The Black Arrow (film)

The Black Arrow
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Gordon Douglas
Screenplay by	Richard Schayer David P. Sheppard Thomas Sellar
Based on	The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Produced by	Edward Small Grant Whytock
Starring	Louis Hayward Janet Blair
Cinematography	Charles Lawton Jr.
Edited by	Jerome Thoms
Music by	Paul Sawtell
Production company	Edward Small Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	June 30, 1948 (1948-06-30)
Running time	76 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1 million

The Black Arrow is a 1948 American adventure film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Louis Hayward and Janet Blair. It is an adaptation of the 1888 novel of the same title by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Plot

Sir Richard Shelton returns home after the War of the Roses and discovers that his father Sir Harry Shelton has been murdered. His uncle and Harry's half-brother, Sir Daniel Brackley, claims that Sir John Sedley, a Lancastrian and former friend of Harry's, murdered him over tribal grudges, and that in turn, Sedley was executed and his lands seized for Brackley's expanding kingdom on behalf of the Yorks. Three other associates of Brackley, all previously trusted mentors of Shelton, back up his story. However, Sir Richard receives messages sent via black arrow from "John-Amend-All", hinting that Brackley is responsible, and that he and his cronies are marked for death.

Sedley's daughter Joanna is assigned to be a ward of Brackley's, and she reluctantly takes residence at the castle. Still believing Brackley's story, Richard and Joanna are initially cold to each other. But during transport, one of Brackley's friends, Sir Oliver Oates, is killed by another black arrow containing a message, and Richard begins asking questions. He soon learns that "John-Amend-All" is in fact a living Sir John Sedley, who survived his execution thanks to intervention from his friend Lawless, who has also fired all the black arrows. Richard and Joanna attempt to escape through castle caverns, but the exits have already been blocked in advance, and Hatch, his former fight instructor, confronts him. Richard subdues him, and forces him to reveal how to open a door to the moat. He gets away but Joanna cannot follow.

Now living among Sedley and Lawless, Richard contemplates that if he and Sedley can speak before the Duke of Gloucester, Sedley's name can be cleared. However, Brackley has put a bounty on Richard, captures Sedley, and schedules a marriage with Joanna in order to obtain her family's property for certain. The Duke is to attend the ceremony, so Richard and Lawless plot a way to help Sedley escape. Their plans are initially thwarted as Lawless, to get past several guards, has gotten drunk with them and cannot carry out the tasks. Eventually, both men are imprisoned with Sedley, but Richard is able to outwit their guard and get Lawless out. From a perch near the chapel, Lawless fires an arrow that kills Appleyard, Brackley's right-hand man; they are caught again, but the wedding is delayed.

Richard appeals to the Duke and asks for trial-by-combat to settle the matter with Brackley; Sedley and Lawless agree to the Duke's terms that if Brackely wins, they will be executed, but if Shelton wins, they will be freed. During the fight, Brackley manages to break all of Richard's weapons and topple him from his horse, but in an opportune moment, Richard is able to kill Brackley with his own black lance.

Cast

• Louis Hayward as Sir Richard Shelton
• Janet Blair as Joanna Sedley
• George Macready as Sir Daniel Brackley
• Edgar Buchanan as Lawless
• Rhys Williams as Bennet Hatch
• Walter Kingsford as Sir Oliver Oates
• Lowell Gilmore as Duke of Gloucester
• Halliwell Hobbes as Bishop of Tisbury
• Paul Cavanagh as Sir John Sedley
• Ray Teal as Nick Appleyard
• Russell Hicks as Sir Harry Shelton
• Leslie Denison as Sir William Catesby
• Billy Bevan as Dungeon Keeper
• Harry Cording as Guard (uncredited)

Production

In 1947 Edward Small signed a contract with Columbia to make two films, The Black Arrow and D'Artagnan, the Kingmaker, an adaptation of one of the sequels to The Three Musketeers. Only the former was made but Small made a number of other swashbucklers for Columbia.

Filming started 6 June 1947.

The film uses leftover sets from The Swordsman (1948) and costumes and cast from The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946).

The film is briefly seen in Kermit's Swamp Years (2002) while Kermit the Frog is hiding in a theater; watching the sword fight inspires him to go into acting.

Reception

Reviews were positive.

See also

• Black Arrow (1985)

External links

• The Black Arrow at IMDb 
• The Black Arrow at the TCM Movie Database