The Sword And The Rose (1953)

The sister to King Henry VIII (James Robertson Justice), the Princess Mary Tudor (Glynis Johns) falls in love with a commoner (Richard Todd). But the King has promised her in marriage to King Louis XII (Jean Mercure) of France. Based on the novel WHEN KNIGHTHOOD WAS IN FLOWER by Charles Major (previously filmed in 1908 and 1922) and directed by Ken Annakin (SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON). This is a swashbuckler Disney style so it's family friendly. Although based on actual historical characters, the film is for the most part, historically inaccurate. But one doesn't watch these Technicolor swashbucklers for historical accuracy. We watch them for the duels, the chases, the villains (in this case, Michael Gough as the Duke of Buckingham forcing himself on the heroine against her will), the costumes and the pageantry. In that aspect, the film delivers ..... barely. Todd is dashing (but no Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power), Johns is feisty and fetching and Gough is suitably slimy. With Rosalie Crutchley, Gerard Oury and Peter Copley.