Mediocre medieval tale with Heston, Boone and Rosemary Forsyth
In the 11th Century, a knight (Charlton Heston) in the service of the duke of Normandy ventures to a village on the northern coast of France to finish and inhabit a castle-like fortress for defense against the raiding Frisians from further up the coast (which, today, would be Netherlands & Germany). Richard Boone plays the lord’s right-hand man, Guy Stockwell his brother, Maurice Evans a priest and Rosemary Forsyth a peasant girl.
“The War Lord” (1965) is a deservedly forgotten Heston adventure of the Middle Ages along the lines of “The Vikings” (1958) but with bad haircuts and lacking the pizzazz that makes a movie great. It’s pretty much the “Braveheart” (1995) of the 60s, but nowhere near as effective (speaking as someone who’s not a huge fan of “Braveheart”).
There’s some quality medieval action (mostly in the last act) and the depiction of social circumstances with lords and serfs is interesting (yet sometimes bewildering), although the portrayal of Druidic paganism amongst the latter is grossly exaggerated. Naturally devotees of the cast or 60’s cinema will be interested, but “Ironclad” (2011) tackles similar territory and is far better. For those who want something closer to that time period, “Robin and Marian” (1976) is a good option.
One glaring issue is that the heart of the story revolves around the questionable ‘lord’s right’ or 'right of the first night,' a supposed legal right in medieval Europe that allowed feudal lords to have sexual relations with subordinate women on their wedding nights which, in practice, would simply be lords using their power over serfs to sexually exploit nubile ladies free of consequences. Whilst some historians say this ‘right’ MIGHT have existed in the Middle Ages, many others have concluded that it is a myth on the grounds that all references to it are from later periods. There are plenty of writings that allude to it, but very little legitimate evidence that it was ever actually used by any nobles anywhere.
The film runs 2 hours, 3 minutes, and was shot primarily at Universal City, California, but also other areas of the state (Malibu, Maryville & Colusa County).
GRADE: C
