Trial by Combat
1976 British film by Kevin Connor
- September 1976 (1976-09) (US)
Running time
Trial by Combat (US title: Dirty Knights' Work) is a 1976 British action adventure comedy film directed by Kevin Connor and starring John Mills and Donald Pleasence.[1][2]
The film was also known as A Choice of Weapons.[3]
Plot
A British organisation known as the Knights of Avalon is discontent that so many criminals can evade the law. So they decide to secretly hunt down these criminals, and battle and execute them with medieval weapons.
One day the founder of the organisation, Sir Edward Gifford, witnesses their actions, and they execute him too. His son, Sir John Gifford, decides to investigate his father's murder.
Cast
- John Mills as Colonel Bertie Cook
- Donald Pleasence as Sir Giles Marley
- Barbara Hershey as Marion Evans
- David Birney as Sir John Gifford
- Margaret Leighton as Ma Gore
- Peter Cushing as Sir Edward Gifford
- Brian Glover as Sidney Gore
- John Savident as Police Commissioner Oliver Griggs
- John Hallam as Sir Roger
- Keith Buckley as Herald
- Neil McCarthy as Ben Willoughby
- Thomas Heathcote as Tramp
- Bernard Hill as 'Blind' Freddie
- Diane Langton as Ruby
- Roy Holder as William Renfield
Production
Filming took place over ten weeks from October 1975.[4] Finance came from Warner Bros. Connor said the two American producers, Paul Heller and Fred Weintraub "were great, they left me alone to do the film. I may have gotten a few nudges to shoot faster, but by and large they didn't interfere with anything once we got the script. They didn't insist on more closeups or similar stuff you get with some producers. Again, I was very lucky to have good producers to give me the people I wanted and let me realize my vision."[5]
Reception
The Boston Globe wrote "the scenes with Glover and Miss Leighton are about all this film has to offer."[6]
The Miami Herald called it "predictably awful."[7]
The Guardian called it an "unspeakably inept farrago."[8]
References
- ^ "Trial by Combat (1976)". BFI. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019.
- ^ "Dirty Knights' Work". TVGuide.com.
- ^ "A Choice of Weapons (1976) - Kevin Connor | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
- ^ "Rich opposes family hour". The Orlando Sentinel. 3 October 1975. p. 55.
- ^ "Lost Worlds and Chainsaw Pigs: An Interview With Director Kevin Connor". Cool Ass Cinema. 4 December 2022.
- ^ "'Knights' hard grind". The Boston Globe. 4 October 1976. p. 15.
- ^ "British thriller unspeakably bad". The Miami Herald. 5 October 1976. p. 24.
- ^ "High and likely". The Guardian. 20 May 1976. p. 10.
External links
- Trial by Combat at IMDb
- Trial by Combat at Letterbox DVD
- Trial by Combat at AllMovie
- Trial by Combat at Rotten Tomatoes
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Films directed by Kevin Connor
- From Beyond the Grave (1974)
- The Land That Time Forgot (1974)
- Trial by Combat (1976)
- At the Earth's Core (1976)
- The People That Time Forgot (1977)
- Warlords of Atlantis (1978)
- Arabian Adventure (1979)
- Motel Hell (1980)
- Goliath Awaits (1981)
- The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
- Mistral's Daughter (1984)
- The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1987)
- The Lion of Africa (1987)
- Diana: Her True Story (1993)
- Sunset Grill (1993)
- Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993)
- Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story (1995)
- The Little Riders (1996)
- Mother Teresa: In the Name of God's Poor (1997)
- Mary, Mother of Jesus (1999)
- In the Beginning (2000)
- Santa Jr. (2002)
- Just Desserts (2004)
- Frankenstein (2004)
- A Boyfriend for Christmas (2004)
- Domestic Import (2006)
- Blackbeard (2006)
- Marco Polo (2007)
- Always and Forever (2009)
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