From the very first line, there is something dreadfully wrong with “Ivanhoe.” The hero has kept his American accent. Once anybody else speaks, Wilfred of Ivanhoe is no longer a character in a movie, he is an actor in costume, in front of cameras, surrounded by a British cast (who don’t bother to change their accents either, but that doesn’t matter).

When American actors and actresses don tights or petticoats, it brings up the question of whether they ought to change their voices. “Amadeus” had a blend of American and British accents. “Dangerous Liaisons” had good attempts to hide the actors’ origins, but not all succeeded. I guess it’s a question of whether the actor who will bring in the audience sounds better with his own voice, or a failed attempt at how the character would sound. Of course, if the actor has a good British, or Russian or Australian accent (a performance by a non-Australian that has a realistic accent is harder to find than a needle in the mother of all haystacks), then use it, and it looks great. Failed attempts might get points for trying. I’m guessing director Richard Thorpe heard Taylor’s efforts and decided to save him the embarrassment.

My other gripe comes from the costumes. Period films can be unexciting, overblown and uninteresting, but can usually be counted on to have great costumes, make-up and sets. I’ve seen high school productions of “Macbeth” that had better-looking tunics. Here, they look like something the actors sewed the night before the scene was shot. Costume designers surely love this sort of film, as they provide a chance to show all their skills (as must Art Directors, who also fail in this movie). It’s a lost opportunity for Roger Furse, who could have shone by designing outfits of professional standards.

One of the biggest complaints about bad movies is character change. Rather than the arc, characters change without motivation as the script needs them to. “Ivanhoe” is not a completely terrible movie, but it displays this sign. Rebecca falls in love at first sight, and later decides she never really loved him, Ivanhoe’s father accepts him back, despite swearing that he had no son the night before, Ivanhoe suddenly loses all intelligence when he thinks that DeBois-Gilbert will honour his word, everyone accepts the Jews as human shortly after they refuse to break bread with Isaac. The script is dreadfully at fault here, especially given that there are no real characters. A series of plot points makes up this movie: We meet the hero, goal – we meet the villains – we meet love interest #1 – and #2 – First encounter between hero and villain – villain kidnaps helpless women – MAJOR BATTLE SCENE – love interest #2 to die – duel between hero and villain – Goals achieved. All that is needed are stick figures to walk us through the plot.

The best, and just about the only good, aspect of the film is Miklos Rozsa’s score. Rozsa is one of the great film composers, like Bernard Herrman, and Ennio Morricone. Here, his music deserves a better film. It is exciting, fast paced, and reflective of the period.

During one sequence in the movie, the director commits what I think is a mortal sin. Instead of cutting or dissolving between some sequences, he wipes from right to left. This is stylistically wrong for a period film. The technique has its place in comic book movies, and was probably used best in “Star Wars” (although it was obviously invented long before). But in a period piece, a drama, with knights and castles, a movie that is trying to be taken seriously and viewed as epic cinema [it’s less than two hours, but it is looking for that kind of praise], comic book technique has no place. Was Thorpe trying to be fancy? Visually inventive? I guess so, but why waste the effort putting it in when it shouldn’t be there, and detracts rather than helps?

The direction is generally lacklustre. This is painfully obvious during the battle scenes. They stress chaos over anything else, and have hardly any choreography. It’s as if Thorpe said “just hit your swords together, before Ivanhoe kills you.” Only Ivanhoe’s soldiers can fire arrows straight (a note about the arrows – sometimes it looks like the prop team simply throws a whole bunch of arrows into frame. It looks absolutely ludicrous to see them try and pass this off as a group of archers firing), the Normans barely retaliate (using boulders at the last possible second and having a handful of soldiers actually do any fighting), and some battle footage looks so silly it looks like the director sped it up, as the actors are basically dancing around. The inevitable duel between DeBois-Gilbert and Ivanhoe is even worse. Whilst the battle sequence was kept slightly interesting by Rozsa’s music, the duel is done without music. The two actors seem to have no idea how to use their weapons, and aren’t helped by unimaginative cinematography and a complete lack of tension.

Even the performances only worth mentioning as a guide how not to act. Emlyn Williams does the best job playing Wamba, but suffers under Thorpe’s directing. He has limited screen time, and Wamba’s death brings forth no emotion from either the characters and the audience. I honestly thought he’d somehow come back to life, because the event was so dismissed. Everyone simply forgets he was ever there (Ivanhoe’s father seems to bear him no ill will even though he ran away). George Sanders’ DeBois-Gilbert has none of the charm or the acid-tongue that mark his better performances, such as Addison De Witt in “All About Eve.” Joan Fontaine and Elizabeth Taylor are bland as the two love interests (Taylor’s performance is worth noting. As the court is about to pass a sentence condemning her to be burnt at the stake, she has still not shown any emotion during the scene. What is happening is explained to her, and her reaction seems to say that Rebecca has had no idea what was going on). The most obvious sign of a bad cast is that Guy Rolfe can’t even produce a deliciously evil performance as the villain, Prince John. But I guess that hardly matters in a movie like this.


Recommended:
No

Video Occasion: None of the Above