Product Details

• Actors: Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, David Farrar, Barbara Rush, Herbert Marshall
• Directors: Rudolph Maté
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: May 30, 2000
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783218915
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,414 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where is this movie on DVD?, December 2, 2003

By	Debra Michaud (Rocky Hill, CT) - See all my reviews

Why hasn't this movie been released on DVD? Curtis' other great movie the Vikings was available years ago, why not this movie? There are too many bogus movies being made available, now is the time to start seriously considering offering classics such as these on disc. Another fine movie that was released fairly recently was the original Robin Hood, this is exactly what I'm talking about.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun...a "must" for your medieval video collection, June 30, 2000

By	Randall Parr (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

As a professional Knight by trade, I love collecting every well-made film on the subject of Knighthood (fact and fiction) I can possibly find. Ever since I was a child, this film has been one of the most inspiring for me, and I'm glad to see it out on video.

Set during the reign of Henry IV of England, "The Black Shield" traces the adventures of Miles Falworth (Tony Curtis) and his sister, the banished children of a great Knight who was framed and killed by the evil Earl of Alban. Now, the Falworth name is outlawed, as are any living relatives bearing the same name. Sent to the castle of one of their dad's long-time friends for protection and service, the Falworth duo find favor with the castle Lord. This good fortune, together with Miles' scrappy personality and martial skill, places the young fellow in training for Knighthood under the tutelage of the salty Sir James. A great story follows, knitting Tony with Janet Leigh (yes, Jamie Lee's real-life parents), together dodging treachery and bad guys. Interestingly, this movie depicts more of the challenging training elements of Knighthood than any I've ever seen, such as the ability to steer a horse in full armor without the use of the reigns. Ultimately, the film comes to an exciting climax with a white-knuckled "joust to the death" between Miles and the evil Earl who framed his dad.

Overlook the dialogue. Brit accents are not obligatory in this movie, as demonstrated by Tony's New York accent (i.e., "yonda in da castle of my fadda". Nevertheless, the interaction is charming, and the props, costumes, action sequences, and support acting are excellent. This video is a must for your medieval collection.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD TYPICAL HOLLYWOOD HEROIC MATINEE MEDIEVALISM, February 17, 2001

By	Zorikh Lequidre "Zorikh" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the kind of colorful adventure that kids must have eaten up during Saturday matinees with a cartoon, newsreel, and second feature. A good-looking hero fights for justice, having to go through a period of training and learning before he is ready to take on his adversary. There is a friendship, a rivalry, a vow upheld, a promise kept, justice served, growth, a romance without sloppy kissing, and some spiffy combat, both man-to-man and large battles.

The story is based on Howard Pyle's "Men of Iron," a late 19th century boy's book that cleans up and romanticizes the Middle Ages. This movie keeps much of the flavor of that interpretation of medieval life. The story touches on such topics as the role of women, the rarity of books, the feudal system, and table manners. As such it is a fun and interesting place to start looking at medieval culture, but being based on a 19th century boy's novel, should not be taken as the last word.

For medieval purists, this movie can be maddening. While some of the costumes are based on well-known paintings and illustrations, they are from various periods and modified to fit modern esthetics. Other costumes are Hollywood generic. The armor has some good things about it, but the breastplates are too wide, restricting motion, and what looks like a shirt collar of chain mail ought to be a coif or aventail.

The actor's performances range from fun to boring, mostly in inverse proportion to the youth of the actor. The direction is pretty stiff, only the occasional fun actor and fight scenes livening it up. The music is typically glorious, bringing a richness and thrill to the experience that the visuals sometimes don't have. And the script is flat out corny.

That having been said, it's very fun if you get into this sort of thing, as I do. If you don't, subtract one star from my rating. It also is a very complete movie, having those elements one would want in a medieval matinee movie, as mentioned above.

Oh, yeah, and nowhere in this movie does Tony Curtis say "Yonda lies da castle of moy fadduh."