Lancelot and Guinevere
Encyclopedia
Lancelot and Guinevere is a British 1963
film
starring Cornel Wilde
, his real-life wife at the time, Jean Wallace
, and Brian Aherne
. This lesser-known version of the Camelot
legend is a work almost solely made by Cornel Wilde, who co-produced, directed, co-wrote, and played Lancelot
.
's most valued Knight of the Round Table and a paragon of courage and virtue. Things change, however, when he falls for Guinevere
(Wallace), bride of Arthur
(Brian Aherne
, who had essayed this character more than once, e.g. in 1954's Prince Valiant
), and she for him.
Made ten years after Richard Thorpe
's film Knights of the Round Table
, the illicit romance this time is portrayed as a more intimate affair, and the sword fights have a more menacing reality (Wilde was an excellent fencer
). A sub-plot concerns Arthur's effort to forestall a challenge from a rival king, a problem that will inevitably catch Lancelot up in a personal conflict.
1963 in film
The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring Cornel Wilde
Cornel Wilde
Cornel Wilde was an American actor and film director.-Early life:Kornél Lajos Weisz was born in 1912 in Prievidza, Hungary , although his year and place of birth are usually and inaccurately given as 1915 in New York City...
, his real-life wife at the time, Jean Wallace
Jean Wallace
Jean Wallace was an American television and film actress.-Biography:Born Jean Walasek in Chicago to John T. Walasek and Mary A. Walasek , Wallace began her career as a model then got her first small movie role at the age of seventeen...
, and Brian Aherne
Brian Aherne
Brian Aherne was a British actor of both stage and screen, who found success in Hollywood.-Early life and stage career:...
. This lesser-known version of the Camelot
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world...
legend is a work almost solely made by Cornel Wilde, who co-produced, directed, co-wrote, and played Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
.
Plot
Lancelot is King ArthurKing Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
's most valued Knight of the Round Table and a paragon of courage and virtue. Things change, however, when he falls for Guinevere
Guinevere
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
(Wallace), bride of Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
(Brian Aherne
Brian Aherne
Brian Aherne was a British actor of both stage and screen, who found success in Hollywood.-Early life and stage career:...
, who had essayed this character more than once, e.g. in 1954's Prince Valiant
Prince Valiant (1954 film)
Prince Valiant is a 1954 adventure film in Technicolor and Cinemascope, based on the comic strip of the same name by Hal Foster. A young man seeks to join the Knights of the Round Table in order to restore his father to his own kingship, and uncovers a plot against King Arthur.-Plot summary:The...
), and she for him.
Made ten years after Richard Thorpe
Richard Thorpe
Richard Thorpe was an American film director.Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, he began his entertainment career performing in vaudeville and onstage. In 1921 he began in motion pictures as an actor and directed his first silent film in 1923. He went on to direct more than one hundred...
's film Knights of the Round Table
Knights of the Round Table (film)
Knights of the Round Table is a 1953 Technicolor Cinemascope 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 illicit romance this time is portrayed as a more intimate affair, and the sword fights have a more menacing reality (Wilde was an excellent fencer
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
). A sub-plot concerns Arthur's effort to forestall a challenge from a rival king, a problem that will inevitably catch Lancelot up in a personal conflict.
Cast
- Cornel WildeCornel WildeCornel Wilde was an American actor and film director.-Early life:Kornél Lajos Weisz was born in 1912 in Prievidza, Hungary , although his year and place of birth are usually and inaccurately given as 1915 in New York City...
as Sir Lancelot - Jean WallaceJean WallaceJean Wallace was an American television and film actress.-Biography:Born Jean Walasek in Chicago to John T. Walasek and Mary A. Walasek , Wallace began her career as a model then got her first small movie role at the age of seventeen...
as Guinevere - Brian AherneBrian AherneBrian Aherne was a British actor of both stage and screen, who found success in Hollywood.-Early life and stage career:...
as King Arthur - George BakerGeorge Baker (actor)George Baker, MBE was an English actor and writer. He was best-known for portraying Tiberius in I, Claudius, and Inspector Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.-Personal life:...
as Sir Gawaine - Archie DuncanArchie Duncan (actor)Archie Duncan was a Scottish actor born in Glasgow.Duncan's father was a Regimental Sergeant Major in the army and his mother a postmistress...
as Sir Lamorak - Adrienne CorriAdrienne CorriAdrienne Corri is an actress of Italian parentage.She is probably best known for her role as the rape victim Mrs. Alexander in the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange, and for her appearances as Valerie in Jean Renoir's The River and as Lara's mother in David Lean's Dr. Zhivago...
as Lady Vivian - Michael Meacham as Sir Modred
- Iain Gregory as Sir Tors
- Mark DignamMark DignamMark Dignam was a prolific English actor.Born in London, the son of salesman in the steel industry, Dignam grew up in Sheffield and was educated at the Jesuit College where he appeared in numerous Shakespearean plays....
as Merlin - Reginald BeckwithReginald BeckwithReginald Beckwith was a British film and television actor, who made almost one hundred film and television appearances in his career.-Filmography:* Freedom Radio * Scott of the Antarctic...
as Sir Dagonet - John BarrieJohn BarrieJohn Barrie was a British actor who appeared in a number of television shows and films, but became best known for his roles on the police series Sergeant Cork and Z Cars in the 1960s. He was born in New Brighton in 1917 and made his screen debut in the 1954 film Yankee Pasha...
as Sir Belvedere - Richard ThorpRichard ThorpRichard Thorp is an English actor, who appeared in such great British films as The Dambusters and the 1957 film The Barrets of Wimpole Street.. He is best known for playing the part of Alan Turner on ITV soap Emmerdale since 1982. Previous TV roles included Dr...
as Sir Gareth - Joseph TomeltyJoseph TomeltyJoseph Tomelty was a Northern Irish character actor and playwright. He worked in film, television, radio and on the stage, starring in Sam Thompson's 1960 play Over the Bridge.-Early life:...
as Sir Kaye - Graham StarkGraham StarkGraham Stark is an English comedian, actor, writer and director.Stark was born in Wallasey on the Wirral in Cheshire, England. He first came to prominence on BBC Radio, making his debut in Happy Go Lucky and going on to Ray's A Laugh, Educating Archie and substitute on The Goon Show...
as Rian