Knightsfilms3

IMDB lists several other films with the ‘When Knights Were Bold’ title - as far as I know titles have never been subject to copyright - not all connected to the ‘Charles Marlowe’ play. There is one from 1908, written by D. W. Griffith, an extract from which is available on youtube, which is unconnected to ‘our’ play. Similarly a couple of cartoons, one from 1915 and a Terry Toon from 1941. And then there’s a Laurel and Hardy spoof from 1923, entitled ‘When Knights Were Cold’, only half of which has survived. However, there is one entry which I believe was probably inspuired by the play, or at least was cashing in on its popularity, since it does include the dream device. Of course, Buchanan stole the device from Mark Twain’s ‘Connecticut Yankee’ and it has been used countless times in various permutations, but going from this plot summary from The Moving Picture World (19 September, 1914 - Vol. 21, No. 12, p. 1645), I would suggest this might be the earliest film version, if not directly credited to, then at least, inspired by, the play.


		WHEN KNIGHTS WERE BOLD (1914 - US) Cast: Wallace Beery - The Earl Ruth Hennessy - The Earl’s Sweetheart Robert Bolder - The Earl’s Father Helen Dunbar - The Earl’s Mother Silent, b&w, 1 reel (300 m). Produced by The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company. Rreleased 7 September, 1914. ___ Although there is another contender, another dream scenario, but this one, released a few months before has a different title and is performed by children. Here’s the synopsis from The Moving Picture World (25 July, 1914 - Vol. 21, No. 4, p. 615):



		And another one from The Moving Picture World (6 August, 1914 - Vol. 21, No. 6, p. 837) revealing the full horror:



		I think we can let that one go, since the plot seems to veer into Snow White territory, but if you want the credits here’s the relevant page from IMDB. ___ And then there’s the near-miss. This only seems to exist as a poster. In black and white:


	Or colour:

There’s a clean (no watermark) colour version at Getty Images, which I daren’t nick - best not to mess with the Gettys. And that seems to be it for this 1925 version of When Knights Were Bold starring Raymond Griffith, ‘the Silk Hat Comedian’. According to the article by Bruce Calvert at The Silent Film Still Archive:

“In late 1925, Griffith started having problems working with Paramount. Several Griffith films were announced to the press, but were never filmed.”

Presumably When Knights Were Bold was one of those.

Raymond Grifith is largely forgotten today, most of his films have been lost, and, because of a childhood bout of diptheria which damaged his vocal cords, he could barely speak above a whisper and so his career largely ended with the advent of the Talkies. However his final film role is worth mentioning, espccially since I’m writing this in 2023, after the new German version of All Quiet On The Western Front, scooped most of the BAFTAS and, in my opinion, should have done the same at this year’s Oscars.

“Griffith's final film role turned out to be his best-remembered one. In Lewis Milestone's All Quiet on the Western Front (Universal, 1930) he played Gerard Duval, a French soldier in the foxhole. In a poignant scene, he is killed by Lew Ayres' character Paul Baumer. As Duval lays dying, Baumer realizes the horror of the war. Griffith's wordless cameo performance was a highlight of the movie. Universal studios used a new high-camera crane to film many of the battle scenes, including Griffith's scene. The film won the Academy Award for best picture of 1930.”

8. When Knights Were Bold - The Musical

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