The Adventures of Quentin Durward | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Richard Thorpe |
Screenplay by | Robert Ardrey George Froeschel |
Based on | Quentin Durward 1823 novel by Sir Walter Scott |
Produced by | Pandro S. Berman |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Christopher Challis |
Edited by | Ernest Walter |
Music by | Bronislau Kaper |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Loew's, Inc. |
Release dates |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $2,470,000 [1] |
Box office | $2,175,000 [1] |
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 George Froeschel from the 1823 novel Quentin Durward by Sir Walter Scott.
It was the third in an unofficial trilogy made by the same director and producer and starring Robert Taylor. The first two were Ivanhoe (1952) and Knights of the Round Table (1953). All three were made at MGM's British Studios in Borehamwood, near London. Unlike the earlier films, it was scored by Bronislau Kaper rather than Miklós Rózsa, who was busy on other projects at the time.
It was the first big-budget film for the British actress Kay Kendall. Other actors included Robert Morley and George Cole.
In 1465, honorable but penniless Scottish knight Quentin Durward agrees to go to France to find out if the beautiful young heiress, Isabelle, Countess of Marcroy, would be a suitable wife for his aged uncle. The marriage has been arranged by Charles, Duke of Burgundy, for his allegedly rich ward to cement an alliance with Scotland. She wants nothing to do with it, so she runs away and seeks the protection of Charles' great rival, Louis XI, King of France. Quentin pursues and manages to foil an attempted robbery by brigands under the command of Count William de La Marck, though Isabelle continues on her way unaware of her protector's identity.
Nearing the court of King Louis, Quentin tries, but fails, to save the life of a gypsy. However, the dead man's brother, Hayraddin, is grateful for his efforts. Louis, who had ordered the man's hanging as a Burgundian spy, and distrusts such honest men as Quentin, orders him to leave France. The Scotsman is not easily deterred. He sneaks into the heavily guarded castle and awakens Louis in his bed with a dagger at his throat. Louis is impressed and enlists Quentin in his service.
Upon the unexpected arrival of Count Phillip de Creville, a Burgundian ambassador seeking Isabelle, Louis orders Quentin to guard her and to keep her presence secret. During the time they spend together, she and Quentin begin to fall in love.
Having lied about Isabelle's being there, Louis commands her to depart. She tells him that she will seek sanctuary with an old friend, the Bishop of Liege. Louis concocts a plan to have De la Marck kidnap and forcibly marry Isabelle to keep her strategically important lands out of Burgundian hands. He has Hayraddin, who is a spy in his employ, take the information and a large bribe to De la Marck. Louis provides Isabelle with a detailed itinerary (the better for De la Marck to find her). He also lends her a few guards, including Quentin, so that when they are killed, it will divert any suspicion away from him. Hayraddin is also sent as a guide. However, when he discovers that Quentin is to be one of the victims, he warns the Scotsman. The three manage to escape the trap and reach Liège, though Quentin is wounded.
When he has recovered, he finally tells Isabelle of his obligation to his uncle, which prevents him from courting her himself, and leaves. De la Marck attacks the castle, captures Isabelle, and kills the bishop when he refuses to marry them. Hearing the sounds of battle, Quentin rescues his love. He slays De la Marck in an unusual duel in a burning bell tower, in which they swing from the ropes used to ring the church bells.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Burgundy arrests Louis when he comes to continue peace negotiations, accusing him of orchestrating the murder of the bishop. Quentin arrives and exonerates the King, providing as proof De la Marck's severed head. Out of gratitude (and in France's best interests), Louis tricks Charles into letting Isabelle decide whom she will marry. Quentin has received news that his uncle has died, so he too is free to follow his heart.
In 1951, MGM filmed an adaptation of Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott in Britain, starring Robert Taylor and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The studio was so pleased with the results that even before the film was released they were looking at a follow-up for Taylor, and Quentin Durward was suggested. [2] The project became a certainty when Ivanhoe became one of the biggest hits of Taylor's career. [3] He was scheduled to make the film after completing Knights of the Round Table.
Producer Berman thought that audiences would accept romance if it was presented "at face value, on a pure basis, as a clean unsmutty kind of thing and without sexy overtones. I haven't got any rules to lay down for successful pictures, but one fact is sure today - people want something besides words, beside conversation pieces from the screen. Once in a while you have a 'Streetcar', in which all the actors talk their fool heads off, and it's a hit anyway, but for myself I'm committed to pictures with action and scenic and pictorial scope." [4]
A number of female stars were mentioned as possibles to appear opposite Taylor, including Deborah Kerr, Elizabeth Taylor, Ann Blyth and Grace Kelly. [5] For a time, Robert Taylor's busy schedule saw Stewart Granger emerge as a contender to replace him [6] but Taylor ended up playing the part. Grace Kelly turned down the film and Kay Kendall was given the part. [7] [8] [9]
Most of the filming locations are: [10]
Bosley Crowther, in The New York Times , thought the film was poor. He wrote: "It lacks for excitement when...the intrigues of France's Louis XI and the Duke of Burgundy are placed upon the screen in such lengthy and ponderous complexity that they exhaust and befuddle the mind...The times when this heavily stuffed contrivance does have a tendency to move are when Mr. Taylor is working to get himself out of jams...And the big terminal fight...swinging on bell-ropes...is pretty good". [11]
In contrast with Ivanhoe and Knights of the Round Table, the film did not perform well at the box office. According to MGM records, it made $658,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,517,000 in other markets, resulting in a $1,226,000 loss. [1]
Louis XI, called "Louis the Prudent", was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the Praguerie in 1440. The king forgave his rebellious vassals, including Louis, to whom he entrusted the management of the Dauphiné, then a province in southeastern France. Louis's ceaseless intrigues, however, led his father to banish him from court. From the Dauphiné, Louis led his own political establishment and married Charlotte of Savoy, daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy, against the will of his father. Charles VII sent an army to compel his son to his will, but Louis fled to Burgundy, where he was hosted by Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, Charles' greatest enemy.
Charles Martin, called The Bold, was the last Duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, Isabella of Portugal. As heir and as ruler, Charles vied for power and influence. His deep-rooted rivalry with Louis XI, the King of France, sparked many disputes such as the War of the Public Weal, where Charles led a revolt with other French vassals against Louis XI.
Justine Kay Kendall McCarthy was an English actress and comedienne. She began her film career in the musical film London Town (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly until her appearance in the comedy film Genevieve (1953) brought her widespread recognition. Prolific in British films, Kendall also achieved some popularity with American audiences, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in the musical-comedy film Les Girls (1957).
Richard Thorpe was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The County of Artois was a historic province of the Kingdom of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477/82, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659.
The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, had a seat and a vote in the Imperial Diet. The Prince-Bishopric of Liège should not be confused with the Diocese of Liège, which was larger and over which the prince-bishop exercised only the usual responsibilities of a bishop.
The Castle of Lavaux-Sainte-Anne is a castle located in Wallonia near Rochefort, Province of Namur in Belgium. In 1450, Jean II de Berlo commissioned the building of the castle.
Quentin Durward is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, first published in 1823. The story concerns a Scottish archer in the service of the French King Louis XI (1423–1483) who plays a prominent part in the narrative.
The Congress of Arras was a diplomatic congregation established at Arras in the summer of 1435 during the Hundred Years' War, between representatives of England, France and Burgundy. It was the first negotiation since the Treaty of Troyes and replaced the fifteen-year agreement between Burgundy and England that would have seen the dynasty of Henry V inherit the French crown. Historian Richard Vaughan has called it "Europe's first real peace congress."
Pandro Samuel Berman, also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer.
Ivanhoe is a 1952 British-American historical adventure epic film directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was shot in Technicolor, with a cast featuring Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Emlyn Williams, Finlay Currie, and Felix Aylmer. The screenplay is written by Æneas MacKenzie, Marguerite Roberts, and Noel Langley, based on the 1819 historical novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.
William de la Marck (1446–1485) was an adventurer of German extraction. He became an important character in the late 15th century in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. William's was nicknamed Le Sanglier des Ardennes — because he was as fierce as the wild boar which he delighted to hunt.
Knights of the Round Table is a 1953 British adventure historical film made by MGM in England and Ireland. Directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman, it was the first film in CinemaScope made by the studio. The screenplay was by Talbot Jennings, Jan Lustig and Noel Langley from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, first published in 1485 by William Caxton.
Louis de Bourbon was Prince-Bishop of Liège from 1456 until his death.
The War of the Public Weal was a conflict between the king of France and an alliance of feudal nobles, organized in 1465 in defiance of the centralized authority of King Louis XI of France. It was masterminded by Charles the Bold, Count of Charolais, son of the Duke of Burgundy, with the king's brother Charles, Duke of Berry, as a figurehead. The rebels succeeded in attaining concessions from the crown after several months of fighting, though conflict would break out again between the league and the crown in the Mad War of 1485 in a decisive victory for the crown.
Quentin Durward is a French-German swashbuckler TV series. It was produced in 1970, directed by Gilles Grangier and broadcast in 1971. The series starred the German actor Amadeus August as the protagonist and the French actress Marie-France Boyer as Isabelle de Croye. The series was based on Sir Walter Scott's in 1823 published novel Quentin Durward. It concerns a Scottish soldier who serves French King Louis XI (1423-1483) while the King has to overcome the schemes of his rival Charles the Bold and Jean Balue. The TV series kept close to the classic novel and was often shot at historic French locations. The French version consists of 7 instalments of 52 minutes each, while the dubbed German version had 13 episodes of about 25 minutes apiece. Both versions have been made available on DVD.
The Wars of Liège were a series of three rebellions by the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, in the town of Liège in modern-day Belgium, against the expanding Burgundian State between 1465 and 1468. On each occasion, the rebels were defeated by Burgundian forces commanded by Charles the Bold and the city was twice burned to the ground.
The Murder of the Bishop of Liège is an oil painting on canvas created in 1829 by the French artist Eugène Delacroix, showing the murder of Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège by William I de La Marck's men during the 15th-century Wars of Liège, as told in chapter 22 of Walter Scott's historical novel Quentin Durward. First exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1831, it is now in the Louvre in Paris.
The Burgundian State is a concept coined by historians to describe the vast complex of territories that is also referred to as Valois Burgundy.
Henry M. Berman was an American film editor for RKO and a film producer for MGM.
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