Quentin Durward

Quentin Durward (1955)

MGM presents in CINEMASCOPE and COLOR...Sir Walter Scott's The Adventures of Quentin Durward

During the 15th century reign of France's King Louis XI, a young Scottish man is sent by his English Lord to woo a French lady on his behalf. The plan goes awry when the young man falls in love with her. Based on the classic novel by Sir Walter Scott.

Date of release
1955-09-09
TMDB
5.8 / 10 (18)
Runtime
1h 43m
Genres
Adventure, History, Romance
Director
Richard Thorpe

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Based on: Quentin Durward
  • Filmed in: Bodiam Castle, Château de Chambord, Château de Chenonceau, and Château de Maintenon

The Adventures of Quentin Durward, known also as Quentin Durward, is a 1955 British historical film released by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The screenplay was by Robert Ardrey, adapted by George Froeschel from the 1823 novel Quentin Durward by Sir Walter Scott.

Production

In 1951, MGM filmed an adaptation of Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott in Britain, starring Robert Taylor and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The studio was so pleased with the results that even before the film was released they were looking at a follow-up for Taylor, and Quentin Durward was suggested. The project became a certainty when Ivanhoe became one of the biggest hits of Taylor's career.

Producer Berman thought that audiences would accept romance if it was presented "at face value, on a pure basis, as a clean unsmutty kind of thing and without sexy overtones. I haven't got any rules to lay down for successful pictures, but one fact is sure today - people want something besides words, beside conversation pieces from the screen.

A number of female stars were mentioned as possibles to appear opposite Taylor, including Deborah Kerr, Elizabeth Taylor, Ann Blyth and Grace Kelly. For a time, Robert Taylor's busy schedule saw Stewart Granger emerge as a contender to replace him but Taylor ended up playing the part. Grace Kelly turned down the film and Kay Kendall was given the part.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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