The Swordsman of Siena (1962)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

At first glance this movie doesn't have much going for it. Like Michael Caine, Stewart Granger made some turkeys and the Italian cast is mostly unknown to Americans. But I tuned in to see if Sylva Koscina was as beautiful as she had been in the Hercules movies with Steve Reeves. She's certainly a beauty, but somewhat upstaged by the young and beautiful Christine Kaufman. Granger's lines are good and he delivers them well. There are several excellent sword fights, one in a barn with some very slick moves. The plot's a bit obtuse, but the bad guys are pretty bad so you know who's on which side. The ending is little bit of a let down as you were hoping for Stewart himself to run the beggars through, but it's OK. Christine kind of steals the rest of the show and does a fine job as a very idealistic young woman. So give this one a watch. I enjoyed it much more than I expected.

An English swordsman for hire is employed by a Spanish Governor ruling an insurgent Italian province. He becomes the bodyguard of the future duchess and is soon embroiled in court intrigue and the growing rebellion.This film marked the beginning of Stewart Grangers career expatriation to Europe after his estrangement with the powers that be in Hollywood. In this context, it's not a bad costumer and recalls shades of his former success with Scaramouche. In fact, the film has some surprisingly energetic action scenes - most notably - some well staged sword fights where Granger aptly shows his swordplay skills and a grueling horse race at the end of the film.The story and plot are standard fair for this type of movie but are handled well and given a lift by Grangers charming delivery. The pace is brisk, the widescreen photography is nice and the Italian cast comes off pretty well led by Sylva Koscino as the fiery duchess. In fact, the film succeeds on many levels emulating a good Hollywood costumer with one exception, the music. It's atrocious. The movie screams for the fiery score of a Korngold or a Max Steiner but is instead left with fluff. It doesn't kill the movie but it hurts.

Siena in the sixteenth century called the Spanish for help :litle did they know (and they were naive) that their protectors would be here to stay and that they would become dictators.His excellency wants to marry Henrietta ,a high born lovely wealthy lady ;but the little sister ,Serenella,does not agree and she tells her so:he is responsible for the death of their father;enter a mercenary (Granger),whose mission is to protect the governor's future wife.This is an entertaining swashbuckler,pleasant to watch:Stewart Granger ,who is going gray (and even white) at the temples ,is always dashing,dynamic ,and full of humor;he is good at fencing and Sylva Koscina is not chopped liver either;Christine Kauffmann is gorgeous as the little sister ;even if we guess the truth about Henrietta long before the end,the story is so eventful we never get bored.Now tongue in cheek,now tragical (the death of the kid sister),with a nasty cousin Hugo,fond of tortures, ten rebels (check the title)against tyranny and a Robin Hood feel:very entertaining stuff!

The last sword-wielding swashbuckling adventure starring Stewart Granger that I am aware of, (two others that came before were "Scaramouche" and "The Prisoner of Zenda"). If you enjoyed the relatively recent "The Mask of Zorro" with Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Anthony Hopkins, you will not be disappointed with these classics. Granger was one of the few actors - besides Mel Ferrer and Basil Rathbone, possessing convincing fencing expertise. I have always preferred his movies to those of Errol Flynn. Captivating sword fights, handsome heroes and beautiful heroines, smart and humorous dialog without the vulgarities permeating the movies of the last few decades. Sylva Koscina was beautiful with an attitude. Christine Kaufmann was just eye-candy, possibly intended as a contrast to Koscina.