I remember this one – a big budget British film but I have come across these location pictures that show how well we use existing locations – in this instance Warwick Castle. Only a dew short months late MGM made ‘Ivanhoe’ and they built a castle in the grounds of Elstree Studios.

This film opens with quite a random selection of Castles in a short intro we see Bodiam Castle, Leeds Castle and a couple of others before we alight on Warwick Castle.

Another Castle location used in the film was Allington Castle in Kent

In the picture above, the 20th Century Fox Unit rests between scenes in theb 13th Century drama ‘The Black Rose’. In this photograph we can see Tyrone Power, Director Henry Hathaway, Jack Hawkins, First Assistant Bluey Hill, Continuity Pam Davies, Red Gemmell ( Camera ) and George Frost ( Make Up)

In the picture ABOVE

Almost up to their necks in it for the final scenes in ‘The Black Rose’ the camera crew took to the River Avon, close to Warwick Castle, during the three weeks location there with this Technicolor romantic adventure story

Eye to the camera is Jack Cardiff with Paul Beeson, camera operator. Behind them are Ted Scarle and Neil ( Red ) Gemmell with Director Henry Hathaway ( in white shirt )

I have scanned back over the film and when I read here that there was a THREE week location shoot, the scenes in the film seem to be very few and particularly this one in the water. There was such a scene but it seemed to be in semi darkness and in my mind those brief scenes could so easily have been shot in a Studio Tank

it must have been a very hot day in the summer of 1949 – the film was released on 7 September 1950

Just look at the cast list ABOVE. Henry Oscar – a very well known and reliable film actor, Laurence Harvey who went on to a quite dazzling film career but sadly died very young and James Robertson Justice – how does he get these parts I just don’t know – he must have been very well connected, He went on to the three big Walt Disney films made here in the early fifties and then on to the ‘Doctor’ series and a lot of others. How does he do it ?