The part of Robin Hood is now being played by Burt Lancaster

Another of the movies that I recently watched and is available on DVD courtesy of the Warner Archive is The Flame and the Arrow.

The movie opens with some text informing us that in the late 12th century, Friedrich Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire has invaded northern Italy and is subjugating the people of Lombardy, although they're a hardy mountain people who are not going to be easy to dominate. Cut to some villagers such as Papa and Nonna Bartoli (Francis Pierlot and Aline MacMahon respectively) who are vowing not to submit to Barbarossa's overlord for the region, Count Ulrich, also known as the Hawk (Frank Allenby).

Into all of this comes Dardo Bartoli (Burt Lancaster), together with his young son Rudi. Dardo had been married to Francesca (Lynne Baggett), but she left him and is living in the Count's palace. Dardo is a sort of hero to the locals, nephew to Nonna and Papa, and someone who would fight against the Hawk just because it would give him something to fight. He's going to be fighting the Hawk soon enough.

The Count and some of his men have come down to the village because somebody shot one of the Count's hawks, something that locals had always considered fair game out in the wild because hawks would kill their pigeons and other small livestock. But as with the deer in Sherwood Forest being the King's Deer, the Count is absolutely pissed that somebody shot one of his hawks used in falconry. The Count retalites by taking Rudi and bringing him back to the palace to raise as a civilized kid and so Mom can have custody of him.

Meanwhile, Barbarossa is trying to create an alliance between the Holy Roman Empire and Lombardy. To that end, he's brought a noblewoman down from the German lands, Anne of Hesse (Virginia Mayo). The Count has found a suitable noble for her to marry and cement an alliance between the two regions, that being the Marchese Alessandro de Granazia (Robert Douglas). The Marchese is having trouble paying the Count's confiscatory taxes, so he's taken to the palace with marriage being an enticement to get out of tax evasion. Along the way, however, Dardo and his men capture the Marchese and his troubadour (Nolan Lloyd) and taken them to Dardo's hideout at the abandoned temple of Apollo.

There, Dardo and his men, including his right-hand man, the mute Piccolo (Nick Cravat) plot their revenge. Dardo invades the palace to try to rescue his son, but instead of getting Rudi, he winds up with Anne of Hesse, taking her hostage. Now, it should be pretty clear that they're going to fall in love along the way, but that is also unsurprisingly something that takes a little while, since the two are enemies when first they meet.

The idea of a prisoner exchange is floated, but the Count tortures Piccolo and threatens to kill Dardo's uncle. Dardo's men save Papa, but the Count threatens to kill more men. At first the locals think about giving in, but ultimately they decide to fight alongside Dardo. The Marchese, meanwhile, sees his chance to get back what he thinks is rightfully his, even if it means betraying Dardo.

The Flame and the Arrow is a formulaic swashbuckler that in many ways made me think of The Adventures of Robin Hood. It's not exactly bad, and with its action and Technicolor photography, it's certainly worth a watch on any rainy night. But there were also things about it that I didn't like. Not just that there's nothing new or particularly noteworthy here, but especially the presence of Nick Cravat, who was Burt Lancaster's friend and circus partner back in the days before Lancaster made the move to movies. Cravat apparently had a thick New York accent, which is why in the historical movies he's in he's turned into a mute so we don't have to hear the inauthentic accent. Unfortunately, both here and in The Crimson Pirate, it turns Cravat into a smarmy, obnoxious jerk who brings down the proceedings every time he's on screen.

But, of course, that may just be me; other people might well enjoy the presence of Cravat. And visually, the movie is more than worth a watch. Just be forewarned that what you're getting is undemanding.