The Flame and the Arrow (1950)

TOMATOMETER

100%

——

Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

61%

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Movie Info

The first of actor Burt Lancaster's filmic associations with partner Harold Hecht, The Flame and the Arrow finds Lancaster cast as Dardo, an Italian Robin Hood battling the occupying Hessian troops. Dardo's stake in the matter becomes personal when his former wife Francesca (Lynne Baggett) moves in with Hessian leader Allenby (Robert Douglas). Francesca demands that the Hessians reclaim her son from Dardo; in retaliation, Dardo kidnaps Anne (Virginia Mayo), Allenby's niece. Allenby responds to this by taking several locals as hostages. This can't go on forever, so Dardo surrenders to Allenby and resigns himself to be hanged. Dardo's cronies, an acrobatic troupe headed by Nick Cravat (Lancaster's former circus partner and lifelong crony), rescue all the good people and wipe out the bad.

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Cast

Burt Lancaster
as Dardo Bartoli
Virginia Mayo
as Anne de Hesse
Robert Douglas
as Marchese Alessandro de Granazia
Aline MacMahon
as Nonna Bartoli
Nick Cravat
as Piccolo
Gordon Gebert
as Rudi Bartoli
Lynne Baggett
as Francesca
Frank Allenby
as Ulrich
Norman Lloyd
as Troubadour
Victor Kilian
as Apothecary
Francis Pierlot
as Papa Pietro
Robin Hughes
as Skinner
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Critic Reviews for The Flame and the Arrow

All Critics (7) | Top Critics (1)

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…
New Yorker
Top Critic

Fun swashbuckler with inventive touches.

Jul 6, 2010 | Full Review…
Classic Film and Television

Has Burt as acrobatic as you'll ever see him.

Dec 30, 2008 | Rating: B | Full Review…
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Early Lancaster in Errol Flynn-type Robin Hood role; great acrobatics, comedy, action.

Mar 22, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Video-Reviewmaster.com

...the actor's first big adventure frolic, and it comes off rather well. (Burt Lancaster Signature Collection)

Nov 11, 2007 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review…
Movie Metropolis

Lancaster swashbuckles with irresistible energy ...

Aug 18, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
Las Vegas Review-Journal
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Audience Reviews for The Flame and the Arrow

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