And what's a black rose? We're told it is the name given to the clove, the most precious of spices. In this case, the clove is Maryam, played by Cecile Aubry. She was a small French actress, discovered, it is said, by producer Darrell F. Zanuck, and who looks no older than 14. She has a small mouth which is filled with tiny teeth and a plump tongue, and she occasionally jumps about to express enthusiasm. If Vera-Ellen and Charlie McCarthy had ever had a child, it would look a lot like Cecile Aubry. The movie, The Black Rose, is no stinker, but it suffers from Aubrey in the role. Unfortunately, it also suffers because Tyrone Power, playing Walter of Gurnie, a young scholar in his early twenties, looks every bit the 39-year- old man he was. The one insuperable drawback to the movie is its disjointed nature. We move from Norman England 200 years after William the Conqueror, to the middle-east and then on to a Mongol army moving and battling its way toward China, then to the imperial court of China itself, and finally back to England. We have a movie which is part historical adventure, part travelogue, part uneasy romance and, with Orson Welles playing the Mongol general Bayan with false eyelids, chubby cheeks and greasy skin, part succulent ham. The movie features some great scenic set-ups, interesting acting in one or two of the secondary parts, particularly by Jack Hawkins, and a nice look at a marching mongol horde, but on balance I think it is one of Power's weakest romantic-adventure films. Walter of Gurnie, the illegitimate son of a Saxon lord who had married a Norman woman, is a hot-headed Oxford student who has left his studies when he heard his father has died. He hates, with good reason, the Normans. One night he joins a band of fellow Saxons led by Tristram Griffin (Jack Hawkins), an excellent bowman, in an attack on the castle which had been his father's. He planned to free some Saxon hostages held by his step-mother and her son, as well as to claim the boots his father had left in his father's will. In this will his father had publicly acknowledged him as his son. As a result of the attack, Walter and Tris must flee, and Walter decides they should go adventuring to Cathay to win gold, jewels and fame. Along the way he meets the great Mongol general, Bayan of the Hundred Eyes, who takes an interest in the two. Walter and Tris also are tricked into hiding a young woman, Maryam, who is one of dozens of maidens being sent to the Great Khan and who are traveling with Bayan's army. After battles and marches, archery contests, chess games and a walk along the rope of death, Walter is sent to the Chinese court to explain how powerful Bayan is and why the Chinese should surrender the imperial city. Now we have luxurious surroundings, manicured gardens, treacherous mandarins, jewels sewn into coats and a harrowing escape in which Walter and Maryam are separated. Finally, we're back in England, where the king honors Walter for his bravery and for bringing back the knowledge of the Chinese. All seems settled except for his lost love for Maryam. Will they be reunited? And how? See the movie. Tyrone Power was Zanuck's champion swashbuckler. Power was, for me, a very earnest actor. In his early years he had great good looks. As he aged, his face thickened a bit, his eyebrows grew dense and his five-o-clock shadow must have been a real challenge for Fox's make-up artists. He was an actor who longed to show he could do more than prance around the scenery with a sword in his hand. In two movies, Nightmare Alley and Witness for the Prosecution, he fought for the chance to show he could handle unpleasant roles, and he did very well. Yet for the most part he stayed safely playing conventional star heroes. He died of a heart attack when he was only 44. He was filming, what else, a dueling scene for one more big, expensive and forgettable adventure movie. For those who enjoy reading sweeping historical adventures, you might like the source book, The Black Rose by Thomas B. Costain. It's one of those big, fat novels that goes from adventure to adventure. Costain probably is barely remembered now. He was a Canadian journalist who, in his early sixties, unexpectedly struck it rich as a popular novelist. For ten years he wrote best selling fiction and well-respected popular histories. His fiction is packed with well-researched history and his histories read like well-written novels. The Black Rose is still a good read.

The Black Rose is an extremely uninvolving film, due both to its unfocused script and the miscasting of Tyrone Power and Cecile Aubrey. Power is far too old to play an Oxford student who has dropped out of college. A 20 year old in the part might have made the hot-headedness of the character acceptable, but Power was 36 when he made this, and watching him behave this way simply made me think he was immature or nasty and vindictive. Cecile Aubrey is truly awful. She comes across as a child, and has no sex appeal or chemistry with Power. It's doubly curious that she's called "The Black Rose" but has blonde hair and a light complexion. Orson Welles has some enjoyable moments as the warlord, and Jack Hawkins is solid as the best friend. There is some nice production value, but there are no battle scenes that actually take place on screen. This is a movie in which things just happen, but not because the characters are driven to make them happen. All in all, it's rather dull and definitely not recommended.

I know this was shown on Italian TV during my childhood but I'm not sure whether I had watched the film in its entirety - after this viewing, I certainly didn't recollect much of anything and, therefore, consider it as a first!Anyway, I decided to catch up with it now as an accompaniment to star Tyrone Power's most popular vehicle - THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940). Unlike that one (shot in black-and-white on studio sets), however, this was splashed with color and had the benefit of location photography: still, it's a much inferior spectacle, and the main reason for this is that the plot itself singularly lacks excitement - despite being basically an amalgam of Ivanhoe (starting off in medieval England with our Saxon hero opposing the Norman rulers) and Marco Polo (he eventually travels to the Orient and brings back samples of their exotic heritage). Also, despite the imposing presence of Orson Welles as a fearsome but noble Mongol warrior, there's precious little action in this two-hour film (though it's never actually boring)!Despite the Fox banner, this was a British-based production and, consequently, the supporting cast and technical credits are nothing to sneeze at - the former including such stalwarts as Jack Hawkins (an unlikely but amiable bowman and Power's sidekick), Michael Rennie, Finlay Currie (as Power's proud and cantankerous grandfather), Herbert Lom, James Robertson Justice and Laurence Harvey (impossibly young as a Norman prince), as well as Alfonso Bedoya (whose voice was allegedly dubbed by Peter Sellers!) and child actor Robert Blake; behind the camera were such talents as legendary cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Richard Addinsell and production designer Paul Sheriff. The weakest link in the film is clearly leading lady Cecile Aubry, who struggles too hard to be winsome but results only in being irritating most of the time (not surprisingly, her career wasn't a long-lasting one).While certainly watchable and generally entertaining in itself, Power was better served by some of his other historical epics (among them the film that directly preceded it, PRINCE OF FOXES [1949], another - though more modest - collaboration with Orson Welles).

It is set in XII century , during the reign of Edward I (1272-1307) , son of Henry III , with a strong rivalry between Norman and Saxon people . Two young Xasons (Tyrone Power and Jack Hawkins) decide to leave England crowned by King Edward (Michael Rennie) and since 1066 when the Hastings battle took place ruled by the Normans . They are going to Orient along with a beautiful girl called Maryam (Cécile Aubry , though Leslie Caron was offered first the character , which was eventually given to Aubry) escaped from avaricious merchants (Herbert Lom , Alfonso Bedoya whose voice was dubbed by Peter Sellers) . As they arrive in Mongol territory governed by Gengis Khan and they enlist to General Bayan's (Orson Welles) troops that want to conquer China . During war they are imprisoned and will suffer numerous dangers , adventures and risks ; besides , they will learn great number of Chinese inventions , such as : compass , silk , powder , among others . It is a spectacular adventure with plenty of emotions , action and romance . This exciting picture blends far eastern adventures and medieval scenario . This is one of the most amusing oriental adventure movies ever made and extremely well produced in awesome Technicolor photography . This juvenile romp is utterly fun and entertaining . Tyrone Power (who died in Spain filming ¨Salomon and Queen of Saba¨) and Jack Hawkins are firmly teamed , they make a first-class duo as the adventurer pals . Magnificent Orson Welles who interpreted for getting the financing ¨Othello¨ and other yarns that remained unfinished due to poor budgeted backing . Orson played several exotic personages (The Tartari , Saul , Cagliostro , Macbeth , Cesare Borgia). Here appears known supporting actors , but very secondaries , thus : Robert Blake (as Mahmoud) , Laurence Harvey , Henry Oscar (the friar named Roger Bacon) , James Robertson Justice and many others . Glimmer and splendid cinematography by classic cameraman Jack Cardiff (Black narcissus) and sometimes filmmaker (Dark of the sun) . The film was professionally directed by Hollywood veteran Henry Hathaway who subsequently shot ¨Rawhide¨ , a fundamental western also with Tyrone Power . The flick will appeal to fanciful far Eastern saga enthusiasts and Tyrone Power fans .