''The Black Shield of Falworth'' is a 1954 American

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 ...

film from

Universal-International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, produced by Robert Arthur and Melville Tucker and directed by

Rudolph Maté Rudolph Maté (born Rudolf Mayer; 21 January 1898 – 27 October 1964) was a Polish-Hungarian-American cinematographer, film director and film producer who worked as cameraman and cinematographer in Hungary, Austria, Germany, France and the Unite ...

. It stars

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

Janet Leigh Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, ...

, David Farrar,

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...

, and

Torin Thatcher Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher (15 January 1905 – 4 March 1981) was a British actor who was noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains. Personal life Thatcher was born in Bombay, British India, to British parents, Torin James Blair T ...

. The screenplay, set in

Medieval England England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the medieval period, from the end of the 5th century through to the start of the Early Modern period in 1485. When England emerged from the collapse of the Roman Empire, the econ ...

, was adapted by

Oscar Brodney Oscar Brodney (February 18, 1907 – February 12, 2008) was an American lawyer-turned- screenwriter. He is best known for his long association with Universal Studios, where his credits included ''Harvey'', '' The Glenn Miller Story'' (1954), seve ...

and is based on

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

's 1891 novel '' Men of Iron''. The original music score was composed by Hans J. Salter although his name does not appear in the screen credits. The only musical notation is given as: "Music Supervision by

Joseph Gershenson Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

". Made Universal's music department head in 1940, Gershenson's name appeared on nearly every film made by that studio from 1949-1969. The film was Universal-International's first feature made in CinemaScope. It opened in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

on October 6, 1954 at the Loew's State Theater. It was the second of five feature films in which husband and wife Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh appeared together on screen during their marriage (1952-1961).

Plot

Myles Falworth (

) and his sister Meg ( Barbara Rush) live in obscurity on a farm in Crisbey-Dale with their guardian Diccon Bowman ( Rhys Williams). This is to protect them from the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

placed upon their family by King Henry IV of England ( Ian Keith) because their father has been (falsely) accused of treason and murdered by the Earl of Alban ( David Farrar). When a hunting party comprising the Earl of Alban, the lord of Crisbey-Dale, and another nobleman, Sir Robert, stop at their farm for refreshment, they are repulsed by Myles, who stops them from molesting his sister. This confrontation accelerates Diccon's plans to send them to

Mackworth Castle Mackworth Castle was a 14th- or 15th-century structure located in Derbyshire, at the upper end of Mackworth village near Derby. The home for several centuries of the Mackworth family, it was at some point reduced to the ruins of a gatehouse sug ...

in Derbyshire (based on the eponymous castle), so that they can come under the protection of William, The Earl of Mackworth (

), a close friend of Myles and Meg's father. In Myles he sees the man who can finally rid England of the evil machinations of the Earl of Alban. Myles is first trained to be a squire, then as a knight, and is finally knighted by the king. He is successful in killing the Earl of Alban in a

trial by combat 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 ...

, foiling Alban's attempt to seize the English crown. Myles, having fallen in love with the Earl of Mackworth's daughter while staying at the castle, is finally able to propose marriage to the Lady Anne (

) after he has proven his mettle. The Earl gives his hearty consent, and the two families are joined.

Cast

False quotation

The film is famous for an apocryphal line, attributed to Tony Curtis and rendered as "Yonda stands da castle of my fodda" or similar. The plot details above show that this would not fit the story: there is no "castle of my father". The line is said to have come from a remark made by Debbie Reynolds on television. ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine attributed the line to Curtis while performing in the 1951 film ''

The Prince Who Was a Thief ''The Prince Who Was a Thief'' is a 1951 American adventure film directed by Rudolph Mate and starring Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie. A technicolor swashbuckler, it was the first film Curtis featured in as a star. It was produced and distributed b ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Shield Of Falworth 1954 films American historical adventure films 1950s historical adventure films Films based on American novels Films based on romance novels Films set in castles Films set in the 15th century Films directed by Rudolph Maté Universal Pictures films Films set in Derbyshire Films scored by Hans J. Salter CinemaScope films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films