The Scarlet Blade (1963)   Starring: Jack Hedley, Lionel Jeffries, Oliver Reed, June Thorburn and Michael Ripper Studiocanal RRP: £15.99 OPTD2343 Certificate: PG Available 16 January 2012

The English civil war was a time of great heroism and duplicity as the Roundheads and Cavaliers fought for control of the Island. Charles I spent much of his time on the run, moving from one safe house to another. Chased out from another bolt hole Charles finds himself captured by the brutal Captain Judd and Captain Tom Sylvester. His only hope for survival stands with Judd’s daughter and Edward Beverley, also known as the Scarlet Blade...

The Scarlet Blade (1963 - 1 hr, 19 min, 06 sec) is a historical drama from that bastion of sixties British movie making, Hammer Film Productions. Written and directed by John Gilling (1912-1984), who would go on to direct episodes of The Saint, The Champions and Department S.

Here you will find a slice of British swashbuckling nonsense, the sort of thing which used to be shown in a double bill, fun to watch, but nothing which you would think was ever going to disturb the awards ceremonies. In this, you would be wrong as the film was nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Cinematography.

Seeing it now, in retrospect, it makes for odd viewing. Presumably, Jack Hedley as Beverley was meant to be both the star and the focus of the audience’s attention. However, Hedley makes almost no impact on the film; his performance is so muted as to be virtually nonexistent. In another film this might have been enough, but not in a movie with a young Oliver Reed.

Reed (Sylvester) dominates any scene he appears in, with raw power. He is only matched, in screen presence, in those scenes shared with veteran actor Lionel Jeffries (Judd). The love interest is provided by June Thorburn (Claire Judd) with a spirited performance, balanced by the humorous performance of Michael Ripper as Pablo.

The newly remastered print is a little grainy, but that is usual in a film of this age. Presented with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and a 2.0 mono audio track, the disc has a couple of extras in the form of the Alternative Opening Sequence (2 min, 17 sec), which has a battle scene which sets up the Scarlet Blade's story, instead of plunging straight into the action at the house and the search for Charles I.

Many of the aspects of the film still hold up well today and with the new print it’s probably the best time to catch up with this little Hammer gem.

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Charles Packer