Remember when I recommended The crimson pirate because Burt Lancaster was awesomely acrobatic in it? Well, guess what, I found another movie in which you can appreciate his terrific physical skills. It's so cool to see a guy his size having such control and harmony with his body. Oh, wait, yes, the movie has a plot by the way and more actors. It's really entertaining.
In The flame and the arrow (1950; Jacques Torneur) Burt plays a guy named Dardo living in the forest in medieval Lombardy. He's an outlaw with a kid to look after...alone, because his...wife? girlfriend? left him several years ago and ran off with a noble man. The people in the town near the forest want him to fight to free Lombardy and he's only convinced to fight when his kid is taken away, etc. It's very Robin Hood-ish.
Super anecdote: Burt had an amazingly acrobatic partner, Nick Cravat, with whom he worked in nine films (The crimson pirate was one of them). They used to work together in the circus as "Lang & Cravat". According to Imdb, in the two movies I'm mentioning ad-nauseam Cravat's characters were mute because he had a strong Brooklyn accent he couldn't hide. LOL. The interesting thing is that Burt and Nick died the same year, 1994. Partners till the end, uh?
So yeah, this film is really awesome to watch because it has Burt and Nick in it. And they jump, run, ride really fast in horses, jump backwards, climb, walk over a joist, jump forward, etc etc.
Oh, just this week I started noticing Viriginia Mayo. I had seen her in The best years of our life, but on Monday I saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and she was really effective and fun in it (oh, bad news, Ben Stiller is making a remake of that film). In The Flame and the Arrow she plays a noble woman, Burt's prisoner and love interest. My favorite scene from her is when she tries to seduce Nick Cravat and then another guy so they can free her, but they don't pay attention to her.
One of the few things I didn't like, is the fact that they chained the prisoner (made me remember the case of Ingrid Betancourt). The problem is, IMO, the decision to make the scene in a festive mood. I'd prefer they used a tense music in the background in the first scene she's chained, denoting that this was like the dark side of the outlaws, that this wasn't a cool thing to do. A similar situation occurs in The black swan, when Tyrone Power beats Maureen O'Hara at the beginning, and directionally speaking, they don't seem to care. I don't know if details like this distract you too.
Oh, because my reviews are oh-so-serious, I want to end with a praise for Technicolor. I loved Virginia Mayo's red riding hood, it looked gorgeous.
The end. LOL. Thanks for reading!
Youtube Alert! : This movie is available to watch online, in one file.
Burt had such a handsome body. Have you seen him in Trapeze yet?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fun film. I've never seen Burt in any of his more acrobatic roles.
ReplyDeleteThe Flame and the Arrow is one of my favorite Burt Lancaster films. I loved all the acrobatic stuff so much that I eventually hunted up The Crimson Pirate and found another lovely romp. But, I've always thought I was the only person who actually LIKED these movies -- a lot of people tend to write them off as rubbish. Clearly, they don't know understand what they're missing in life!
ReplyDeleteClara, Burt is indeed an incredible masculine man. Have you seen Virginia Mayo in "White Heat" with James Cagney? She is in her prime and at her best. Liked your article very much!
ReplyDeleteHola Clara, sí la película es muy hoodiana, jeje.
ReplyDeleteYa veo que te la han recomendado, no dejes de ver Al rojo vivo, además es uno de los mejores papeles de Cagney.
Y sobre tus apuntes, no se, hay que tener en cuenta la época en que fueron rodadas esas películas, ahora hay cosas que son políticamente incorrectas pero antes, aunque no lo fueran, se veían bien. Por cierto, nunca me ha gustado la bofetada de Glenn Ford a Gilda.
Besos y buen fin de semana.
Excelente película. En cuanto a las acrobacias y encantos de Burt os lo dejo a vosotras. Prefiero a Virginia Mayo...
ReplyDeleteCurioso lo de compañeros hasta el final. Conocía su compañerismo en el circo y en otros films como El temible burlón pero no sabía que se mantuvieran unidos tan hasta el año de su muerte.
Recomendar la filmografía de Jacques Tourneur que además de La mujer pantera, El hombre leopardo o Yo anduve con un zombie tiene otros muchos trabajos excepcionales.
Saludos.
Kalli: I've heard of "Trapeze", but circuses give me the creeps (I don't know why, there's something very melancholic about them). I'll try to watch it anyway, but I like his acrobacies when you are not expecting them. Thanks for the recommendation, and thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteAudrey: Oh, you should, maybe this one is a very good way to start watching Burt's terrific acrobatic skills. It's really fun. Thanks for leaving a comment :)
Emm: lol, well, now we're partners in the obsession with Burt and his acrobatic movies :) Yeah, he's just awesome. Thanks for stopping by :)
ClassicBecky: Thank you. I just read about Virginia Mayo in "White Heat" in your terrific post about gangster movies. I'll watch it soon, I promise, sounds great.
Lola: Gracias por la recomendación, les haré caso. Sí, también pensé en el caso de Gilda, pero estaba igual acorde al tono de la película (además había sido bastante mala con Glenn), pero en este caso el único problema de la mujer es que era noble. Bueno, no sé, quizás tienes razón y antes no se cuestionaba tanto. Gracias por visitar mi blog!
Father_Caprio: Qué visita ilustre, don Father_Caprio. Y sí, cuando hablamos de Burt esto se convierte en un gallinero, jajaja. Gracias por las recomendaciones, te haré caso y seguiré con los tres títulos que has compartido. Muchas gracias por dejar tu opinión :)
Kalli: I've heard of "Trapeze", but circuses give me the creeps (I don't know why, there's something very melancholic about them). I'll try to watch it anyway, but I like his acrobacies when you are not expecting them. Thanks for the recommendation, and thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteAudrey: Oh, you should, maybe this one is a very good way to start watching Burt's terrific acrobatic skills. It's really fun. Thanks for leaving a comment :)
Emm: lol, well, now we're partners in the obsession with Burt and his acrobatic movies :) Yeah, he's just awesome. Thanks for stopping by :)
ClassicBecky: Thank you. I just read about Virginia Mayo in "White Heat" in your terrific post about gangster movies. I'll watch it soon, I promise, sounds great.
Lola: Gracias por la recomendación, les haré caso. Sí, también pensé en el caso de Gilda, pero estaba igual acorde al tono de la película (además había sido bastante mala con Glenn), pero en este caso el único problema de la mujer es que era noble. Bueno, no sé, quizás tienes razón y antes no se cuestionaba tanto. Gracias por visitar mi blog!
Father_Caprio: Qué visita ilustre, don Father_Caprio. Y sí, cuando hablamos de Burt esto se convierte en un gallinero, jajaja. Gracias por las recomendaciones, te haré caso y seguiré con los tres títulos que has compartido. Muchas gracias por dejar tu opinión :)
Hola Clara, sí la película es muy hoodiana, jeje.
ReplyDeleteYa veo que te la han recomendado, no dejes de ver Al rojo vivo, además es uno de los mejores papeles de Cagney.
Y sobre tus apuntes, no se, hay que tener en cuenta la época en que fueron rodadas esas películas, ahora hay cosas que son políticamente incorrectas pero antes, aunque no lo fueran, se veían bien. Por cierto, nunca me ha gustado la bofetada de Glenn Ford a Gilda.
Besos y buen fin de semana.