Richard the Lionheart - The Complete Series

“Richard… the Lionheart… rode like the wind on a pure white stallion, leading the way for his crack battalion...” So goes the rousing opening tune to this TV-series from the early 1960s, the last produced by The Danziger Brothers and by the look of it the most expensive. Irish actor Dermot Walsh delivers the goods non-stop as the swashbuckling, medieval King Richard I, with Trader Faulkner as his scheming and villainous brother Prince John who leaves no stone unturned to oust Richard off his throne.

It might help (but it certainly isn't essential) to have some knowledge of this seemingly popular 12th century king although it is fair to say that the real King Richard I was nowhere near as noble and fair as his TV-incarnation. Naturally, here Richard is seen as a man of honour - both wise and kind. In fact the kind of king any country would dream of having on its throne - but some facts would seem to dispute this. That, however, should not deter you from getting a lot of pleasure from watching this series. As ever, it goes without saying that it’s impossible to discuss this in its entirety, not even half of it. Although certain plotlines are independent, others are best watched in succession, for example the ones set in the Holy Land (Disc 3).

As this is a continuing saga encompassing the years between 1189 and 1194 there's seems little point in picking certain episodes as a starting point should you not wish to watch it in sequence although this is strongly advised. Starting with 'Long Live the King' our hero is languishing in Aquitaine where he spent most of his time when he hears something of his father's illness. A messenger is dispatched from England and killed in ambush by some of Prince John’s henchmen (Trader Faulkner having the time of his life not only playing the dastardly Prince but all sorts of others villains in various disguises). These henchmen, led by Sir Philip (Peter Reynolds) give Richard false documents concerning a treaty with a French noblewoman named Catherine. It’s all a ploy to discredit Richard who is also told by Sir Philip that King Henry is well. Meanwhile back in Chinon, John is desperately trying to convince his dying father that Richard will not come to his bedside and to disown him and to give John the crown. Worry not, Richard and his loyal followers Sir Geoffrey (Alan Haywood), Sir Gilbert (Robin Hunter) and the minstrel Blondel (Iain Gregory) have the situation firmly in their grip and it’s Richard who eventually will be crowned King. The duplicitous (we have a great deal of that in this series) Sir Philip finds himself in a joust with the King-to-be and gets his just deserts. Not so Prince John who throughout the entire series continues with his attempts to oust Richard by any means necessary though Richard will never have him killed because John, quite simply, is his brother. Queen Eleanor (Prudence Hyland, replaced in later episodes by Joan Haythorne) desperately wants her sons to be friends. Impossible!

In 'The Alchemist of Rouen' Trader Faulkner takes a break from his portrayal of Prince John, instead playing the alchemist of the title (in any case much more fun from an actor's point of view than playing just one part). As previously mentioned a fair bit of homework was done on the series as is exemplified in the episode 'The Bride' - here Richard brakes off his engagement to Lady Alice (King Phillip Il's sister) in favour of Lady Barangaria (Sheila Whittingham). Some of the other delights on offer are stalwart Martin Benson's ‘Pirate King' Forkbeard and as if King Richard didn't have enough on his plate dealing with his younger brother, he also has Leopold, Duke of Austria (big beetle browed Francis De Woolf), to contend with – not to mention the slippery Conrad of Montserrat (Michael Peake). In 'The Captive' King Richard is taken prisoner and held by Leopold until Blondel comes by the dungeon window singing Greensleeves (Richard, of course, composed his famous song of captivity 'Ja nuns hon pris' whilst being detained) and returns with the gang after encountering major difficulties with the ransom (episode ‘The King's Ransom) - once again all down to Prince John seeing yet another golden opportunity to usurp the Lionheart.
In 'The Warrior from Scotland' a fearless young Scotsman turns up to prove his allegiance to our ever crusading King. Kenneth by name he soon acquits himself with valour and is promptly rewarded with a knighthood. 'Sir' Kenneth is played by a young Anton Rodgers (who went on to achieve major plaudits as an actor). Here, however, there isn’t the slightest attempt at a Scots accent and Anton's spindly little legs hardly look good in a pair of tights. Can you imagine him wearing a kilt? Aye laddie, a Scot shewd have a leg orn hem!

'Many will not be aware that King Richard was the possessor of the legendary King' Arthur's sword Excalibur - watch the episode 'King Arthur's Sword" in which Queen Eleanor utters the immortal words to Richard: “Forgive John, a house divided shall surely fall”. Later Prince John informs us “You know how stupid the common people are” (could there be some truth in his remark?). Character actor Nigel Green turns in his usual powerful performance as a conniving hermit in 'The Caveman'. This series provides many hours of entertainment and we get good dialogue, good performances (particularly from Faulkner - who admittedly was inspired by Claude Rains) and plenty of action and clever plotlines. Dermot Walsh makes for an estimable King Richard aka The Lionheart and mentions the efforts made to adhere as closely as possible to what is known to history. However, this effort clearly doesn’t extend to his very modern hairstyle with half a ton of Brylcreem in it… Historical accuracy goes furthermore down the pan with the appearance of Robin Hood (Ronald Howard) in some of the last episodes. Now, we know that Richard the Lionheart existed but did Robin Hood? As for director Ernest Morris, he was very much the director favoured by The Danzigers and was responsible for all 39 episodes.

This 6-disc DVD set offers all 39 episodes restored and transferred from original film elements especially for this release. Bonus material includes: ‘Lionheart… Remembered’ and ‘The Danziger Studios Story’ documentaries; Archive interviews with actors Sheila Whittingham, Trader Faulkner and Iain Gregory; Image gallery; Colouring Book Image gallery; plus Limited Edition booklet.