Prince Valiant

"The Golden Age of Adventure Comes Alive as the Vikings Storm the Screen"

1954 1h 40m EN

😐

6.1

MID

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 68★6.2IMDB · 3,037

AdventureActionRomance

Synopsis

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A young Viking prince strives to become a knight in King Arthur's Court and restore his exiled father to his rightful throne.

“The Golden Age of Adventure Comes Alive as the Vikings Storm the Screen”

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Cast

James Mason
Sir Brack
Janet Leigh
Princess Aleta
Robert Wagner
Prince Valiant
Debra Paget
Ilene
Sterling Hayden
Sir Gawain
Victor McLaglen
Boltar
Donald Crisp
King Aguar
Brian Aherne
King Arthur

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Henry Hathaway
Writers: Dudley Nichols
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 0% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

72 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Henry Hathaway, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert L. Simpson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

James Mason and Janet Leigh and Robert Wagner carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Henry Hathaway directs. Lucien Ballard behind the camera. Franz Waxman scores. Robert L. Simpson cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 0% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
372 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Henry Hathaway, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Robert L. Simpson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8James Mason and Janet Leigh and Robert Wagner carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "The Golden Age of Adventure Comes Alive as the Vikings Storm the Screen".
10IMDB entry: tt0047365 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 68 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
12Classified under 14 themes, including "camelot", "exile", "vikings (norsemen)", "based on comic".

The technical file

Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Original score: Franz Waxman
Editing: Robert L. Simpson
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,970,000
Box office: $3,373
Return: 0% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Prince Valiant (1954)
IMDB rating: 6.2/10 · 3,037 votes
MPAA: Approved

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Henry Hathaway

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-03-21
★ 7/10
With the kingdom in peril from the marauding Vikings, “Aguar” (Donald Crisp) sends his son “Valiant” (Robert Wagner) to safety in England where he is to attend the court of king “Arthur” (Brian Aherne). He is welcomed there, but quickly discovers that there is a duplicitous black knight who is consorting with the Norsemen to capture him. Who is this mysterious figure? Meantime, he is assigned to the staff of the gallant “Sir Gawain” (Sterling Hayden) in whom he confides his suspicions of “Sir Brack” (James Mason). Naturally, his mentor doesn’t believe him and in despair, the young Prince tries to sort things out himself. That just leads to his capture and return home in chains. Now he has to find a way to overthrow the usurper and then return back to alert “Arthur” to the danger under his nose. Meantime, there’s a little romance bubbling along with the princess “Aleta” (Janet Leigh) and “Ilene” (Debra Paget) that shows both our knights as rather tongue-tied when it comes to women! There’s plenty of adventure here, Mason is on decent form and Wagner makes for an amiable hero as we build to a denouement that's predicable, but as it includes Victor McLaglen clad in fur wearing a pointy tin hat, is enjoyable to watch. This is a colourful and vibrant action film that I quite enjoyed.

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