Warner Bros. continued the Robin Hood tradition with "The Flame and the Arrow". Jacques Tourneur's movie casts Burt Lancaster - sporting what looks like a Buddy Holly hairdo - as Dardo, a freedom fighter in medieval Lombardy. Rallying his people to expel despot Ulrich (Frank Allenby), Dardo - a man of seemingly limitless wit - used some Roman ruins as his operations base. He and his mute friend Piccolo (Nick Cravat) employed lots of cool acrobatics in their raids on the castle.
There was one thing that looked very unrealistic, although it may have been accurate: Dardo's love interest Anne (Virginia Mayo) wears pants in some scenes, and even wears shorts in some scenes. I can't imagine that any woman in medieval Europe would have worn pants, let alone shorts. But maybe she really did dress like that. Whatever the deal was, Virginia Mayo is as hot here as she was in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty".
Anyway, this is the sort of classic action flick that makes one keep wanting more. Silly at times, yes, but impossible not to like. Exactly the sort of film that people behind the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies would have loved to spoof (and they made a number of cartoons parodying this genre). Really good.
There was one thing that looked very unrealistic, although it may have been accurate: Dardo's love interest Anne (Virginia Mayo) wears pants in some scenes, and even wears shorts in some scenes. I can't imagine that any woman in medieval Europe would have worn pants, let alone shorts. But maybe she really did dress like that. Whatever the deal was, Virginia Mayo is as hot here as she was in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty".
Anyway, this is the sort of classic action flick that makes one keep wanting more. Silly at times, yes, but impossible not to like. Exactly the sort of film that people behind the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies would have loved to spoof (and they made a number of cartoons parodying this genre). Really good.