Black Arrow

Hi, Paul!

*The Black Arrow* sounds like a fun movie, and with your vivid description, I can see it in my mind’s eye. Unfortunately I think the costumes in those films were items that were readily available from Western Costume – historical veracity was not high on the list of priorities. I think I had the “Classics Illustrated” version of the story when I was a youngster (that’s a *long* time ago!), but didn’t even know what the War of the Roses was at that point.

So – when was the movie made, and who starred in it? And who played Richard?

Johanne

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Johanne L. Tournier

Email - jltournier60@...

or jltournier@...

"With God, all things are possible."

- Jesus of Nazareth

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From: [mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2014 3:42 AM
To: RichardIIISociety forum
Subject: Black Arrow

The 1948 film version of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel of the Wars of
the Roses was shown on C4 tv in the Uk yesterday. It has another showing
in the next few days.
Set in that Hollywood idea of England that looks exactly the same
between the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Henry 8th, where men wear
lots of jewels and/or bits of armour, no matter what they are doing or
what time of day it is, and where women simper a lot, and wear
extravagant headdresses, to say the production design is bad and wildly
inaccurate is to put it mildly!
Of course the main point to note is that Richard of Gloucester makes an
appearance. 'Croockback! He killed our beloved king Henry in the Tower.
I dread an England should he ever become King Richard the Third" is his
introduction. However this Richard has only one shoulder slightly higher
than the other, but is naturally far older than the real Richard was at
Bosworth, and the film is set in 1473.
However he does have a wonderful exit line.
The heroine thanks him for helping her and her lover out of their
troubles with the line "Your Grace. You have been more than kind."
Richard looks shocked, but smiling, replies
" Now my lady. You mustn't spread rumours like that about. You'll ruin
my reputation!"
Paul
made me smile.
A film to keep for the "costume collection" but at the back of the cupboard!

--
Richard Liveth Yet!

Hi, Paul!

*The Black Arrow* sounds like a fun movie, and with your vivid description, I can see it in my mind's eye. Unfortunately I think the costumes in those films were items that were readily available from Western Costume  historical veracity was not high on the list of priorities. I think I had the Classics Illustrated version of the story when I was a youngster (that's a *long* time ago!), but didn't even know what the War of the Roses was at that point.

So  when was the movie made, and who starred in it? And who played Richard?

Johanne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Johanne L. Tournier

Email - jltournier60@...

or jltournier@...

"With God, all things are possible."

- Jesus of Nazareth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: [mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2014 3:42 AM
To: RichardIIISociety forum
Subject: Black Arrow

The 1948 film version of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel of the Wars of
the Roses was shown on C4 tv in the Uk yesterday. It has another showing
in the next few days.
Set in that Hollywood idea of England that looks exactly the same
between the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Henry 8th, where men wear
lots of jewels and/or bits of armour, no matter what they are doing or
what time of day it is, and where women simper a lot, and wear
extravagant headdresses, to say the production design is bad and wildly
inaccurate is to put it mildly!
Of course the main point to note is that Richard of Gloucester makes an
appearance. 'Croockback! He killed our beloved king Henry in the Tower.
I dread an England should he ever become King Richard the Third" is his
introduction. However this Richard has only one shoulder slightly higher
than the other, but is naturally far older than the real Richard was at
Bosworth, and the film is set in 1473.
However he does have a wonderful exit line.
The heroine thanks him for helping her and her lover out of their
troubles with the line "Your Grace. You have been more than kind."
Richard looks shocked, but smiling, replies
" Now my lady. You mustn't spread rumours like that about. You'll ruin
my reputation!"
Paul
made me smile.
A film to keep for the "costume collection" but at the back of the cupboard!

--
Richard Liveth Yet!

LOL, Doug!

Thanks! The Perelman piece sounds like something I and my other cinephile friends would enjoy! Many people aren’t aware that some of the foremost writers of the 20th. century were screenwriters in Hollywood from time to time. They included William Faulkner and Ayn Rand, just to name two that occur to me off-hand. I’m not sure that they found the atmosphere of studio-controlled Hollywood very satisfying, and neither Faulkner nor Ayn Rand stuck around there for very long. Maybe fortunately for them.

TTYL J

Johanne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Johanne L. Tournier

Email - jltournier60@...

or jltournier@...

"With God, all things are possible."

- Jesus of Nazareth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: [mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2014 1:10 PM
To:
Cc: Doug Stamate
Subject: Black Arrow

Johanne wrote:

//snip//

"Unfortunately I think the costumes in those films were items readily available from Western Costume - historical veracity was not high on the list of priorities."

//snip//

Doug here:

I read that sentence and immediately thought of:

"I said Sixth Rajputana Rifles and I dont want a lotta mugs paradin' around in the unforms of the Preobazhensky Guard, y' get me?"

It's a line from the humorist SJ Perelman's piece "Scenario" (a sort of stream-of-conscious summary of his experiences as a screen-writer in 1930s Hollywood). His humor is definitely US-oriented, but those in the UK might enjoy the parts about the UK from his "Swiss Family Perelman," which is *his* version of a round-the-world trip his made with his family in 1949.