King Richard and the Third Crusade (1190-1192) are given the DeMille treatment with more spectacle than history.King Richard and the Third Crusade (1190-1192) are given the DeMille treatment with more spectacle than history.King Richard and the Third Crusade (1190-1192) are given the DeMille treatment with more spectacle than history.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 nominations total
- Alice - Princess of France
- (as Katherine De Mille)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaStuntman Jack Montgomery, who played a Christian cavalryman in the film, recalled in an interview the tension that existed between director Cecil B. DeMille and the dozens of stuntmen hired to do the battle scenes. The stuntmen resented what they saw as DeMille's cavalier attitude about safety, especially as several stuntmen had been injured, and several horses had been killed, because of what the stuntmen perceived as DeMille's indifference. At one point DeMille was standing on the parapets of the castle, yelling through his megaphone at the "combatants" gathered below. One of them, who had been hired for his expertise at archery, finally tired of DeMille's screaming at them, notched an arrow into his bow and fired it at DeMille's megaphone, the arrow embedding itself into the megaphone just inches from DeMille's head. DeMille quickly left the set and didn't come back for the rest of the day. For the rest of the picture, he never yelled at the stuntmen again.
- GoofsThere was no Russian prince on the Third Crusade: it was a Latin, not an Orthodox, venture.
- Quotes
Berengaria, Princess of Navarre: We've been blind. We were proud dearest when we took the cross in our pride, we fought to conquer Jerusalem. We tried to ride through blood to the Holy Place of God. And now... now we suffer.
Saladin, Sultan of Islam: The Holy City of Allah.
Berengaria, Princess of Navarre: What if we call him Allah or God? Shall men fight because they travel different roads to him? There is only one God.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood Extra Girl (1935)
- SoundtracksRichard Ruled in England
(1935) (uncredited)
Music traditional, "Son of a Gambolier"
Lyrics by Harold Lamb
Performed by Alan Hale and chorus
The historian and author Harold Lamb was instrumental in the scripting. Demille wanted the flavor of the Crusades in the one film, so The Hermit was used to outline the cause of the Crusades, and was used to "compress" the timeline to the Third Crusade. He also wanted to show that Saladin was as "knightly" as any of the Crusaders.
The film provides spectacle throughout, from ceremonies to battles, but that was Demille's style. The political intrigue in the background was more pronounced in this film than behind-the-scenes activities in . other Demille films, but that touch may have been Mr. Lamb's.
I first saw this on television, many years ago, by accident. It wasn't scheduled, but I happened to tune in to it when it started. It caught my attention, and I was hooked. It's one of his better films. It's also an interesting contrast to Kingdom of Heaven.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Krstaški ratovi
- Filming locations
- Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA(Call sheets and photographs)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime2 hours 5 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1