{{Short description|1963 British film by John Gilling}} {{Other uses|Scarlet Blade (disambiguation){{!}}Scarlet Blade}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}} {{Use British English|date=November 2014}} {{Infobox film | name = The Scarlet Blade | image = The Scarlet Blade FilmPoster.jpeg | caption = Poster with the US title | director = [[John Gilling]] | producer = [[Anthony Nelson Keys]] | screenplay = John Gilling | starring = [[Lionel Jeffries]]<br>[[Oliver Reed]]<br>[[Jack Hedley]]<br>[[June Thorburn]] | music = Gary Hughes | cinematography = [[Jack Asher]] | editing = John Dunsford | studio = [[Associated British Picture Corporation]]<br>[[Hammer Films]] | distributor = [[Columbia Pictures]] | released = {{Film date|1963|08|12|UK|df=y}}<ref>Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 234. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.</ref> | runtime = 82 minutes | country = United Kingdom | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''The Scarlet Blade''''' (released in the United States as '''''The Crimson Blade''''') is a 1963 British [[adventure film]] written and directed by [[John Gilling]] and starring [[Lionel Jeffries]], [[Oliver Reed]], [[Jack Hedley]] and [[June Thorburn]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-09 |title=The Scarlet Blade (1963) {{!}} BFI |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b524251/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309125639/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b524251/ |archive-date=9 March 2016 }}</ref>
It is a [[period drama]] set during the [[English Civil War]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinsey |first=Wayne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=znAcAQAAIAAJ&q=The+Scarlet+Blade+civil+war |title=Hammer Films: The Bray Studio Years |date=2002 |publisher=Reynolds & Hearn |isbn=978-1-903111-44-4 |language=en}}</ref> a genre not usually approached by [[Hammer Film Productions|Hammer]] films of that time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fryer |first=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32c9DwAAQBAJ&dq=The+Scarlet+Blade+civil+war&pg=PT120 |title=The British Horror Film: From the Silent to the Multiplex |date=2017-11-07 |publisher=Fonthill Media |language=en}}</ref>
==Plot== When [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] is captured by [[Roundhead]] forces led by the tyrant Colonel Judd and his right-hand man Captain Sylvester, it is up to a band of locals loyal to the King led by a [[Robin Hood]]–type character named the Scarlet Blade to try to rescue him. They are helped by Judd's daughter Claire who secretly helps them in defiance of her father.
==Cast== * [[Lionel Jeffries]] as Colonel Judd * [[Oliver Reed]] as Captain Tom Sylvester * [[Jack Hedley]] as Edward Beverley, the Scarlet Blade * [[June Thorburn]] as Claire Judd * [[Michael Ripper]] as Pablo * [[Harold Goldblatt]] as Jacob * [[Duncan Lamont]] as Major Bell * Clifford Elkin as Philip Beverley<ref>{{Cite book |last=Croall |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PXXCEAAAQBAJ&dq=The+Scarlet+Blade+civil+war&pg=PA204 |title=From Silent Film Idol to Superman: The Life and Career of John Stuart |date=2023-06-08 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-8954-8 |language=en}}</ref> * [[Suzan Farmer]] as Constance Beverley * [[John Harvey (actor)|John Harvey]] as Sgt. Grey * Charles Houston as Drury * [[Robert Rietti]] as King Charles I * [[George Woodbridge (actor)|George Woodbridge]] as Towncryer
==Reception== The film is said to have "at most only a casual acquaintance with recorded history".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Engelen |first1=Leen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8HgGBVuZloC&dq=The+Scarlet+Blade+civil+war&pg=PA113 |title=Perspectives on European Film and History |last2=Winkel |first2=Roel Vande |date=2007 |publisher=Academia Press |isbn=978-90-382-1082-7 |language=en}}</ref>
The ''[[Radio Times]]'' noted that [[Oliver Reed]] was "on form as a renegade swordsman with an eye for the ladies" but gave the overall film two stars out of five.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Scarlet Blade (1963) |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-7efj5z/the-scarlet-blade/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Radio Times |language=en-GB}}</ref>
A very mixed review focusing on the cast, stated, "The main problem is Hadley, who is as far as possible from the [[Errol Flynn]] type you would expect to find. Over his career, he was much more of a world-weary supporting actor type – Hadley may be best known as the burned-out detective at the center of [[Lucio Fulci]]’s notorious ''[[giallo]]'' film, ''[[The New York Ripper]]''. (...)<ref>{{Cite web |last=McLennan |first=Jim |date=2020-08-09 |title=The Scarlet Blade (1963) |url=https://filmblitz.org/scarlet-blade-1963/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Film Blitz |language=en-US}}</ref> Considerably more interesting are the bad guys. Let’s start with Col. Judd, and Jeffries is a revelation as a ruthless bad guy. It comes as quite a shock considering the actor is best known for playing the lovable grandfather in ''[[Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]]'' (even though he was younger than his supposed son, [[Dick Van Dyke]]!)."
== Accolades == The film was nominated for the BAFTA for Best cinematography.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Scarlet Blade (1963) - DVD review |url=http://www.reviewgraveyard.com/00_revs/r2012/dvd/12-01-16_scarlet-blade.html |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=www.reviewgraveyard.com}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20160309125639/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b524251/ ''The Scarlet Blade''] at the [[British Film Institute]] *{{IMDb title|0056963}}
{{John Gilling}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarlet Blade, The}} [[Category:1963 films]] [[Category:1960s historical adventure films]] [[Category:British historical adventure films]] [[Category:Films shot at Associated British Studios]] [[Category:English Civil War films]] [[Category:Films directed by John Gilling]] [[Category:Hammer Film Productions films]] [[Category:Columbia Pictures films]] [[Category:British swashbuckler films]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Charles I of England]] [[Category:1963 English-language films]] [[Category:1963 British films]] [[Category:English-language historical adventure films]]