The Sword and the Rose

This next live-action Disney film The Sword and the Rose you may be less familiar with compared to the classic tales of Treasure Island and Robin Hood. I know I had never heard of it. The origin of this tale, though, was quite popular in it's day, but was known as When Knighthood was in Flower.
The novel was written by American author Charles Major, but under the pen name of Edwin Caskoden. Why the pen name? My guess is because he was also a lawyer and wanted to distinguish himself separately. Published in 1898, When Knighthood was in Flower told the historical fiction romance tale of Princess Mary, sister to King Henry VIII and her love for commoner Charles Brandon and the struggles they had to endure to be together. This Tudor tale became an instant hit and was on the best sellers list for three years. It spawned an entire industry of historical romantic novels and later, films. Not bad for Charles Mayor's first novel. This story would be adapted first into a Broadway play by Paul Kester in 1901, premiering at Criterion Theatre. Then several film adaptations emerged in 1908, 1922(silent films)and of course the Disney film adaptation we are talking about in 1953.

But first a quick history lesson so you become familiar with the historical figures in Charles Major's story and Disney film. 16th Century England is the place and King Henry VIII is on the thrown. This is where that catchy Herman Hermits song 'I'm Henry VIII' song starts playing. Anyway he is the guy who had lots of wives throughout his life, I believe the total was six. He first marries Catherine of Aragon but bores of her because of piqued interest for Anne Boleyn. ( The Sword and the Rose hints at this in the royal dance scene) He takes on the Pope, creating the English Reformation to get a divorce. During this time the Roman Catholic Church made the laws and divorce was a big no-no. Horny Henry made it so the church no longer had final jurisdiction. Of course, Anne Boleyn would regret ever meeting the King because he would later take her head.

King Henry VIII had a little sister named Mary. She was known for her beauty and the King benefited from this by throwing her into the 1514 peace treaty with France. She would be forced to wed King Louis XII of France, who was over 30 years her senior ( Mary only being 18 and Louis 52). Of course Mary was not happy about this because she was in love with Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk. Her brother threatened Charles' life if she refused to marry the French king, " You will marry France and I will give a wedding present - Charles Brandon's head." Thankfully for Mary's sake King Louis XII kick the bucket only 3 months after they wed. Not producing an heir to the thrown, Mary was able to return to England. King Henry VIII had made a promise to his dear sister that after the French king's death she may marry whomever she liked. That is anybody but Charles Brandon. The king's council did not care for Brandon to receive more power. Defying her brother Mary went ahead and secretly married Charles. This enraged the King, but eventually he forgave them because he loved his sister and the money he was forcing her to pay him for "allowing" them to be married.

Now you have the jist of the story and it's main characters, let's talk about the actual production of The Sword and the Rose. With money still trapped in England ( read Treasure Island blog for more details) Disney figured why not keep the same production crew that he used for Robin Hood. Ken Annakin stayed as director, Perce Pearce producer and screenplay written by Lawerence Edward Watkin. Ken Annakin and Carmin Dillion worked together producing storyboards for the film- something quite new for Disney live action films, only using it before for Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Making storyboards helped speed up the process of knowing the shots you wanted the camera man to get. All storyboards had to get Disney's seal of approval, though. Mr. Disney would help oversee the production sporadically from June to Sept 1952 ( he was also on family vacation as he had done for previous films like Treasure Island). He gave the crew a lot of freedom, feeling confident in their work so they didn't feel too uptight when he came around the set.

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Because of all the pre-production work, studio sets were favored over natural settings (natural settings you worry about lighting and weather too much). These studio sets were designed by the very talented Peter Ellenshaw. He painted 62 different scenes total. Leonard Maltin in his review of for The Sword and the Rose praised the set designer, "Ellenshaw's work was such that it is sometimes impossible to tell where painting ends and reality begins." Peter Ellenshaw's work on the film gave him a "lifetime contract" with Disney Studio.

There too were a few familiar faces in front of the camera. Richard Todd, who played Robin Hood, now took on the lead heartthrob of Charles Brandon. You could say that Disney had found his favorite leading man for the next couple of films. James Robertson Justice aka Little John now put on the royal crown of King Henry VIII. Personally, I think Richard Todd was just okay in this film and shined more as Robin and James Justice, while did fine in Robin Hood, he really stood out as the King. Gracing the screen as Princess Mary was Gylnis Johns, who you will probably know as playing Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins. It was such a delight to hear her distinguished, chipper voice. Gylnis has said that she enjoyed the making of this film over most of her other films because of it being a costumed action romance film. Another face that you may know but don't realize it is Michael Gough, Batman's Alfred during the late 80's and through the 90's. He is playing the villain of the film, the Duke of Buckingham, who pines for Mary but she puts him in the friend-zone. This doesn't work for him and devises a dastardly plan.

Everyone worked so well together staying true to the way the characters were described in the book. James and Gylnis portrayed the brother-sister bond so well with bouts of antagonizing and manipulation but showing they love each other as brothers and sisters should. Richard Todd and Gylnis Johns had some good chemistry too. In an interview with Richard Todd he said, " We got on marvously, like kids." To get Gylnis best work director Ken Annakin would make sure Richard was not too far away just in case Gylnis needed a little pick me up after long scenes or rehearsals. Before filming began, the cast went through 6 months of practicing dancing, horse back riding and fencing. Gylnis enjoyed learning the Tudor dances because she was already a dancer. 

Not everything was peachy keen during the filming of The Sword and the Rose. There was a union strike at the studio which shut down production. In an interview Glynis Johns recalls this, saying one day when Todd, Gough, and herself were in the water tank shooting the films big fencing scene all the lights were shut off. During this time everyone stayed calm. Johns said she distinctly remembers how calm Ken was. " Ken is a terrific guy, overseeing and guiding wonderful scenes of humor, it was always there, twinkle in his eye was always there." Soon enough production would get back on track and finish filming.

Great research was done for this film to make

the film as historically accurate as possible. But even with all the research there were still some liberties made. The subplot of the Duke of Buckingham for instance is completely fictional. While there was a Duke of Buckingham he did not pine for Princess Mary's affection and plot Charles' demise. He was married to Eleanor Percy. Charles Brandon was actually a childhood friend of the king and not a random commoner like in the film. Brandon did not seek to go to the New World either, as serious voyages would not take place until Elizabeth I ruling, some 50 years later.

The Sword and the Rose was released on August 8, 1953. The budget had exceeded Robin Hood but only earned $2.5mil. Audiences and critics were just not as entertained. The New York Times review called the film, " a time consuming tangle of mild satisfaction." Reading other opinions I have found most people just found the film boring, not liking the dialogue and wishing for more action scenes with sword fighting. Of course the novel shares more of Charles Brandon's background and has more sword play, so as usual the book is better than the film. But still give The Sword and the Rose a chance, there are some enjoyable, witty scenes.

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men

Walt Disney's first live action film, Treasure Island, was a hit for the company and along with the success of Cinderella, saw the company in good standing after the war. Though due to the war, Disney and RKO still had money frozen in Great Britain, so Disney thought it best to continue filming movies there for the time being. Perce Pearce, who Walt has used as producer on Song of the South, So Dear To My Heart, and Treasure Island, was back, but this film enlisted some new blood. Guy Green, who won an Oscar for Best Cinematography in 1946 for Great Expectations, came on as cameraman. Carmen Dillon, who won an Oscar for her Art Direction in 1948's Hamlet, came on as art director and would come back for The Sword and the Rose (1953). And last but not least, Ken Annakin, who would have a long relationship with the Disney company, would direct. Besides Pearce and Disney, everyone on the cast and crew was British. Walt was determined not to have the same issues he had with work permits that he did on Treasure Island. It was decided that they would stay in the same vein of action-adventure films and tackle the legend of Robin Hood. Like Treasure Island, Robin Hood represented a popular story that would be known to most audiences.

Story Background

The legend of Robin Hood has been around since the 1300's, first as part of poems and ballads. There have been many different versions of the Robin Hood story, with some including or omitting such characters as Friar Tuck, Maid Marian, or Little John. It wasn't until Robin Hood started to be adapted as a children's story in the 19th century that you start to get a clearer picture of the Robin Hood tale we know today. Howard Pyle's 1883 novel, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, is perhaps the most influential on 20th century adaptations of the tale.This novel cemented Robin Hood as a philanthropic character; someone who stole from the rich to give to the poor. It was only a matter of time before Robin Hood came to silver screen. The very first adaption was a silent film in 1912, though the best known adaptations are the 1922 silent Douglas Fairbanks version and the 1938 Errol Flynn version. The Errol Flynn version has become the gold standard for Robin Hood films, thus causing many filmmakers to make their movies about Robin Hood's son instead.

Production Background

Annakin and Disney knew their film would be compared to Errol Flynn's version no matter what, but they set out to make it their own film. Annakin recalled:

"I remember talking about the original Errol Flynn Robin Hood,  and I looked at it, just to get an idea what had been done before, because I never like to do anything twice. Walt didn't seem very worried about seeing the original, and in fact, I doubt if he ever did. His approach is always that the the film is a Disney picture, and therefore, because of his attitudes and approach, the picture is bound to be different from anything else made on the subject before."

Perhaps the biggest difference in this version versus prior adaptations is the addition of Robin Hood's father and his murder by the Sheriff's men. This gives the film a revenge plot line in addition to the standard Robin Hood fare. Three separate shooting crews were made for the film, one doing exterior action shots and two interior crews at Denham Studios. Something that helped set this film apart from others was the fact that the exterior shots were mostly shot in the real Sherwood forest in England. Walt came out for the better part of a summer to work with Annakin on the film. Walt had started the practice of storyboarding his live action movies years before, but it was new to Annakin. Annakin may not have been accustomed to the practice, but it helped keep the production from hitting too many pitfalls. By being able to effectively block out the scenes ahead of time, it made it so they had much less wasted shots or setups. Filming in technicolor at that time was laborious and it took lots of time to reload the camera and to check components after each shot, so it was important to know what you were doing ahead of time.

Cast

Richard Todd plays the eponymous Robin Hood, and does a fine job even with the character being strongly associated with Errol Flynn. Again, as Walt had desired, Todd made the character his own. Walt liked Todd so much that he ended up using him as the main character in his next two live action films, The Sword and the Rose and Rob Roy. Playing Robin Hood's love interest Maid Marion is Joan Rice. Rice had been hand-picked by Disney, but the casting apparently didn't sit well with Richard Todd. Todd was a bit older than Rice and Rice had only been in two films before Robin Hood, so he felt that someone with more experience could have brought something better to the role. Be that as it may, they have great chemistry in the movie, shown in the beginning as playful sweethearts, and then later in the film as taking on a more mature relationship. Other notable cast members include Peter Finch as the Sheriff of Nottingham. If that name seems familiar, you may recognize him better as Howard Beale in the 1976 movie Network. Finch, unfortunately now is known mostly for that role and even more-so for dying shortly after the movie premiered but then posthumously winning Best Actor at the 1977 Academy Awards.Finch was just seeing his star rise in the early 50's and would go on to win multiple BAFTA awards for Best Actor. James Hayter, who portrayed Friar Tuck in the film, would go on to portray the character again in 1967's A Challenge For Robin Hood.

Release

Ahead of the wide release, Disney released a promotional short called The Riddle of Robin Hood. It served as the making of The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, and included segments with Walt Disney, Perce Pearce, and Ken Annakin, among others.  Robin Hood and His Merrie Men had its premiere in London on March 13th, 1952, with a wider release in July of that year. While critical reception to the film was not uniformly great, especially in the U.K., it ended up being one of the highest grossing in Britain. It would go on to gross over 4.5 million in the U.S., making it a hit on par with Treasure Island. Robin Hood and His Merrie Men would not see another theatrical release, but would air on Disneyland in 1955. It was released on Laserdisc in 1992, with a VHS release in 1994. Nowadays you can purchase a DVD or digital copy from the Disney website. Disney would go on to release an animated version of the Robin Hood story in 1973, with that version largely overshadowing this live action undertaking.

Sources:

• https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/disney-films-robin-hood-and-his-merrie-men
• http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/1370591%7C0/The-Story-of-Robin-Hood-and-His-Merrie-Men.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Robin_Hood_and_His_Merrie_Men