The Sword and the Rose facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Sword and the Rose |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Ken Annakin |
| Produced by | Perce Pearce Walt Disney |
| Written by | Lawrence Edward Watkin (screenplay) Charles Major (novel "When Knighthood was in Flower") |
| Starring | Glynis Johns James Robertson Justice Richard Todd Michael Gough Jane Barrett Peter Copley Ernest Jay Jean Mercure D. A. Clarke-Smith Gérard Oury Fernand Fabre Gaston Richer Rosalie Crutchley Bryan Coleman |
| Music by | Clifton Parker |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Unsworth |
| Editing by | Gerald Thomas |
| Studio | Walt Disney Productions |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 8, 1953 (US) |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2 million |
| Money made | $1 million (US) |
The Sword and the Rose is a 1953 American-British family and adventure film, produced by Perce Pearce and Walt Disney and directed by Ken Annakin. The film features the story of Mary Tudor, a younger sister of Henry VIII of England.
Based on the 1898 novel When Knighthood Was in Flower by Charles Major, it was originally made into a motion picture in 1908 and again in 1922 as When Knighthood Was in Flower. The 1953 Disney version was adapted for the screen by Lawrence Edward Watkin. The film was shot at Denham Film Studios and was the third of Disney's British productions after Treasure Island (1950) and The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952). In 1956, it was broadcast on American television in two parts under the original book title.
Contents
Plot
Mary Tudor falls in love with a new arrival to court, Charles Brandon. She persuades her brother King Henry VIII to make him his Captain of the Guard. Meanwhile, Henry is determined to marry her off to the aging King Louis XII of France as part of a peace agreement. Mary's longtime suitor the Duke of Buckingham takes a dislike to Charles as he is a commoner and the Duke wants Mary for himself. However, troubled by his feelings for the princess, Brandon resigns and decides to sail to the New World. Against the advice of her lady-in-waiting Lady Margaret, Mary dresses up like a boy and follows Brandon to Bristol. Henry's men find them and throw Brandon in the Tower of London. King Henry agrees to spare his life if Mary will marry King Louis and tells her that when Louis dies she is free to marry whomever she wants. Meanwhile, Mary asks the Duke of Buckingham for help but he only pretends to help Brandon escape from the Tower, really planning to have him killed while escaping. The duke thinks he is drowned in the Thames, but he survives.
Mary marries King Louis and encourages him to drink to excess and be active so that his already deteriorating health worsens. His heir Francis makes it clear that he will not return Mary to England after the king's death, but keep her for himself. When she goes to him for help, the Duke of Buckingham tells Lady Margaret that Brandon is dead and decides to go "rescue" Mary himself. Lady Margaret discovers that Brandon is alive and learning of the duke's treachery they hurry back to France. Louis dies and the Duke of Buckingham arrives in France to bring Mary back to England. He tells her that Brandon is dead and tries to force her to marry him. Charles arrives in time, rescues her and wounds the duke in a duel. Mary and Brandon are married and remind Henry of his promise to let her pick her second husband. He forgives them and makes Charles Duke of Suffolk.
Cast
- Glynis Johns as Mary Tudor
- James Robertson Justice as King Henry VIII
- Richard Todd as Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
- Michael Gough as Duke of Buckingham
- Jane Barrett as Lady Margaret
- Peter Copley as Sir Edwin Caskoden
- Ernest Jay as Lord Chamberlain
- Jean Mercure as Louis XII
- D. A. Clarke-Smith as Cardinal Wolsey
- Gérard Oury as Dauphin of France
- Fernand Fabre as DeLongueville
- Gaston Richer as Antoine Duprat
- Rosalie Crutchley as Queen Katherine
- Bryan Coleman as Earl of Surrey
- Helen Goss as Princess Claude
- Patrick Cargill as French Diplomat
- Anthony Sharp as French Diplomat
- Richard Molinas as Father Pierre
Historical inaccuracies
There are many historical inaccuracies in the film. Charles Brandon was actually a childhood friend of King Henry and not a newcomer to court as is depicted in the film; he had already received the title of Duke of Suffolk from Henry in 1514. Furthermore, the couple's aborted attempt to sail to the New World never happened; indeed, this is an anachronism as the earliest serious English attempts at North American colonization would only occur under Queen Elizabeth I of England, some fifty years later. It was Brandon and not the Duke of Buckingham who escorted Mary back to England after the death of Louis. The duke's involvement is purely fictitious and his wife Eleanor Percy is eliminated entirely from the story. King Henry is portrayed as a middle-aged and corpulent figure, although at the time he was only 23. His wife Catherine of Aragon is also shown as a brunette although she was a redhead.
See also
In Spanish: La espada y la rosa (película) para niños
