King Richard and the Crusaders

"King Richard and the Crusaders" delivers a grand and vibrant spectacle that leans towards the cartoonish, featuring lackluster battle sequences that fill the runtime more than enhance the story.

A rather disappointing Crusader film. The colorful sets, costumes, and acting are great, and Sanders is surprisingly good as Richard. But as the movie wore on I started to wonder: when are they going to start fighting the Muslims? Well, they never do. Instead, they are too busy squabbling amongst themselves, which gets tedious. Yes, this movie is not great, it's true, but not terrible either. While not a great actioner, for fans of the genre it still might qualify as a fun late night movie.

A rather wooden version of Scott's "The Talisman". George Sanders is miscast as the simple-hearted, straightforward Richard, and Virginia Mayo's beauty--although considerable--is not medieval. Thank goodness for Rex Harrison's Saladin! He is smart, elegant and noble, with a touch of wry humor, and his performance saves the film from mediocrity.