I've seen this pair together (Cornel Wilde and Jean Wallace) in several B movies, passable programmers, but ultimately easy to forget. Tossing them in as Lancelot and Guinevere in a big Universal epic is one of the big casting jokes of all time, and certainly not as campy as Mae West or Tallulah Bankhead as Empress Catherind the Great of Russia or Marie Wilson as Marie Antoinette of France. It's not Wilde as Lancelot which is the issue, but Wallace is seeming far too modern and less than intelligent as the supposedly very virginal and sweet future queen of the Brits.
As King Arthur, Brian Aherne is by far the oldest I've ever seen, more age-appropriate as Merlin (a minor character in this) van Arthur who was fairly Young when he met and married Guenevere and ended up in conflict with Lancelot. As the noble, supposedly perfect knight of the round table, Wilde too seems about 10 years long in the tooth, still handsome but nowhere near the right age for this part. Michael Meacham as Sir Modred is a great villain, and George Baker and Archie Duncan are fine as other major knights. The sets and costumes (obviously standing from other Universal costume dramas) seem fairly authentic, but ultimately, this is a minor costume Epic that only comes to life with suspend in battle scenes and when Guenevere is on the stake. Made during the popularity of the Broadway musical "Camelot", I couldn't help but watch this and hear those songs in my head.
As King Arthur, Brian Aherne is by far the oldest I've ever seen, more age-appropriate as Merlin (a minor character in this) van Arthur who was fairly Young when he met and married Guenevere and ended up in conflict with Lancelot. As the noble, supposedly perfect knight of the round table, Wilde too seems about 10 years long in the tooth, still handsome but nowhere near the right age for this part. Michael Meacham as Sir Modred is a great villain, and George Baker and Archie Duncan are fine as other major knights. The sets and costumes (obviously standing from other Universal costume dramas) seem fairly authentic, but ultimately, this is a minor costume Epic that only comes to life with suspend in battle scenes and when Guenevere is on the stake. Made during the popularity of the Broadway musical "Camelot", I couldn't help but watch this and hear those songs in my head.