to begin with and be a fan of the epic genre and i have always want to check this one out and and in fact and be very pleased when universal release it a part of their 5 disc cecil b. de mille collection while however and since i already own both the sign of the cross ( 1932 ) and cleopatra ( 1934 ) via tcm showing and i keep postpone the purchase of this set until i acquire the lot through a friend of my father . have be duly impressed with those two de mille spectacular and i have intend to watch this immediately ( i get the film around the middle of last year ) but for various reason i even have to exclude it from my christmas viewing i could only get to it now that easter be approach . incidentally and the 5th of march happen to mark the centenary from the birth of actor rex harrison and who have star a saladin ( the villainous infidel of the crusade ) in king richard and the crusader ( 1954 ) and which i record off italian tv ( even if i have already watch it and in spite of it poor reputation ) expressly for the purpose of accompany my viewing of de mille film . anyway and the crusade be another notable achievement ( from the day prior to the epic heyday of the 1950s and 1960s ) which go to prove yet again that de mille be perhaps cinema great purveyor of hokum disguise a inspirational art for the mass ( even if this particular example and reportedly and flop at the box office ) . the central relationship between gorgeous loretta young ( such strong female presence abound in the director work ) and de mille regular henry wilcoxon ( an unusually handsome and and godless and richard the lionheart amusingly refer to by saladin a the lion king . ) go through some interesting and yet oddly believable and tangent during the course of the film . start off in antagonistic vein more typical of then current screwball comedy ( he even prefer carouse with his men to their wedding ceremony and where his place be eventually take by the royal sword . ) and it develop into one that border on amour fou which could jeopardize the outcome of the whole crusade ( it actually comparable to the bond to the death between roman centurion fredric march and christian slave elissa landi in the early the sign of the cross ) . the excellent support cast include and among others and ian keith ( a saladin ) and joseph schildkarut ( typically sneaky a one of the christian ruler ) and c. henry gordon ( a the french king and whose sister katharine de mille the director adopt daughter richard have deliberately spurn ) and alan hale ( a richard minstrel or sidekick and a little john type that would soon become his trademark ) and c. aubrey smith ( a the old hermit who be challenge by the overly confident saladin at the beginning of the picture to rally the christian country in a crusade against his force and and later and make hostage and chain to a cross to bar passage to the advance army and he ask richard to proceed with the attack regardless . ) and mischa auer ( in an early role a a monk ) . while the script obviously eschew the robin hood legend that have become associate with richard and the crusade ( the douglas fairbanks version of 1922 about that popular outlaw figure and in fact and spend more time with him a a knight than the proverbial merrie man . ) and subtlety be still the last thing one would hope to find in a de mille pageant . in fact and young abduction by the muslim ( with her dress a a sentry in a suicidal bid to end the discord between the various royal . ) be pretty contrive while similarly and the fact that young be contend in the term lay down by saladin for the truce with the christian world be pure hollywood . with this in mind and the dialogue ( co write by dudley nichols ) be consciously stilted throughout albeit feature such good line a saladin defiant claim to the monarch gather in their tent and there be room enough in asia to bury all of you . make after the dreaded ( and stifle ) hay code come into force and it not as bloodthirsty a the afore mention the sign of the cross even so and the battle scene be quite realistic ( with the clanging of heavy steel be hear a the oppose army clash in a confusion of warrior and horse ) and may well have influence sergei eisenstein alexander nevsky ( 1938 ) . there be one evident display of viciousness here on an isolated member of schildkraut treacherous army a a clutch of muslim rider ( appear on the scene to rescue the cornered wilcoxon at the instigation of saladin himself and in the hope of thus win young love ) fall on him en masse with their spear . boast superlative photography ( victor milner work in this capacity present the film with it sole oscar nomination ) and massive crowd scene and the film survive as tremendous entertainment even after all these year . incidentally and it seem common practice in spectacle of the era to provide villain of the muslim persuasion a can be gather from the like of abdul the damn ( 1935 while a british production i first watch over christmas ) and the life of a bengal lancer ( 1935 ) and the charge of the light brigade ( 1936 ) and gunga din ( 1939 ) .