Knights of the Round Table (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Knights of the Round Table | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg/200px-Knights_of_the_Round_Table_(film)_poster.jpg) Cinema poster showing Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner |
|
| Directed by | Richard Thorpe |
| Produced by | Pandro S. Berman |
| Written by | Sir Thomas Malory (book) Talbot Jennings Noel Langley Jan Lustig |
| Starring | Robert Taylor Ava Gardner Mel Ferrer Stanley Baker Anne Crawford Felix Aylmer |
| Music by | Miklós Rózsa |
| Cinematography | Stephen Dade Freddie Young |
| Editing by | Frank Clarke |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) | 15 January 1954 |
| Running time | 115 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Knights of the Round Table is a 1954 historical film made by MGM. Directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman, it was the first film in Cinemascope made by that studio. The screenplay was by Talbot Jennings, Jan Lustig and Noel Langley from the book Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory.
The film was the second in an unofficial trilogy made by the same director and producer and starring Robert Taylor, coming between Ivanhoe (1952) and The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955). All three were made at MGM's British Studios at Elstree, near London. The cast included Robert Taylor as Sir Lancelot, Ava Gardner as Queen Guinevere, Mel Ferrer as King Arthur, Stanley Baker as Modred, Anne Crawford as Morgan Le Fay, Felix Aylmer as Merlin and uncredited appearances by Laurence Harvey and Dana Wynter.
[edit] Plot
King Arthur establishes the greatest reign England has ever seen through peace and prosperity, and along for the ride are his indispensable Knights of the Round Table, particularly Sir Lancelot. Then, Arthur finds himself a bride, the beautiful Guenivere. While she loves Arthur, she also loves Lancelot and though Lancelot repeatedly fights it, he loves her, too. Treachery is brewing as the evil Morgan le Fay and her knight Sir Modred work to trap them. So begins the decline and eventual fall of Arthur and Camelot. At the end, Arthur, and therefore England, fall in battle against Morgan and his men. Lancelot and Morgan then enter an epic fight, resulting in Morgan's death. Lancelot goes back to the hall of the roundtable where he finds the holy grail and is named the King of England saving the country.
[edit] Awards and Nominations
Knights of the Round Table was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color, Sound recording. It was also nominated for the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.
