Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe: A Romance is considered one of Walter Scott’s most influential novels, marking a shift away from his usual practice of setting his novels in the more recent past in Scotland. For Ivanhoe, the setting would be England in the Middle Ages, and would prove influential in crafting contemporary perceptions of such historical figures as King Richard the Lionheart, Prince John, and Robin Hood, referred to here as Locksley. It would also increase the public’s interest in medievalism and chivalric romance. There are elements of the novel that can be seen in cinema productions of Robin Hood, including the famous Douglas Fairbanks Sr. production and the Errol Flynn adaptation.

A film version of Ivanhoe was released in 1911, followed by two more in 1913. Finally, in 1952, a big, extravagant production was released with a cast of A-list stars and a strong production design taking full advantage of full-color cinema. This version was largely faithful to the original novel, keeping much of the love triangle intact while not sacrificing the large-scale action set pieces. This version of the story would delight critics and audiences alike, but while gaining three Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, it failed to win a single one. It hasn’t exactly fallen into obscurity, but it is also not as well remembered as other big-scale medieval pictures from the era. The love between Ivanhoe and Rowena just doesn’t have the same level of romanticism as that of Robin Hood and Marian. The addition of Rebecca, a Jewish woman who is in love with Ivanhoe and outshines Rowena in every way, has a lot to do with why this romance with Rowena fizzles rather than sizzles. It’s an interesting dynamic, but it derails the romantic subplot because we like Rebecca far more than we do Rowena. 

When the film opens, we are introduced to Wilfred of Ivanhoe (Robert Taylor), a Saxon, who searches for the missing Richard the Lionheart (Norman Wooland). King Richard is finally located, being held for ransom by Leopold of Austria for an enormous sum. Richard’s younger brother, Prince John (Guy Rolfe), knows of the ransom but does nothing, preferring to stay on the throne in his brother’s absence and rule in tyranny. 

Back in England, Ivanhoe meets Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert (George Sanders) and Sir Hugh de Bracy (Robert Douglas), two of Prince John’s Norman supporters. They seek shelter for the night, and Ivanhoe, disguised as a minstrel, leads them to Rotherford, the home of his father, Cedric the Saxon (Finlay Currie). Ivanhoe goes unrecognized in his own home, avoiding his father, who disapproves of his crusade and has disowned him. While there, he visits the chambers of the Lady Rowena (Joan Fontaine), the woman he loves. He also eventually reveals himself in private to his father, pleading for help raising the money for the King’s ransom but is denied. Instead, when robbers try to attack Isaac (Felix Aylmer), a Jew who is spending the night at Rotherford, Ivanhoe rescues him, and he and Wamba (Emlyn Williams), his father’s jester, whom Ivanhoe frees in return for his service, escort the Jew back to his home. The Jews are no fans of King Richard, but they hate Prince John much more, and Isaac pledges to do what he can to help raise the ransom money. 

Isaac has a daughter, Rebecca (Elizabeth Taylor), who, seeing Ivanhoe and believing him to be a man of honor, takes the jewelry she inherited from her late mother and gives it to him so he can obtain a horse and armor that he can use in an important jousting tournament at Ashby, a tournament where many of the Prince’s loyal men will be participating. Ivanhoe is grievously injured in the tournament but defeats the Prince’s men in the process, only to collapse from his wounds. While tending to him, Rebecca falls in love with him, knowing that she cannot possibly have him because his heart is for Rowena. Meanwhile, Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert has seen Rebecca and is falling in love with her to the point that he is willing to defy the Prince’s wishes if she will turn her heart from Ivanhoe and to him instead. 

Ivanhoe is very much like The Adventures of Robin Hood in that it tells the very same part of history but from a different perspective. Locksley (Harold Warrender) crosses paths with Ivanhoe several times throughout the story and even leads a raid on the castle of Front de Boeuf after Ivanhoe, Isaac, and Rebecca are being held captive there. In a lot of ways, this story feels like a retread of the Robin Hood story because it has many of the same beats and shared plot points. Instead of the archery tournament, we have the jousting tournament. Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert can be seen as a similar character to the Sheriff of Nottingham, complete with his infatuation with Rebecca. It’s all very similar while at the same time telling its own story. Because of the nature of the source material, there is a greater emphasis on the love story than there is in the Robin Hood plot though. 

This emphasis makes Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert a far more interesting character than The Sheriff of Nottingham ever was. There are dimensions to him that we never got from the Sheriff. With the Sheriff, there was his lust for Marian, but there was never the sense that he truly loved her. Sir Brian, on the other hand, is willing to defy his Prince for her. When he is chosen to represent the Prince in hand-to-hand combat with Ivanhoe for the release of Rebecca, who is being accused of witchcraft and marked for execution, he offers to forfeit the fight in exchange for her love. But he also is a man who will use her as a human shield to protect himself as he flees the sieged castle of Front de Boeuf, putting his own life ahead of hers. George Sanders plays the part in his typical dry way, but his feelings and contradictions come across through that stone-faced façade.  

Robert Taylor is serviceable as Wilfred of Ivanhoe, meaning he gets the job done. This is the type of role that requires a lot of charisma to really elevate it, and, unfortunately, he doesn’t quite get there. Errol Flynn brought a great deal of that charisma and energy to the screen in his interpretation of Robin Hood, but that is lacking here with Taylor. He’s competent but does little to really bring this character to life in the over-the-top way a film like this needs. He’s playing things far too stoic for such a picture. Emlyn Williams, in contrast, feels like he’s in an entirely different picture, hamming it up at every moment. He’s presented as the Fool, a jester there to amuse Cedric, but even after he is freed and promoted to squire, he stays in that court jester mode. His death scene is one of the few truly horrific moments, and Ivanhoe’s response when he realizes he can do nothing to save him is one of the few truly effective moments in Robert Taylor’s performance. 

Ivanhoe is a competently made action film that treads on a lot of familiar territory, especially if you are familiar with The Adventures of Robin Hood. It needed a stronger lead performance, though, to elevate it past that level of familiarity, which it unfortunately doesn’t have. Still, it is a worthwhile adventure film and doesn’t overstay its welcome. By far the best element is Rebecca’s doomed love for Ivanhoe, knowing full well that that love can never be satisfied. She bravely accepts this while being unable to do anything about her emotions. Elizabeth Taylor sells that conundrum, and watching her as she steps aside for Rowena is heartbreaking. This raw emotion needed to be there throughout the entire picture; what we got instead is great while it is onscreen but less so during the rest of the picture. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Motion Picture: Pandro S. Berman

Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Miklós Rózsa

Best Cinematography, Color: F. A. Young

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Release Date: July 31, 1952

Running Time: 107 Minutes

Not Rated

Starring: Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, and Emlyn Williams

Directed By: Richard Thorpe