It is set around the 17th century in the Appennines around San Marino above Ancona in a rustic landscape with an impressive castle, where the duchess lives who is to be married in grand style, and the beginning of the film is all about the festivities of this sumptuos wedding, when the bridegroom suddenly is shot dead, and the wedding is transmuted into a funeral. Who was the killer? That's the mystery, but apparently he must have been that mysterious character who constantly appears again and again from nowhere to fight it out with her other suitors. It is a dashing romantic entertainment, the swordfights are many and of high quality, actually on par with Errol Flynn, the tempo is high all the way, the colours splendid, so this is a great Italian costume entertainment with a romantic touch. Being from 1957 it feels somewhat outdated today, but it is full of original and rustic charm.
2 Reviews
Charming old piece
suchenwi25 January 2009
"The chevalier of the Black Sword", as one might translate it, seems to be a rarity. No comments here, no mention on Wikipedia - so let me be the first.
In this somewhat romantic adventure, count Ludovico is shot by an arrow just as he has married countess Laura. The perpetrator is unknown, but at least a jewel ornament is found on the crime scene. In order to identify the killer, a falcon hunt is arranged some time later, with exactly the same guests as on the wedding day (because he must be one of them). Suddenly, a masked avenger appears, righting the wrongs done to Laura and her estate. He has some similarity with Zorro, though his grey mask covers his eyes as well as the top of his head, which I found rather hilarious (but I've seen a similar headgear in Tre supermen a Tokio, so maybe it's an Italian fashion)...
The castle Montefalcone makes a beautiful backdrop, and is often shown. Costumes for the nobility are splendid. Quite a lot of horse-riding occurs (but without developing the plot much), making me sometimes feel I was watching a Western.
The film was made in Ferraniacolor, an Italian competitor to Technicolor and all those, first used in 1952. I'm not sure whether the sometimes slightly weird changes in hue are due to that, or just aging in general.
All in all, this is a charming museum piece. It made me smile sometimes, but didn't provide terrific excitement. Still, I'm glad I bought it for under 3 euro in the supermarket (German dub only).
In this somewhat romantic adventure, count Ludovico is shot by an arrow just as he has married countess Laura. The perpetrator is unknown, but at least a jewel ornament is found on the crime scene. In order to identify the killer, a falcon hunt is arranged some time later, with exactly the same guests as on the wedding day (because he must be one of them). Suddenly, a masked avenger appears, righting the wrongs done to Laura and her estate. He has some similarity with Zorro, though his grey mask covers his eyes as well as the top of his head, which I found rather hilarious (but I've seen a similar headgear in Tre supermen a Tokio, so maybe it's an Italian fashion)...
The castle Montefalcone makes a beautiful backdrop, and is often shown. Costumes for the nobility are splendid. Quite a lot of horse-riding occurs (but without developing the plot much), making me sometimes feel I was watching a Western.
The film was made in Ferraniacolor, an Italian competitor to Technicolor and all those, first used in 1952. I'm not sure whether the sometimes slightly weird changes in hue are due to that, or just aging in general.
All in all, this is a charming museum piece. It made me smile sometimes, but didn't provide terrific excitement. Still, I'm glad I bought it for under 3 euro in the supermarket (German dub only).
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