The Dark Avenger

1955 "Flaming With the Barbaric Cruelties And Infamous Conquests of the Dark Age of Terror!"
5.8| 1h25m| NR| en
Details

Edward, Prince of Wales, son and heir to his father King Edward III of England, leads an English army to the French province of Aquitaine to protect the inhabitant from the ravages of the French. After defeating the French in battle, the defeated French plot to kill the prince. Failing in this, they kidnap his lady, the lovely Lady Joan Holland. Of course Prince Edward has to ride to the rescue, adopting numerous guises to save his paramour, which ultimately end in him leading his men into one final climactic battle against the French. (Also known as "The Warriors" and "The Black Prince").

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Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story
Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic
Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!
Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
ma-cortes It is set during the 14th century, in the Hundred-Year War . Edward IV (the pudgy Errol Flynn) served as the king's representative in Aquitaine , where he and his cousin Joan of Kent kept a court which was considered among the most fashionable of the time . It was the resort of exiled kings such as James IV of Majorca and Peter of Castile . Prince Edward of Wales is the son of King Edward III (Michael Hordern) of England and he also is the heir to the English throne . This moving film deals with the rebel French knights led by the nasty Count De Ville (Peter Finch) who resent his power in French Aquitain and scheme to kill Edward IV . Then , there takes place the Prince Edward's brave rescue of the widow Lady Joan (Joanne Dru) and his children from the clutches of the villainous count and his hoodlums . Swashbuckling/historic movie with the old hero Errol Flynn who proves still some his feats , as fighting , batting , and sword-play against the evil enemies , but he buckles his way gallantly through this stirring actioner . Also the last Errol Flynn to see along with ¨Against all flags¨, ¨Master of Balantry¨ and ¨Crossed swords¨.The picture is partially based on real events ; the true facts were the followings : The English army occupies French Aquitaine , but rebel French knights vow to continue the war and oust Prince Edward of Wales, English ruler of French Aquitaine . He served as the king's representative in Aquitaine, where he and Joan kept a court which was considered among the most fashionable of the time. It was the resort of exiled kings such as James IV of Majorca and Peter of Castile . Peter of Castile, thrust from his throne by his illegitimate brother Henry of Trastámara , offered Edward the lordship of Biscay in 1367, in return for the Black Prince's aid in recovering his throne. Edward was successful in the Battle of Nájera , in which he soundly defeated the combined French and Castilian forces led by Bertrand Du Guesclin. However Peter did not pay fully and refused to yield Vizcaya , alleging lack of consent of its states . Edward retreated to Guienne by July . Edward lived in a century of decline for the knightly ideal of chivalry . On one hand, after capturing John the Good, king of France, and Philip the Bold, his youngest son, at the Battle of Poitiers, he treated them with great respect — at one point he gave John permission to return home, and reportedly prayed with John at Canterbury Cathedral. Notably, he also allowed a day for preparations before the Battle of Poitiers so that the two sides could discuss the coming battle with one another, and so that the Cardinal Périgord could plead for peace. However, some argue "he may have been playing for time to complete preparation of his archers' positions . The Black Prince returned to England in January 1371 and died on 8 June 1376 , at 46th years old , after a long-lasting illness that was probably amoebic dysentery contracted ten years earlier while campaigning in Spain .The motion picture shot in England was professionally directed by Henry Levin , though has some flaws and gaps . Levin began working as director assistant and dialogue expert and subsequently graduated to direction features , and turned out movies in just about every genre over the next decades ; shooting entertaining pictures but more and less completely familiar and derivative stories . His heyday was in the 1960s , when he turned out several bright , fun and frothy sex comedies , notably : Come fly with me (1963) and Honeymoon hotel (1964) . He made several adventure movies as Genghis Khan , The wonderful world of Grimm Brothers , The bandit of Sherwood forest , The return of Montecristo and his greatest success : Journey to center of earth . Although Levin's forte was light comedies , one of his most interesting films were two dark , brooding westerns The Lonely Man (1957) and Desperados , both of of them played by Jack Palance . He also made two hit thrillers : Matt Helm and The Ambushers . He finished his career piloting made-for-television movies, and died on the final day of shooting Scout's Honor (1980).
henri sauvage During the Hundred Years' War, in the aftermath of the English victory at Poitiers King Edward the Third (Michael Hordern) lays down the terms of his truce to a group of captured French nobles: If they promise to submit to English rule in their province of Aquitaine, they'll be released and allowed to keep their lands and titles.Although the nobles are at first inclined to tell the King what he can do with his truce, even at the cost of their lives, the wilier Comte de Ville (Peter Finch) persuades them that the wiser move would be to appear to accept the truce while working on the sly against their English overlords.So the stage is set for nasty plots and feats of derring-do, as the King leaves his son, Prince Edward (Errol Flynn) to rule the barely-pacified province in his stead, while he returns to England. When Edward's widowed cousin and romantic interest Joan (Joanne Dru) is kidnapped by the Comte de Ville and held hostage, this hands-on monarch embarks on a quest to rescue her and her children.Flynn the actor doesn't seem to have much zest for this production, no doubt regarding Allied Artists as a B-list outfit (as they generally were) compared with the major studios for whom he'd once worked. The romancing here is decidedly muted, compared to the classic swashbucklers of his early career. But even though his years of high living have obviously told on him, Flynn's still a commanding presence, and this role as a middle-aged warrior prince suits him well.The story is nothing remarkable, with its share of duels and disguises and battles and hair's-breadth escapes. Although there's an interesting ambiguity to its being set during the Hundred Years' War: Here the conquering English prince is the hero, while the Comte de Ville and his French compatriots are the villains. Yet barely ten years prior to the release of this movie, who would have questioned the morality of resisting an invading army by fair means or foul? At least as regards Europe, and by this time colonialism had mostly fallen out of favor, too. So it seems to me a bit hard to believe that most viewers then or now wouldn't feel at least a little sympathy for the French conspirators, even if Edward's claim to the Aquitaine had some foundation in medieval law and custom.For an Allied Artists flick, though, this has unusually good production values. (I was lucky enough to catch it on TCM, in letterbox format in a near-pristine print.) Besides Flynn himself, and a brief role for stunningly beautiful Yvonne Furneaux, the best things about this film are the cinematography, the fine British actors, the sets and costuming, and the staging of the battle scenes, especially de Ville's assault on the castle where Edward and Joan take refuge. For once, the armor is appropriate to the era and in a scene that's pretty unique for the genre, a pair of authentically primitive-looking cannon (yes, they had them back then) protected by a kind of giant shield-on-wheels known as a "mantlet" are used to shatter a castle gate.This is the sort of movie that used to be called a "popcorn cruncher", before the reign of the frenetic, bloated, CGI-saturated summer blockbuster. It makes no pretense at being anything but what it is: A passable way to spend a rainy afternoon.
Kingum2341 But I think it's one of Flynn's best older films.Plot is good, solid medieval action. Edward Prince has won a battle over the French, now he stays in France to rule it. French Knights don't want English lords lording over them. So they first try to assassinate him, then kidnap his lady, Joan of Kent. Edward tries to rescue her, fails, has a sword fight, joins the enemy to learn their plans, tries to rescue her again, etc, until the final big battle where the good guys have to win if it's going to make sense.I do want to say that Errol is 46 in this film. That is not too old an age to fight as a knight. In the medieval times, the aged warrior was the most qualified to lead younger knights. He had the experience that was vital, for there was no professional Arny as we know it in those day. A man with experience in battle was more important than youthful energy. Nobles in those days would go into battle, on horseback in the front line, well past their 70th year. So Errol running around in armor at his age is not an error. In fact, The real Black Prince Edward was still fighting wars at Errol's age, albeit he died of illness when he was 7 days short of his 46 birthday. And Errol was a heavy drinker so maybe thats why he doesn't look the part. But I thought it was OK.The love story has stuff added in such as the kidnapping, but the love between Errol and Joanna is not contrived, as history tells us Prince Edward and Joan of Kent loved each other very much. Prince Edward had a crush on her since boyhood as they grew up together. but when he grew up he decided after he to marry her off to a lordly friend of his. But after he told Joan his intention, she professed her deep love for Edward, perhaps in a similar scene as the movie shows it. Edward decided Joan was better off as his wife, not his friend. They were first cousins so that was frowned upon, but the Pope gave his permission so they were married in England and THEN went to France to rule.In the movie Joanna Dru is too young compared to Errols age. The real Joan of Kent was two years the elder of Edward. So she should be 48 years old in the movie.Peter Finch is a great French Knight, not a demon rebel. You can feel sorry for him, how he hates seeing France under the thumb of Edward. But in the end, you don't shed a tear at his death. But you say, there were brave men on both sides and this movie jolly well shows that bravely.Watch it for a good time.
bushrod56 The reviewers here are full of semi-dismissive 'average, seen it before' type criticisms. Well now, I think if you take a good look at this thing you'll find a good amount of bone jarring, armor clanking broadsiding. Even the talk is entertaining- I guess I have a weakness for truculent knights shouting at each other about their 'rights' and 'honor' and so forth. Good stalwart English cast adds to the authenticity. Yeah, I know Joanne Dru is the boring weak link, but this is a guy flick and unless the ladies actually get naked the guys aren't going to care about them that much. And Errol sure did look every one of his 46 years; but Errol's still Errol to me, no matter. The VHS print is very crummy, too. If they could find a clean, widescreen print of this film and put it out on DVD, I'd snap it up in a minute!