The Oscar-nominated Knights of the Round Table was the first MGM feature film to utilize the widescreen CinemaScope process upon its release in 1953. The film was recently released on Blu-ray by way of the Warner Archive Collection after being remastered in 1080p from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. Knights of the Round Table is presented in a 2.55:1 aspect ratio with a DTS HD-MA 2.0 STEREO soundtrack.

Britain is in chaos when Arthur Pendragon (Mel Ferrer) and his half-sister Morgan LeFay (Anne Crawford) meet at Merlin’s (Felix Aylmer) urging to end the bloodshed. Merlin reveals Excalibur, declaring that whoever pulls the sword from the stone shall be king. Modred (Stanley Baker), Morgan’s lover, fails, while Arthur succeeds with ease. On his journey, French knight Sir Lancelot (Robert Taylor) encounters siblings Elaine (Maureen Swanson) and Percival (Gabriel Woolf), then crosses swords with Arthur before pledging his loyalty. Arthur defeats Modred in battle, secures the throne, and founds the Round Table, bringing peace to England.

That peace is tested when Lancelot rescues Arthur’s bride-to-be Guinevere (Ava Gardner) from a kidnapping. The chemistry between the two is impossible to ignore, and Morgan and Modred conspire to exploit it. To distance himself, Lancelot marries Elaine and rides north, while Percival joins the Knights of the Round Table and begins a quest for the Holy Grail. Yet intrigue deepens: Merlin is assassinated, Elaine dies in childbirth, and Arthur recalls Lancelot to Camelot. His reunion with Guinevere reignites suspicion and jealousy.

When Modred accuses Lancelot and Guinevere of treason, they flee but are condemned in absentia. Though Arthur spares them execution, Modred turns the knights against him. War returns, and at the Battle of Camlann a truce collapses in bloodshed. Arthur is fatally wounded, entrusting Lancelot with destroying Modred, forgiving Guinevere, and casting Excalibur back into the sea.

Lancelot fulfills Arthur’s final commands: slaying Modred, offering peace to Morgan, and returning to Camelot alongside Percival. In the empty Round Table chamber, the two knights are granted a vision of the Holy Grail and a divine benediction, closing the story of Camelot in tragedy, redemption, and myth.

Interestingly, Talbot Jennings, Jan Lustig, and Noel Langley’s script for Knights of the Round Table opts for the Welsh spelling Modred rather than the more common Mordred. The film also departs from Arthurian tradition by portraying Morgan and Modred as lovers. In most legends, Modred is the son of Morgause, another of Arthur’s half-sisters, while Morgan is often identified as the mother of Sir Ywain. Since Modred’s earliest mention in the Annales Cambriae, he has never been biologically related to Arthur. The film also pairs Elaine and Percival as siblings, a connection absent from earlier literature.

Knight of the Round Table’s sole Oscar nominations were for Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Color (Alfred Junge, Hans Peters, John Jarvis) and Sound Recording (A. W. Watkins).

Arthurian legend and Camelot have long been a source for Hollywood movies (The Kid Who Would Be King is among the most recent), and Knights of the Round Table is no exception. While the film surely played better when first seen in the full CinemaScope experience, it drags somewhat when revisited on Blu-ray. I’m not sure if this was because it was my third film of the day or if the film just hasn’t aged particularly well. Still, you can’t blame MGM for going big with their first CinemaScope release. It also didn’t hurt that Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner had already starred in three films together—not to mention a brief off-screen affair.

In the end, Knights of the Round Table is more notable for its place in film history as MGM’s first CinemaScope production than for its storytelling or dramatic impact. Despite the star wattage of Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner, Knights of the Round Table struggles under sluggish pacing and departures from Arthurian tradition that do little to enhance the legend.

Bonus Features

• Intro by MEL FERRER
• GALA PREMIERE NEWSREEL
• CinemaScope short: MGM JUBILEE OVERTURE (HD)
• CinemaScope cartoon ONE DROOPY KNIGHT (HD)
• Original Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR: Richard Thorpe
SCREENWRITERS: Talbot Jennings, Jan Lustig, and Noel Langley
NARRATOR: Valentine Dyall
CAST: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, with Anne Crawford, Stanley Baker, Felix Aylmer, Maureen Swanson, Gabriel Woolf, Anthony Forwood, Robert Urquhart, Niall MacGinnis

MGM released Knights of the Round Table in theaters on January 15, 1954. Grade: 1.5/5

Please subscribe to Solzy on Buttondown and visit Dugout Dirt.