MGM's beautiful production of Sir Walter Scott's IVANHOE (1952) is available on Blu-ray from the
Warner Archive.
The Blu-ray, released at the end of last year, is absolutely gorgeous. The sumptuous visuals and very well-done adventure combine for a highly enjoyable viewing experience.
The movie starts off in fine style with Miklos Rozsa's stirring, Oscar-nominated score playing during the credits.
The Saxon knight Ivanhoe (
Robert Taylor) has delayed returning home from the Crusades in order to find the missing King Richard (Norman Wooland), who he eventually discovers is being held hostage in France.
After locating Richard, Ivanhoe returns to England, including his sweetheart Rowena (
Joan Fontaine) and estranged father Cedric (Finlay Currie). He intends to raise ransom money for King Richard so that he can return and take his rightful throne back from his brother Prince John (Guy Rolfe).
Ivanhoe saves the life of a Jew named Isaac (Felix Aylmer), who in turn pledges to help raise the money to free Richard. Isaac's daughter Rebecca (Elizabeth Taylor) also aids Ivanhoe, both financially and nursing him when he is wounded.
Rebecca loves Ivanhoe, though she knows she cannot have him. Complicating matters, the Norman knight De Bois-Guilbert (
George Sanders) wants Rebecca to be his.
IVANHOE is a rousing, well-paced 106-minute film nicely directed by
Richard Thorpe. It's very well cast, and it's attractively filmed in the UK and Italy.
This was the first of three films Taylor shot with director Thorpe in the UK in the early '50s, the others being KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE (1953) and THE ADVENTURES OF QUENTIN DURWARD (1955). He's right on target as the stalwart, honorable knight who loves Rowena but is clearly also attracted to Rebecca.
Robert Taylor's best scenes include returning home incognito, only to be recognized by a dog, and his reunion with Rowena.
Fontaine is touching as Rowena, who deeply loves Ivanhoe and has waited for him for probably years, yet just when it seems she will finally have the man of her dreams, she has competition from Rebecca. The frank discussions between Rowena and Rebecca about their feelings are interesting and even admirable.
Elizabeth Taylor is good, although the actress was substantially younger than either Robert Taylor or Joan Fontaine; this causes Rebecca's almost immediate feelings for Ivanhoe to seem like more of a crush than true love, while Rowena is the appropriate match for Ivanhoe in terms of both maturity and a longstanding relationship.
Sanders always makes a good villain, and his obsession with Rebecca adds a note of pathos to the evil. The supporting cast includes Robert Douglas (
HOMICIDE), Emlyn Williams, Harold Warrender, and Sebastian Cabot.
IVANHOE was nominated for three Academy Awards; in addition to Rozsa's nomination, mentioned above, it was nominated for Best Picture and F.A. (Freddie) Young was nominated for Best Cinematography.
Blu-ray disc extras are the trailer and the Oscar-winning Tom and Jerry cartoon THE TWO MOUSEKETEERS (1951), which looks as beautiful as the feature-length movie.
IVANHOE is a pleasure, especially as presented via this fine Warner Archive Blu-ray. Recommended.
Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from the Warner Archive Collection Amazon Store or from any online retailers where Blu-rays are sold.
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