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The Flame and the Arrow

Play trailer Poster for The Flame and the Arrow Released Jul 9, 1950 1h 28m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Italian archer Dardo Bartoli (Burt Lancaster) is waging a war against the Hessians. His grudge against their leader, Count "The Hawk" Ulrich (Frank Allenby), is more than simply political. Long ago, he took away Dardo's beautiful wife, Francesca. Then, under his former spouse's orders, Ulrich returned to steal the couple's son, Rudi. Incensed, Dardo kidnaps Ulrich's comely niece, Anne (Virginia Mayo), and slowly emerges as a rebel leader who may be able to drive out the Hessians for good.
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The Flame and the Arrow

Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody New Yorker Tourneur, working with a script by Waldo Salt, turns the medieval action-adventure tale into a symbol of the French Resistance in the Second World War and locates its roots in class warfare. May 13, 2013 Full Review Michael E. Grost Classic Film and Television Fun swashbuckler with inventive touches. Jul 6, 2010 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Has Burt as acrobatic as you'll ever see him. Rated: B Dec 30, 2008 Full Review Steve Crum Video-Reviewmaster.com Early Lancaster in Errol Flynn-type Robin Hood role; great acrobatics, comedy, action. Rated: 4/5 Mar 22, 2008 Full Review John J. Puccio Movie Metropolis ...the actor's first big adventure frolic, and it comes off rather well. (Burt Lancaster Signature Collection) Rated: 7/10 Nov 11, 2007 Full Review Carol Cling Las Vegas Review-Journal Lancaster swashbuckles with irresistible energy ... Rated: 4/5 Aug 18, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D Lame film that wishes it was Robin Hood. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/03/24 Full Review s r Other than the over the top acrobatics and being set in Spain, this was run of the mill Hollywood. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Absolute adventure classic! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Between 2.5 and 3 stars. Entertaining, but nothing more. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Pelicula de aventuras Naif y de buenas intenciones. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Fun swashbuckler with Burt Lancaster in the Robin Hood-styled role (presumably meant for then broken-down Errol Flynn) demonstrating his real acrobatic talents after a few years in films noir at the start of his career. Here, he is an Italian rascal drawn into fighting the Hessians after his wife leaves him for the evil Ulrich the Hawk and they kidnap his son. Virginia Mayo plays the Hawk's niece who inevitably falls for Dardo (Lancaster). Naturally, there are lots of fight scenes in the castle including some swordfighting and Lancaster's partner from his days as an acrobat (Nick Cravat) plays a key role as mute (apparently because his Brooklyn accent was too thick for period pieces). The director was Jacques Tourneur who worked across many genres (starting with Val Lewton in horror but making excellent westerns and war pictures as well as Night of the Demon, an all time great, later in his career) and doesn't miss a trick in this one. In the end, we have nothing more than a rip-snorting genre picture that knows its audience, winks a few times, and offers a lot of cheeky and bravado entertainment -- and often that's enough. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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The Flame and the Arrow

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Movie Info

Synopsis Italian archer Dardo Bartoli (Burt Lancaster) is waging a war against the Hessians. His grudge against their leader, Count "The Hawk" Ulrich (Frank Allenby), is more than simply political. Long ago, he took away Dardo's beautiful wife, Francesca. Then, under his former spouse's orders, Ulrich returned to steal the couple's son, Rudi. Incensed, Dardo kidnaps Ulrich's comely niece, Anne (Virginia Mayo), and slowly emerges as a rebel leader who may be able to drive out the Hessians for good.
Director
Jacques Tourneur
Producer
Harold Hecht, Frank Ross
Screenwriter
Waldo Salt
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 9, 1950, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2012
Runtime
1h 28m
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