The Castilian

The Castilian
Directed by	Javier Seto
Produced by	Sidney W. Pink
Written by	Paulino Rodrigo Luis de los Arcos Javier Setó
Screenplay by	Paulino Rodrigo Luis de los Arcos Javier Setó
Based on	Poema de Fernán González
Starring	Cesar Romero Frankie Avalon
Music by	José Buenagú
Cinematography	Mario Pacheco
Edited by	Richard Mayer Margarita de Ochoa
Production company	Producciones Cinematográficas M.D. S.L.
Distributed by	Warner Bros. (USA)
Release dates	1963
Running time	120 minutes
Country	Spain
Language	English

The Castilian (Spanish: El Valle de las espadas) is a 1963 film about Fernán González of Castile, the first independent Count of Castile, who lived and reigned in the early 10th century, and is considered an important figure in the Spanish Reconquista.

This film was directed by Javier Setó. Filmed in Spain; exteriors filmed in Burgos and Peñafiel (Valladolid).

Plot summary

Don Sancho (Broderick Crawford) is a despotic 10th century castilian king who, in cahoots with the invading Moors, has banished handsome Castilian nobleman Fernán González (Espartaco Santoni). With the surreptitious aid of Don Sancho's daughter, Sancha (Tere Velázquez), Fernán González assembles an army to march against the Moors.^[1]

Cast

• Cesar Romero as "Jerónimo"
• Frankie Avalon as "Jerifán"
• Broderick Crawford as "Don Sancho"
• Alida Valli as "Reina Teresa"
• Espartaco Santoni as "Fernán González"
• Tere Velázquez as "Sancha"
• Fernando Rey as "Ramiro II of León"

Production

The film was known as The Valley of the Swords.^[2]

References

1. http://www.allmovie.com/movie/el-valle-de-las-espadas-v8565
2. Jane Fonda Heads 'Hanno's Doll' Cast Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 19 June 1962: C7.

See also

• list of historical drama films

External links

• The Castilian at the Internet Movie Database
• The Castilian at TCMDB
• The Castilian at AllMovie