The War Lord (1965)

Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner | 115 minutes | drama, history | Actors: Charlton Heston, Richard Boone, Rosemary Forsyth, Maurice Evans, Guy Stockwell, Niall MacGinnis, James Farentino, Henry Wilcoxon, Sammy Ross, Woodrow Parfrey, John Alderson, Allen Jaffe, Michael Conrad, Dal Jenkins, Johnny Jensen, Forrest Wood, Belle Mitchell

An action/adventure movie without incorporating digital effects is hard to imagine these days. Fortunately, copies from the pre-digital era are also being released on DVD, like this ‘The War Lord’. In this film about the lord Chrysagon you are treated to old-fashioned tasteful sword fights and it is nice to see what sets and stuntmen are pulled out of the closet to depict the various battle techniques between Chrysagon’s men and the Frisians.

Knight Chrysagon (Charlton Heston) is sent to a remote area on the coast of French Normandy. There he was commissioned by Duke William of Ghent to protect the local population against the violent attacks of the Frisians. Upon arrival, Chrysagon must face these Northerners right away. Together with brother Draco (Guy Stockwell), loyal companion Bors (Richard Boone) and Vloc (Sammy Ros), he manages to chase away the Frisian looters. Chrysagon then takes up residence in the tower on the outskirts of the village as the new overseer. He doesn’t like what he finds inside. It is a mess and upstairs in the bedroom Chrysagon discovers its predecessor in a nice position. Chrysagon intends to take his task more seriously than the previous overseer and to bring civilization to the people. He finds the rituals after traditions of druids that the villagers have but nothing. However, an encounter with the handsome virgin Bronwyn shakes him mentally. Chrysagon can’t get her out of his mind. Although she is about to marry someone else, he sets his sights on Bronwyn. Draco concocts a handy ruse for him. But the plan turns out to be dramatic…

Charlton Heston fills the role as Chrysagon with gusto. He knows how to handle both the hard and soft side of the character and has a lot of charisma. It is quite right that this actor has been cast a lot for portraying historical figures like these. Heston is best known for his Oscar-winning role as Judah Ben-Hur in 1959’s ‘Ben-Hur’. But he could also be seen as Moses in ‘The Ten Commandments’ from 1956 and Michelangelo in ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’ from 1965. Not only Heston is on a roll in ‘The War Lord’. Opponent Guy Stockwell (‘Blindfold’, “The Richard Boone Show”) as his film brother Draco also delivers a good acting performance. Especially in the scenes where Draco goes against his big brother. The way Stockwell as Draco gives sarcastic sneers to Chrysagon is very amusing to watch. Stockwell knows how to express Draco’s frustration as ‘submissive’ to his big brother. In addition, Richard Boone (‘Rio Conchos’, “The Richard Boone Show”) also knows how to keep up with colleague Heston as the loyal support and rock of Bors. Memorable moments include when Bors tells Chrysagon that he does not fear death and when he reminds Chrysagon how long he has been watching over him. Actor Sammy Ross is especially humorous because of his appearance, ‘The War Lord’ was both his first and last film for him.

The cast disappointed is Rosemary Forsyth (“Shenandoah,” “Texas across the River”). Beautiful in appearance, but she does not know how to express Bronwyn’s emotions well. Forsyth mainly excels at staring fearfully and lovingly. It works for the scenes where Bronwyn is first introduced to Chrysagon and when she is accused of witchcraft by him. But when the duo gets to know each other better, Heston manages to convey the turnaround of Chrysagon’s character with his facial expressions. Forsyth, however, lingers in her act of anxious girl. As a result, the romantic storyline does not quite come into its own. A striking detail is that Heston had actually wanted actress Julie Christie as a co-star, but the film studio stopped it. Perhaps Christie would have been a better choice, unfortunately we will never know…

‘The War Lord’ is a very entertaining film about the early Middle Ages. The battles and construction that the Frisians deploy to overpower the tower are worth watching this film alongside the acting performances of Heston, Stockwell and Boone. Besides the blemish of Forsyth’s game, the end of ‘The War Lord’ comes quite abruptly. Too bad, the movie deserved a better ending. But all in all, this old-school action/adventure film scores a good enough score. The soundtrack by Jerome Moross completes the whole with pompous and romantic music.