The black rose
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The black rose |
| Original title | The Black Rose |
| Country of production |
United States Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1950 |
| length | 120 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Henry Hathaway |
| script |
Talbot Jennings Thomas B. Costain (novel) |
| production | Louis D. Lighton |
| music | Richard Addinsell |
| camera | Jack Cardiff |
| cut | Manuel del Campo |
| occupation | |
| |
The Black Rose (Original title: The Black Rose ) is an American-British adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway for the production company 20th Century Fox from 1950 with Tyrone Power , Orson Welles , Cécile Aubry and Jack Hawkins in the lead roles. The film is based on a novel by Thomas B. Costain .
action
At the time of Edward I of England : Many Anglo-Saxons still suffer from the fact that their island has been conquered and occupied by the Normans , and the perceived oppression and servitude that goes with it. The proud Junker Walter von Gurnie also suffers greatly from this disgrace. As the illegitimate offspring of a Norman and an Anglo-Saxon, this deeply felt tyrannical rule angered him all the more because his vengeful stepmother withheld his father's rightful inheritance from him, along with a pair of boots. His father's will stipulates that, in addition to his inheritance, he should also serve the Norman king, which Walter rejects with disgust. He turns to his grandfather Alfgar for assistance, who admires the courage and demeanor of his rebellious grandson, but would rather see him as a young scholar back to his studies in Oxford .
A friar who is currently visiting Alfgar, implores Walter von Gurnie to take up the fight with knowledge rather than with the sword, but Walter is insecure and wants to sleep over it first. At night, startled by noises from sleep, he recognizes a dozen figures in his room in front of his grandfather's castle who are stocking up on weapons. He confronts her and it soon turns out that a handful of brave but careless Anglo-Saxons, former companions of Walter von Gurnie, want to free some imprisoned compatriots from the nearby Norman fortress, if necessary by force of arms. Among the crowd of Anglo-Saxons is Tristram Griffin, a daring archer who prefers to leave the thinking and leading to his aristocratic comrade Walter. On the spur of the moment, Walter leads the crowd to the Norman fortress, the countrymen are liberated without bloodshed, but the two Anglo-Saxon ringleaders are now forced to leave the country. Walter von Gurnie conceives the daring plan to travel far to China , as the clergyman advised him, in order to gain unprecedented experiences and riches that would allow him to reclaim his possessions from the Normans. Griffin, who would rather accept any fate abroad than let himself be hung up by the hated Normans, follows him as a loyal companion on his beginning adventure.
On the way to China, Walter von Gurnie and his comrade Griffin finally meet the merchant Anthemus, who tells them about a caravan that is passing close to the borders of China. The devious servant of Anthemus helps the two Christians to get a place as a guard in the caravan in exchange for a bag full of gold. When the caravan later sets off and rests for the first time, Griffin and Walter witness a brutal show of force by the general, who has his men encamped nearby and held fighting games there. Griffin, who is a fantastic archer as a hot spur, wants to watch these games up close and suddenly his life is in danger when he carelessly interferes in the competition. Only the presence of the general, who curiously observes the strangers from a distance, protects the two of them from greater trouble. General Bayan orders the English archers to take part in the shooting competition, but only on the condition that it wins. Griffin can't be told twice and starts with his English longbow. After Griffin has given a first successful test of his skills, the Anglo-Saxon wants to shoot at the target in high spirits from a much further distance, his opponent gives in the knowledge that he will have no chance of hitting the target with his bow beforehand, But Griffin's daring shot with his longbow Zara succeeds from a long distance and the general is impressed by the courage, the art of shooting and the longbow and invites the two Englishmen to a game of chess in his tent.
Later, in the general's tent, Bayan is already waiting with a board and pieces. Not only in the game of chess does the general turn out to be a shrewd, far-sighted and eager to learn strategist and tactician, who first studies his opponents carefully in order to then mercilessly dominate or destroy them when he has found their weaknesses. Bayan quickly recognizes the skills and competencies of the two homeless Englishmen, the student and the archer, and the possibilities to expand his own martial arts and his wealth of power through the knowledge of the two Englishmen and therefore asks Walter von Gurnie and Griffin in his service to kick so Griffin can teach his men how to use the longbow. Since the two men hope that the general's help will give each other an advantage when traveling, they agree.
The next morning the servant of Anthemus makes them the dangerous suggestion that a young English woman, called the black rose, should be placed in their care as a second servant, disguised as a boy, so that she should go unnoticed near them Stop the English in order to be able to leave the country undiscovered. Walter, however, is not very enthusiastic about the suggestion to look after a young girl, as he knows too well that if this masquerade fails, it can cost everyone their heads. Meanwhile the caravan sets off for China and the power-hungry and ambitious Bayan, who is willing to conquer everything on his way, lets soldiers who disobey his orders out of superstition or because of lack of discipline, simply execute them. Meanwhile, Walter gets to know the young girl with - the black rose - and learns more about her prophecy from the young English woman named Maryam that one day a bold compatriot will come to the Orient, save her and come back home from the foreign country England will lead. She thinks Walter is this man.
After Bayan has won the first battle against the Chinese and razed the dwellings of his enemies to the ground, Griffin first doubts he is disgusted by the atrocities of the general and he misses his homeland England. Walter, who has to decide whether he should stay or go, would rather return to England as a victor and so he decides to help Maryam and Griffin escape. As Bayan's army advances south and the caravan further north toward the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan, he misleads Bayan's army so that Maryam and Griffin can escape and gain a good head start. When Bayan sees through Walter's ruse, he lets him go over the rope as a punishment, a test of courage in which Walter has to balance bare-chested and barefoot over a thick rope on the ground, tormented by his adversaries and flanked by razor-sharp blades, the left and stick out of the ground to the right of the rope. Walter arrives injured and with the last of his strength at the other end of the rope and passes the test of courage. Bayan, who is impressed by the bravery of the Englishman, also in view of the chivalry of standing up for his companions with his life, pardons Walter and gives him freedom after his recovery, but not without first asking him for a favor, namely as a harbinger to go to the next town and to convey to the residents how serious their situation is. Walter, aware of the danger that can await him there, agrees, surprised at Bayan's sudden generosity to let him go. Not without admiration for the general, he travels as a messenger to the next town to draw the residents' attention to their threatening fate and to convince them to surrender without a fight.
Walter was already expected in the city and led to the imperial palace, from there he was escorted as a special guest to another house where Griffin had already been accommodated. Since a Chinese prophecy says that two men with white skin will work a miracle in extreme danger, the presence of Walter and Griffin is related to this very providence and the two Englishmen are treated courteously, but ultimately as prisoners in a golden cage. When Bayan finally stands at the gates of the city after further conquests, because the Chinese have not surrendered, the situation for Maryam, who has since confessed her love to Walter, and Griffin becomes dicey. They decide to flee together. However, the empress' subordinate, in charge of the two prisoners, sets a trap for them to save his own skin. He shows them a supposed escape route that the three of them should follow. Griffin, who keeps the approaching enemy at a distance with his longbow, is ultimately fatally injured while on the run due to an explosion of the gunpowder he was carrying and the falling debris caused by his own arrow. Walter buries him outside the city walls and escapes, but alone.
Back in England, Walter visits his grandfather, where the messengers of King Edward I of England are already waiting for him. The king himself is more than impressed by the adventures and heroic deeds of the two Englishmen and rewards Walter with the knighthood for his achievements for the fatherland brought back from China - namely gunpowder, letterpress and compass for English science. Meanwhile, two more messengers are waiting for Walter, they are emissaries from Bayan who have come with a message from the general to look for the student and bring him a message. Walter reads the message from Bayan, who misses him very much and sends him the black rose as a service of recognition and friendship - Maryam, who was left on the run in the city, so the couple in love are reunited, like the sword and the longbow above home fireplace in grandfather's castle.
Reviews
“The wanderings and adventures of a young English nobleman and his friend who traveled to Mongolia in the 13th century. Broadly rolled out equipment film with an overabundance of fairytale-adventurous episodes. "
Awards
- At the Academy Awards in 1951 , the film received an Oscar nomination for Michael Whittaker in the category of Best Costumes (Color Film) .
Production notes
The film constructions come from Bill Andrews and Paul Sheriff . The visual effects were created by W. Percy Day, Michael Whittaker was responsible as costume designer, and Muir Mathieson was the musical director. The film was set in England .
literature
Web links
- The Black Rose in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The black rose in: Cinema
Individual evidence
- ↑ The black rose. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .