Prince Valiant (1954)

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(1,600 ratings)

Hal Foster's Sunday-comics saga of a young Viking prince in the service of King Arthur is brought to the screen in CinemaScope and Technicolor in Prince Valiant. Despite the fact that he sports a dutch bob that makes him look like actress Phyllis Kirk, Robert Wagner is quite virile and convincing as… More Hal Foster's Sunday-comics saga of a young Viking prince in the service of King Arthur is brought to the screen in CinemaScope and Technicolor in Prince Valiant. Despite the fact that he sports a dutch bob that makes him look like actress Phyllis Kirk, Robert Wagner is quite virile and convincing as the title character. Trained for the Round Table by Sir Gawain (Sterling Hayden), Valiant takes time out to fall in love with the beautiful Princess Aleta (Janet Leigh). The villain of the piece is The Black Knight, aka Sir Brack (top-billed James Mason), who intends to topple King Arthur (Brian Aherne) from his throne, then conquer Valiant's people in Scandia. But Prince Valiant proves a fearsome opponent to the usurping Sir Brack. Sadly, most currently available prints of Prince Valiant have been panned-and-scanned, denying viewers the opportunity to revel in Henry Hathaway's creative utilization of the CinemaScope format. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Henry Hathaway
Written By: Dudley Nichols
Genres: Action & Adventure, Romance, Classics

In Theaters: Apr 5, 1954 Wide
On DVD: May 11, 2004

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Quite ordinary.

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Featured Audience Ratings

xGary X

Endearingly laughable old school Hollywood swashbuckler complete with silly wigs, pseudo olde worlde dialogue and pantomime villains.

Cast

            James Mason as Sir Brack

            Janet Leigh as Princess Aleta

            Robert Wagner as Prince Valiant

            Debra Paget as Ilene

            Sterling Hayden as Sir Gawain

            Victor McLaglen as Boltar

            Donald Crisp as King Aguar

            Brian Aherne as King Arthur

            Barry Jones as King Luke

            Mary Philips as Queen

            Howard Wendell as Morgan Todd

            Tom Conway as Sir Kay

            Sammy Ogg as Small Page

            Neville Brand as Viking Warrior Chief

            Ben Wright as Seneschal

            Jarma Lewis as Guinevere

            Robert Adler as Sir Brack's Man-at-Arms

            Ray Spiker as Gorlock

            Primo Carnera as Sligon

            Basil Ruysdael as Old Viking

            Fortune Gordien as Strangler

            Percival Vivian as Doctor

            Richard Webb as Sir Galahad

            John Dierkes as Sir Tristram

            Carleton Young as Herald

            Otto Waldis as Patch Eye

            John Davidson as Patriarch

            Lou Nova as Captain of the Guards

            Hal Baylor as Prison Guard

            Mickey Simpson as Prison Guard

            Don McGowan as Sir Launcelot

            Michael Rennie as Narrator

            Gene Roth as Viking
See full cast