The Sword and the Rose

Disney Tale: Princess Mary, the sister of Henry VIII, forges her own path through her brother's court in pursuit of love.

Disney Heroine: The Disney Princess no one knows about.  Mary Tudor, played brilliantly by Glynis Johns, is Henry VIII's sister and something of a firebrand.  Nowadays the word 'feisty' is bandied around whenever a female character in film or TV happens to show a modicum of independence, bravado and determination to stand up for themselves, particularly against male characters.  It's often presented as a 'new' thing (despite describing characters since at least the 70s) but here, way back in 1950, we have a 'feisty' Disney heroine.  That said, Mary's feistiness does mainly revolve around her romantic liaisons which slightly undercuts the good intentions.  Mary basically wants to marry for love rather than politics and has her eye on Charles Brandon.

There is excellent scene early on where Mary offends Henry's wife, Katherine, by doing something of a racy dance at court.  It sets out Mary's modus operandi and willingness to pursue her own wants.  This is further demonstrated when she follows Brandon on to a ship disguised as a boy.  The boy disguise is typical of film and TV - completely unconvincing and makes viewers wonder why every other character is so blind as to not notice the obvious feminine characteristics of the person standing in front of them.  

Later, Mary's determination seems to desert her somewhat when she finally caves into marrying the King of France - an elderly man who is fairly close to death.  Flashes of her true character shine through every now and again, especially when confronted by the lustful Dauphin who is heir to French throne, but it was in this part of the film that I felt her character lost its way and the script fell back on romantic stereotypes of male and female roles.  Indeed, the climax involves Brandon battling the villain with Mary merely a bystander.  There's also a rather horrid scene at the end where Henry and Brandon joke about putting Mary in her place.  It rather undercuts all the good work the rest of the film has done with Mary and leaves the film to end on a bit of a sour note.

But overall, Mary is a superb character with a wonderful performance from Glynis Johns and, for me, is now a bona fide Disney princess (even if she is actually a real person).

Disney Hero: Charles Brandon sees the return to the world of Disney of Richard Todd, who we last saw playing Robin Hood.  Although he is the male romantic lead, Brandon often feels like a secondary character.  He often comes across as quite passive and much of his story happens off screen - he is made Captain of the Guard off screen and he heads off to Bristol rather than pursue his romance with Mary off screen.  It's an ever so slightly odd way of presenting the male lead but with Mary being such a strong presence - and the focus of the film - it's maybe not surprising (and actually quite refreshing).

Todd, though, is still dashingly romantic throughout and spars well with Johns' Mary.  The final confrontation with the story's villain seems a little out of place with, as I say, Mary suddenly becoming a bystander in her own story and Brandon taking on the 'damsel-saving', but Todd still manages to have a presence throughout the film and is rapidly becoming one of my favourite Disney actors.

Part of the reason, though, that Brandon often takes a back seat is because he is competing for 'male lead' with Henry VIII himself - here played by James Robertson Justice, joining his old friend Todd from Robin Hood.  I commented on how odd it felt to see Justice playing Little John in that film simply because I associate him more with pompous, upper class characters (such as Lord Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang).  As Henry VIII he is inhabiting exactly the sort of role I know him for.  But what's great is that he plays Henry with a twinkle, making him a hugely likeable character.  He is exasperated at his sister's behaviour but clearly loves and respects her.  His amusement at how her behaviour annoys his wife, Katherine, is palpable and the fact he even agrees to allow Mary to marry Brandon after the death of the French king he has her married too shows a reason and honour that I wasn't expecting.  As I said though, the final scene where he colludes with Brandon against her tips into a chauvinism which really isn't present in the rest of the film and seems utterly out of place.

Disney Villain: The film gives us two wonderful villains.  In England there is the Duke of Buckingham - played with relish by Michael 'Toymaker' Gough.  A little like the way Hans works in Frozen, Buckingham doesn't look like a villain to begin with but, as the story continues, it becomes clear he has designs on Mary himself and plots for her to marry him under the illusion that he is rescuing her from the other villain of the piece, the lustful Dauphin of France.  His increasingly desperate attempts at tricking Mary culminate in him battling Brandon on the beach only to die on Brandon's sword.  It's a traditional and fitting end for such a treacherous man.

The Dauphin is much more obvious in his villainy, blatantly flirting with Mary at her wedding banquet and then more or less forcing himself on her once his father the King is out of the way.  He's a bit one note but serves to provide an antagonist for Mary whilst she is in France.

Disney Sidekicks: Mary has a couple of allies who help her to survive in France and reveal Buckingham's treachery.  Her lady-in-waiting, Lady Margaret, is a solid companion and friend whilst Sir Edwin Caskoden (played by Peter 'Pyramids of Mars' Copley) ably supports her in court and helps in her efforts to bring Mary and Charles together.

Disney Creatures: Unsurprisingly, bearing in mind when the film is set, there are many, many horses present being ridden across the English and French countryside.

Disney Magic: A purely historical tale leaves no room for magical occurrences.

Disney Land: The majority of The Sword and the Rose occurs in London with the third act happening in Paris and Calais.  It's all castles and palaces with the expected luxury until we reach Calais and we have windswept cliffs and a small country church before the swordfight on the beach.  

Disney Songs: Unlike Robin Hood, The Sword and the Rose is devoid of songs.  There's nary a minstrel in sight - not even at the dance which is the only piece of music in the story.

Disney Finale: As with The Story of Robin Hood, I was pleasantly surprised with The Sword and the Rose - particularly as I had no idea what the story was about before watching the film.  It's huge fun and cast, especially Glynis Johns and James Robertson Justice, are clearly having a whale of a time.  If anything, I'd say Richard Todd seems a bit more subdued than he did in Robin Hood but it's a minor thing in a sumptuous production of historical romance.  Having now watched three early Disney live action films - Treasure Island, Robin Hood and The Sword and the Rose, I am finding I have completely revised my opinion of them.  I had dismissed them for years and focused purely on the animated classics.  Disney Plus is allowing me to experience some of these films for the first time and they are a revelation - entertaining, brilliantly acted and stunningly made.  I look forward to the next.