. Early life Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flintsh ...
,
Finlay Currie William Finlay Currie (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television.McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; He re ...
, and
Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early ...
. The screenplay is written by
Æneas MacKenzie Aeneas MacKenzie, or Æneas MacKenzie (August 15, 1889 in Stornoway, Scotland – June 2, 1962 in Los Angeles), was a Scottish-American screenwriter. MacKenzie wrote many notable Hollywood films, including: ''The Private Lives of Elizabeth ...
, Marguerite Roberts, and
Noel Langley Noel Langley (25 December 1911 – 4 November 1980) was a South African-born (later naturalised American) novelist, playwright, screenwriter and director. He wrote the screenplay which formed the basis for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'' an ...
, based on the 1819 historical novel ''
Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...
'' by
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
. The film was the first in what turned out to be an unofficial trilogy made by the same director, producer, and star (Robert Taylor). The others were ''
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 ...
'' (1953) and ''
The Adventures of Quentin Durward ''The Adventures of Quentin Durward'', known also as ''Quentin Durward'', is a 1955 British historical film released by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The screenplay was by Robert Ardrey, adapted by Geo ...
'' (1955). All three were made at
MGM-British Studios MGM-British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially established (as MGM London Films Denham) at Denham Film Studios in 1936. It was in limbo during the Second World War; however, following the end of hostilities, a facility was acquired ...
at
Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...
, Herts, near London. In 1951, the year of production, one of the screenwriters, Marguerite Roberts, was
blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
by the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
, and MGM received permission from the
Screen Writers Guild The Screen Writers Guild was an organization of Hollywood screenplay authors, formed as a union in 1933. In 1954, it became two different organizations: Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East. Founding Screenwriter ...
to remove her credit from the film, which has since been restored.


Plot

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
, the
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
King of England, vanishes while returning from the
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
. One of his knights, 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 ...
Wilfred of Ivanhoe, searches for him, finally finding him being held by Leopold of Austria for an enormous ransom. Richard's treacherous brother, Prince John, knows about it but does nothing, enjoying ruling in his absence. Back in England, Ivanhoe, pretending to be a minstrel, meets Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert and Sir Hugh de Bracy, two of Prince John's Norman supporters. When the Norman party seeks shelter for the night, Ivanhoe leads them to Rotherwood, the home of his father, Cedric the Saxon. Cedric welcomes the knights coldly while Ivanhoe sneaks into the chamber of the Lady Rowena, Cedric's ward, and they kiss. Later, in private, Ivanhoe pleads with Cedric to aid in raising the ransom of 150,000 marks of silver to free Richard, but Cedric wants no part of helping any Norman. When Ivanhoe leaves, Wamba, Cedric's
jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...
, asks to go with him and is made his squire. Later, the two men rescue the Jew, Isaac of York, another guest of Cedric's, from two Norman soldiers. Shaken, Isaac decides to return home to
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
. Ivanhoe escorts him there. Isaac's daughter Rebecca gives Ivanhoe jewels, without her father's knowledge, to buy a horse and armour for an important
jousting Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament (medieval), tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying t ...
tournament at
Ashby Ashby may refer to: People * Ashby (surname) * Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby (1267–1314), governor of Rockingham Castle and steward of Rockingham Forest, England * Walter Ashby Plecker (1861–1947), American physician and publi ...
. Many nobles are at the tournament, including Prince John. The Norman knights Brian de Bois-Guilbert, Hugh de Bracy, Front de Boeuf, Philip de Malvoisin and Ralph de Vipont defeat all Saxon comers. Then a mysterious Saxon knight appears, arrayed all in black, his face hidden behind his
helm Helm may refer to: Common meanings * a ship's steering mechanism; see tiller and ship's wheel * another term for helmsman * an archaic term for a helmet, used as armor Arts and entertainment * Matt Helm, a character created by Donald Hamilton * ...
. He declines to reveal his name, but challenges all five Normans. He easily defeats Malvoisin, Vipont and Front de Boeuf, one after the other. When Ivanhoe salutes Rebecca, Bois-Guilbert is immediately smitten by her beauty. While Ivanhoe bests Bracy, he is seriously wounded in the shoulder. By this point, his identity has been guessed by his father and
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
. In the last bout against Bois-Guilbert, Ivanhoe falls from his horse. He is carried off, to be tended to by Rebecca. Ivanhoe is taken to the woods under the protection of Robin Hood. The other Saxons make for the city of
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, but are captured and taken to the castle of Front de Boeuf. When Ivanhoe hears the news, he gives himself up in exchange for his father's freedom. However, Bois-Guilbert treacherously keeps them both. Robin Hood's men storm the castle. In the fighting, Front de Boeuf drives Wamba to his death in a burning part of the castle and is slain in turn by Ivanhoe. The defence crumbles. Bois-Guilbert alone escapes, using Rebecca as a human shield; de Bracy is captured when he attempts to do the same with Rowena. The enormous ransom is finally collected, but the
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
face a cruel choice: free either Richard or Rebecca, for Prince John has set the price of her life at 100,000 marks, the Jews' contribution. Isaac chooses Richard. Cedric takes the ransom to Leopold of Austria, while Ivanhoe promises Isaac that he will rescue Rebecca. At Rebecca's trial, she is condemned to be
burned at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
as a
witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
, but Ivanhoe appears and challenges the verdict, invoking the right to "
wager of battle Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...
." Prince John chooses Bois-Guilbert as the court's champion. Bois-Guilbert makes a last, desperate plea to Rebecca, offering to forfeit the duel in return for her love, though he would be forever disgraced. She refuses, saying, "We are all in God's hands, sir knight." In the duel, Ivanhoe is unhorsed, but manages to pull Bois-Guilbert from his horse and mortally wound him with a
battle axe A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-ha ...
. As he lies dying, Bois-Guilbert tells Rebecca that it is he who loves her, not Ivanhoe. Rebecca acknowledges this to Rowena. King Richard and his knights arrive to reclaim his throne. Prince John grudgingly kneels before his brother. Richard then calls on his kneeling people to rise, not as Normans or Saxons, but as Englishmen.


Cast

* Robert Taylor as Ivanhoe *
Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
as Rebecca *
Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...
as Rowena *
George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...
as De Bois-Guilbert *
Emlyn Williams George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor. Early life Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flintsh ...
as Wamba - and Narrator (uncredited) * Robert Douglas as Sir Hugh de Bracy *
Finlay Currie William Finlay Currie (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television.McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; He re ...
as Cedric *
Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early ...
as Isaac *
Francis De Wolff Francis Marie de Wolff (7 January 191318 April 1984) was an English character actor. Large, bearded, and beetle-browed, he was often cast as villains in both film and television. Life and career Born in Essex, he made his film debut in '' Flam ...
as Front de Boeuf *
Norman Wooland Norman Wooland (16 March 19053 April 1989) was an English character actor who appeared in many major films, including several Shakespearean adaptations. Wooland was born in Düsseldorf, Germany to British parents. During the Second World War he ...
as King Richard *
Basil Sydney Basil Sydney (23 April 1894 – 10 January 1968) was an English stage and screen actor. Career Sydney made his name in 1915 in the London stage hit ''Romance'' by Edward Sheldon, with Broadway star Doris Keane, and he costarred with Keane in ...
as Waldemar Fitzurse *
Harold Warrender Harold John Warrender (15 November 1903 – 6 May 1953) was a British stage, film and television actor, and radio presenter. His father was Sir George Warrender, 7th Baronet. His mother was Lady Ethel Maud Ashley Cooper, a singer and patro ...
as Locksley/Robin Hood *
Patrick Holt Patrick Holt (31 January 1912 – 12 October 1993) was an English film and television actor. Biography Born Patrick G. Parsons in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Holt spent some of his childhood in India with his uncle, after which he was sent ...
as Philip de Malvoisin * Roderick Lovell as Ralph de Vipont * Sebastian Cabot as Clerk of Copmanhurst *
John Ruddock John Ruddock (20 May 1897 – 24 September 1981) was a Peruvian-born British film and television actor. John Ruddock was born on 20 May 1897 in Lima, Peru as John Reynolds Ruddock. He was the first of seven children of his British father and Ame ...
as Hundebert * Michael Brennan as Baldwin *
Megs Jenkins Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins (21 April 1917 – 5 October 1998) was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes. Life and career Jenkins was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, the daughter of a construction ...
as Servant to Isaac *
Valentine Dyall Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear'' ...
as Norman Guard * Lionel Harris as Roger of Bermondsley *
Carl Jaffe Carl Jaffe (21 March 1902 – 12 April 1974) was a German actor. Jaffe trained on the stage in his native Hamburg, Kassel and Wiesbaden before moving to Berlin, where his career began to develop. In 1933 Jaffe changed his stage name to Fran ...
as Austrian Monk *
Guy Rolfe Guy Rolfe (born Edwin Arthur Rolfe, 27 December 1911 – 19 October 2003) was a British actor. Career Rolfe was born in Kilburn, London. Before turning to acting at the age of 24 he was a professional boxer and racing driver, making his stage ...
as Prince John *
May Hallatt May Hallatt (born Marie Effie Hullatt; 1 May 1876 – 20 May 1969) was an English actress, born in Scarborough. Baptised at St Michael on the Mount, Lincoln, on 13 Jan 1884 she was the daughter of William Henry Hallatt, actor, and Carrie Sydney ...
as Elgitha (uncredited) * Robert Brown as Castle Guard at Torquilstone (uncredited) * Martin Benson as Jewish Delegate (uncredited) *
Jack Churchill John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill, (16 September 1906 – 8 March 1996) was a British Army officer who fought in the Second World War with a longbow, a Scottish broadsword, and a bagpipe. Nicknamed "Fighting Jack Churchill" and "Mad Jack" ...
as Archer on the walls of Torquilstone (uncredited)


Production

In 1951, the film's main scriptwriter, Marguerite Roberts, was ordered to appear before the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
, where she and her husband, John Sanford, cited the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions about whether they had been members of the
American Communist Party The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
. Consequently, they were both
blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
, and MGM received permission from the
Screen Writers Guild The Screen Writers Guild was an organization of Hollywood screenplay authors, formed as a union in 1933. In 1954, it became two different organizations: Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East. Founding Screenwriter ...
to remove Roberts' credit from the film. It would take nine years before she was allowed to work in Hollywood again. (Roberts had already completed another screenplay for an MGM film, ''The Girl Who Had Everything''. It was released early in 1953, but she wasn't credited.) Scenes were filmed on soundstages at
MGM-British Studios MGM-British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially established (as MGM London Films Denham) at Denham Film Studios in 1936. It was in limbo during the Second World War; however, following the end of hostilities, a facility was acquired ...
,
Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...
, Herts, and on location at
Doune Castle Doune Castle is a medieval stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling council area of central Scotland and the historic county of Perthshire. The castle is sited on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith. It ...
, Scotland. Both the
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire ...
tournament and the Torquilstone Castle siege were shot on the large Borehamwood backlot. Woodland scenes were shot in
Ashridge Ashridge is a country estate and stately home in Hertfordshire, England in the United Kingdom. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about north of Berkhamsted and north west of London. The estate com ...
Forest, Herts and Bucks. The studio hired
Jack Churchill John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill, (16 September 1906 – 8 March 1996) was a British Army officer who fought in the Second World War with a longbow, a Scottish broadsword, and a bagpipe. Nicknamed "Fighting Jack Churchill" and "Mad Jack" ...
, a British Second World War army officer (renowned for going into battle carrying a Scottish broadsword, longbow and bagpipes), to appear as an archer, shooting from the walls of Warwick Castle.


Music

Miklós Rózsa Miklós Rózsa (; April 18, 1907 – July 27, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer trained in Germany (1925–1931) and active in France (1931–1935), the United Kingdom (1935–1940), and the United States (1940–1995), with extensi ...
's score is one of his most highly regarded, and it received both Academy Award and
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nominations. However, the composer was deeply disappointed with the film's treatment of Scott's novel, as he explained in his 1982 autobiography: In an interview with
Bruce Duffie The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...
in 1987 Rózsa identified some of these medieval sources:
The various themes in ''Ivanhoe'' are partly based on authentic Twelfth Century music, or at least influenced by them. Under the opening narration I introduced a theme from a ballad actually written by Richard the Lionhearted. The principle Norman theme I developed from a Latin hymn by the troubadour
Giraut de Bornelh Giraut de Bornelh (; c. 1138 – 1215), whose first name is also spelled Guiraut and whose toponym is de Borneil or de Borneyll, was a troubadour connected to the castle of the viscount of Limoges. He is credited with the formalisation, if not the ...
. This appears the first time with the approaching Normans in Sherwood Forest. Later during the film it undergoes various contrapuntal treatments. The love theme for Ivanhoe and Rowena is a free adaptation of an old popular song from the north of France. The manuscript of this I found in a collection of songs in the
Royal Library of Brussels Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...
. It's a lovely melody, breathing the innocently amorous atmosphere of the middle ages, and I gave it modal harmonizations. Rebecca needed a Jewish theme, reflecting not only the tragedy of this beautiful character but also the persecution of her race. Fragments of medieval Jewish motives suggested a melody to me. My most difficult job was the scoring of the extensive battle in the castle because the producers wanted music to accompany almost all of it. I devised a new theme for the Saxons, along with a motive for the battering ram sequence, thereby giving a rhythmic beat which contrapuntally and polytonally worked out with the previous thematic material, forming a tonal background to this exciting battle scene. Scoring battles in films is very difficult, and sadly one for which the composer seldom gets much credit. The visuals and the emotional excitement are so arresting that the viewer tends not to be aware that he or she is also being influenced by what is heard.
Rózsa was, however, mistaken or misremembering if he believed the
Giraut de Bornelh Giraut de Bornelh (; c. 1138 – 1215), whose first name is also spelled Guiraut and whose toponym is de Borneil or de Borneyll, was a troubadour connected to the castle of the viscount of Limoges. He is credited with the formalisation, if not the ...
melody he used was a "Latin hymn". While ''Reis glorios, verais lums e clartatz'' opens by invoking the divine ("Glorious King, true light and clarity"), it is a secular
Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...
''alba'' or dawn-song, in which the narrator is keeping guard while his friend is spending the night with another man's wife or mistress.


Reception


Box office

''Ivanhoe'' was released in the summer of 1952. It opened at the
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...
in New York City on July 31, 1952 and set an opening week record at the Hall with a gross of $177,000. In its opening 39 days, the film took $1,310,590 at the box office, setting a new record for an MGM film. According to the studio records, it made $5,810,000 in the US and Canada and $5,086,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $2,762,000. It was MGM's biggest earner for 1952 and one of the top four money-makers of the year. It was also the fourth most popular film in England in 1952.


Critical reception

Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal Pictures durin ...
,
Freddie Young Frederick A. Young (9 October 1902 – 1 December 1998) was a British cinematographer. He is probably best known for his work on David Lean's films ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965) and ''Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), all th ...
, and Miklós Rózsa were nominated for
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, for
Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
, Best Cinematography, Color, and Best Music, Scoring, respectively. In addition, Richard Thorpe was nominated by the
Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
, USA, for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures. There were also two
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nominations: Best Film Promoting International Understanding and Best Motion Picture Score, for Miklós Rózsa.
Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
, film critic for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', wrote that "Producer Pandro S. Berman and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have fetched a motion picture that does them, Scott and English history proud" and delivered "almost as fine a panorama of medievalism as Laurence Olivier gave us in ''Henry V''."


Differences from Scott's novel

* The film omits the characters Gurth the Swineherd, Athelstane of Coningsburgh, Ulrica of Torquilstone, Lucas Beaumanoir (Grand Master of the Templars) and Prior Aymer of Jorvaulx, while it introduces a company of crusaders who do not appear in the novel. Ivanhoe's early injuries are rapidly healed, and he plays a very active part during the siege of Torquilstone Castle. Unlike the novel, King Richard is not involved until the final scene, when he and his crusader knights ride in. In the novel, Rebecca is tried and sentenced by the Templars, not by Prince John. * At the beginning of the novel, Ivanhoe has arrived in England disguised as a
palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...
, a pilgrim returning from Palestine. In the film he is posing as a troubadour. * In the film, Ivanhoe surreptitiously kills two Normans during the siege of Torquilstone. He stabs a sentry in the back with a dagger and shoots a squire in the back with a crossbow bolt. Nothing similar happens in the novel, in which Ivanhoe is the epitome of chivalry—in Chaucer's phrase, "a very perfect gentle knight". (Both incidents were dropped from the comic book versions, below.) * De Bois-Guilbert is represented as a Norman knight, not as a Knight Templar. (The Templars were military monks, bound by a rule of celibacy. There is no reference to the Templars in the film.) * De Bois-Guilbert is killed by Ivanhoe in the film, rather than of natural causes in the novel. * In the film, like de Bois-Guilbert, de Bracy is a Norman knight who has returned from the Crusades. In the novel, he is one of Prince John's mercenaries or Free Companions. * Ivanhoe assumes the role of the Black Knight (the disguised King Richard in the novel) as well as the Disinherited Knight. He also assumes the role of the minstrel Blondel, the legendary discoverer of the location of King Richard's imprisonment, who does not appear in the novel. * In the film, a ransom is collected for Richard. When the novel opens, Richard has already been ransomed. * Wamba (in whom the book's characters of Wamba and Gurth are combined) does not die in the novel, but does in the film. * In the novel, Locksley is revealed to be Robin Hood and the Clerk of Copmanhurst Friar Tuck. In the film, their true identities are never mentioned. In fact, the clerk appears as a layman, not a churchman. However, Sebastian Cabot's clerk is made up to resemble the Friar Tuck played by
Willard Louis Willard Louis (April 19, 1882 – July 22, 1926) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1911 and 1926. He was born in San Francisco, California. Louis had an art studio before he be ...
in the 1922 film ''
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
'', starring Douglas Fairbanks.


Comic book adaptions

* '' Fawcett Movie Comic'' #20 (December 1952). 32 pages in full color plus covers, artist unknown * ''
Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
'' (Weekly comic magazine,
Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...
, London) #177, 28 June 1952 - #197, 15 November 1952. 21 issues, 42 pages in full colour. Drawn by
Patrick Nicolle Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...
.


See also

*
List of American films of 1952 A list of American films released in 1952. '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. A-B C-G H-J K-N O-R S-Z Serials Shorts and documentaries See also * 1952 in the United States References Externa ...


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanhoe (1952 Film) 1952 films 1950s adventure drama films American adventure drama films 1950s English-language films American swashbuckler films Robin Hood films Films based on Ivanhoe Films set in the 12th century Films set in country houses Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Richard Thorpe Films produced by Pandro S. Berman Films scored by Miklós Rózsa Films adapted into comics Cultural depictions of Richard I of England Cultural depictions of John, King of England 1952 drama films Films with screenplays by Noel Langley Films shot at MGM-British Studios 1950s American films