Ivanhoe/The Knights of the Round Table

While not as famous as his contemporaries, like Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, Robert Taylor was still a sizable star of Old Hollywood, and one who can legitimately be recognized for three distinct periods of his long career spanning over three decades. Upon arriving on the scene in the mid 1930’s, he was cast primarily due to his matinee idol good looks, most notably starring alongside Greta Garbo in “Camille”. When World War II broke out, Taylor became very active in the efforts at home, starring in one of the most popular and realistic films of its time, “Bataan”, before joining the Naval Air Corps in 1943. For the next three years, at the peak of his career, Taylor taught flight schools and even managed to rely on his film experience, directing several training videos. Upon returning to Hollywood he found himself in the middle of the on-going House Un-American Committee’s Communist “witch hunt”, causing headlines by being one of the biggest “friendly” witnesses called by the prosecution. The 1950’s saw an older, more refined Taylor step into more dignified roles, such as “Quo Vadis” and two of his biggest hits for MGM (his longtime studio), “Ivanhoe” and its de facto sequel “Knights of the Round Table”. Three solid decades of work in Hollywood, all for MGM, saw him go from matinee idol, to Army proponent, to stoic leading man, and while he continued working into the 1960’s, his output declined and died in 1969 after a bout with lung cancer. Despite his long, illustrious body of work, Taylor dabbled in different genres, never making a true name for himself as Flynn and Power were able to do. Instead he is lumped in with actors like Ray Milland and John Garfield, solid actors who never really distinguished themselves enough to make “history” take notice, which is a shame since “Ivanhoe” and “Knights of the Round Table” are such fine entries in the period swashbuckler sub-genre. Typical lush productions by MGM, shot in vibrant Technicolor and populated with strong supporting casts (Joan Fontaine, Elizabeth Taylor, George Sanders, Mel Ferrer, Ava Gardner), both films were directed by capable studio hand Richard Thorpe and were smash hits for the studio, which saw the quality and returns of their non-musical films begin to decline in the 1950’s, the first sign that the glory days were coming to an end for the legendary studio.

“Ivanhoe”, the first of Taylor’s two smash swashbucklers, begins with Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe roaming the mountainsides of Europe, in search of King Richard, who on his way back to England after the Crusades is abducted and held ransom in Austria. Ivanhoe finds him and learns that Richard’s brother John, who is wearing the crown in his brother’s absence, is refusing to pay the ransom to maintain his position as sovereign. A deep political rift exists between the two factions in England, the “conquering” Normans, who are currently in power, and the “native” Saxons, who represent deposed nobility (like Ivanhoe and his father, Sir Cedric) and the common folk, such as rabble rouser Sir Robin of Locksley. Ivanhoe seeks help from his estranged father, who disowned him when he joined the Crusades against his wishes and despite the attempt at mediating by Cedric’s ward and Ivanhoe’s beloved, Lady Rowena, Ivanhoe is turned away by Cedric without any help with the ransom. Fate brings Ivanhoe upon Isaac of York, the main banker for the Jews of England and in exchange for religious freedom which he grants them in Richard’s name, they agree to help pay the ransom from amongst the Jewish community. Ivanhoe also plans on raising support for his cause by defeating the Saxon nobles in a jousting tournament Prince John is hosting, and this is where the first encounter between Ivanhoe and the conniving Brian de Bois Gilbert (played with a suitable snarl by the great George Sanders) takes place. Armored as the mysterious black knight, Ivanhoe defeats all Saxon challengers, until he is knocked off his horse by Bois Gilbert in a close contest. Ivanhoe is seriously injured in the match and is taken to the home of Isaac, where he is cared for by his lovesick daughter, Rebecca (an impossibly beautiful nineteen year old Elizabeth Taylor). While he is being cared for, Prince John learns of Ivanhoe’s plans and has his father, Rowena, Rebecca and Isaac captured and imprisoned in Bois Gilbert’s castle. With the help of Robin Hood, Ivanhoe leads an assault on the castle (Ivanhoe fighting from within after a botched prisoner exchange, and Robin Hood’s archers advancing from outside in a stunning scene), freeing Cedric, Rowena and Isaac, but losing Rebecca to the lustful Bois Gilbert, who escapes with her. Prince John, in an attempt to win back the people, plots to have Rebecca killed for witchcraft and alleging Richard was in league with the Jews and their black magic; however Ivanhoe offers his life in battle against the King’s champion, to clear her name. Prince John names Bois Gilbert, and the two have a vicious fight, in which Ivanhoe ultimately emerges victorious. Rebecca is freed and the ransom Ivanhoe raised with the help of the Jews frees Richard, who returns to his country amidst great pomp (both on screen and off, thanks to Miklos Rozsa’s pounding score).

Filmed almost immediately after, and largely due to the success of “Ivanhoe”, “Knights of the Round Table” takes the now familiar tale based on Thomas Mallory’s “La Morte D’Artur” and gives it the sweeping epic 1950’s Technicolor treatment. Reuniting Robert Taylor, not as Arthur, but as the noble yet doomed knight Lancelot, and his director, Richard Thorpe, the film was shot on gorgeous location in England and Ireland, and features a strong supporting cast including the ravishing Ava Gardner as Guinevere, Mel Ferrer as Arthur, Stanley Baker as the villainous Mordred and from “Ivanhoe”, Felix Aylmer as the wise sage Merlin. The story, which seems so redundant now, was fresh and new to audiences of the time as a dramatic interpretation of the events featuring such pop culture touchstones as Camelot and Excalibur had never been done to such an expensive extent. In the early going, Arthur is simply one of many embattled chieftains, fighting for a united Britain, which has been in divided chaos since the Romans left. As illegitimate son of Uther Pendragon, the last recognized king; his claim to the throne is challenged, most adamantly by Mordred, who is aligned with Arthur’s half sister Morgan Le Fay. Desperately seeking to unite Britain, through bloodshed if he must, Arthur, with the help of Merlin and Lancelot, who arrives early on from France seeking to aid Arthur in his noble quest, defeats his combined enemies in an epic (especially for the time) battle and sees his dream realized. Arthur sets up court at Camelot and rules benevolently with his queen, Guinevere. Directly under Arthur’s nose, however, Lancelot and Guinevere begin a clandestine love affair. While Mallory’s poem dramatizes their love affair as quite passionate, restrictions of the time prevented any such portrayal, which hurts the film while viewing in a contemporary context, as their love seems more platonic (they don’t even share a kiss until “the dye has been cast” as it were). Fearful of being found out and disgracing Arthur, Lancelot accepts a post in the far North, which enables the film another rousing action set piece, but after a period of peace, he must return to Camelot. Entrapped by Mordred and Morgan, who still have designs on the throne, Lancelot is banished and Guinevere relegated to a nunnery, while Arthur again must fight fellow Britons. After being mortally wounded in battle, Arthur summons Lancelot back and in a climactic duel, dramatically shot on a brilliant cliff in Ireland, Lancelot defeats Mordred. The film takes the “safe” way out and segues into a pseudo epilogue in which Lancelot passes on the crown to Arthur and Guinevere’s son, Galahad, destined to be the bravest and noblest knight ever. Nevermind that Mallory implies that Galahad is the son of Lancelot and Guinevere, and other history implies that Galahad was in fact Lancelot’s brother, a good ending was what audiences craved in the 1950’s and that is what they got.