CHARGE OF THE BLACK LANCERS

 

Yesterday news broke about the passing of actress Yvonne Furneaux, best known now for being the leading lady of Hammer Films' 1959 THE MUMMY. The dark-haired exotic Furneaux also appeared in LA DOLCE VITA and REPULSION, and she also starred in a number of Italian historical adventures filmed in the late 1950s-early 60s. 

One of these adventures was CHARGE OF THE BLACK LANCERS, a 1962 Italian-French co-production directed by peplum veteran Giacomo Gentilomo. (One of the credited screenwriters is the ubiquitous Ernesto Gastaldi.) CHARGE OF THE BLACK LANCERS is unusual in that it deals with an obscure section of history--Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. The story is set in the Kingdom of Poland, a realm that is dealing with incursions by the Kyrgyz, an Asian tribe. 

The stoutest defenders of Poland's borders are a pair of Dukes who are brothers, Andrei (Mel Ferrer) and Sergei (Jean Claudio) of Tula. Andrei is steadfast and noble, while Sergei is hot-headed and arrogant. (Nearly every Italian sword-and-sandal/historical tale has a plot element dealing with two brothers who wind up facing off against each other.) Andrei defeats Sergei in a contest involving hand-to-hand combat that determines who should command the Polish armies. (Wouldn't there be a better way to determine command than take the risk of having your best military leaders kill each other?) This makes Sergei even more jealous and angry. When the Kyrgyz kidnap Marcia (Leticia Roman), a princess Sergei is planning to marry, he goes off after her--only to be seduced by the Queen of the Kyrgyz (Yvonne Furneaux). The Queen tempts Sergei by telling him that he and his Black Lancers should join up with her people and then attack Poland, which the two will then rule. Andrei can't believe that his brother has turned traitor, but finds out the truth, setting up a major battle between the Polish and Kyrgyz forces. 

CHARGE OF THE BLACK LANCERS (original title I LANCIERI NERI) has plenty of the elements expected of an historical epic. There's impressive and colorful costumes and sets, hundreds of extras, horses being ridden madly across the plains, and a full-blooded music score by Mario Nascimbene. Despite all this the movie has a perfunctory feel about it at times. The dialogue (the version I watched was dubbed in English) is very stiff, as are most of the interactions of the cast. A Mario Bava, or even a Antonio Margheriti, might have given the production more imagination & flair. 

Yvonne Furneaux and Leticia Roman in CHARGE OF THE BLACK LANCERS

Yvonne Furneaux is by far the best thing about the film. Her Queen is cold, cunning, and devious, but her dark beauty is enough to ensnare Sergei into her web. The Queen isn't adverse to doing her own handiwork, and she's also not adverse to killing one of her own subjects if it furthers her schemes. Leticia Roman (who starred in Mario Bava's THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH) is the light-haired counterpart to the Queen. Roman is essentially a fairy-tale damsel in distress, and even though she's betrothed to Sergei, the script makes plain that she and Andrei are the ones really in love with one another. 

Mel Ferrer doesn't look all that happy being in this movie. I'm sure he realized that Andrei isn't a role that one can do much with--the character reacts to events rather than instigates them. Andrei isn't a swashbuckling Errol Flynn type--he's much too noble and formal for that. Jean Caudio gets the much showier role as Sergei, but the character is more of a conceited jerk than memorably villainous. Andrei and Sergei do get to have a climatic sword fight in a burning temple. 

One thing that does need to be mentioned about CHARGE OF THE BLACK LANCERS is that even though the Kyrgyz are the nominal bad guys, they are not portrayed as cardboard savages. It's their Queen and Sergei that causes all the mischief, and it's even suggested that the Kyrgyz are being treated unfairly by the Poles. 

I watched this film on the Tubi streaming channel, and it was presented in a decent widescreen print, with an underwhelming English dub track. CHARGE OF THE BLACK LANCERS isn't one of the best examples of the Italian historical epic, but it's prime late night viewing, and it shows off Yvonne Furneaux quite well.