Richard the Lionheart (TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard the Lionheart
Genre	Adventure Family History
Written by	Stanley Miller Paul Tabori David Nicholl Mark Grantham
Directed by	Ernest Morris
Starring	Dermot Walsh Robin Hunter Alan Haywood Iain Gregory Sheila Whittingham Trader Faulkner
Opening theme	"Richard the Lionheart"
Ending theme	"Richard the Lionheart"
Composer(s)	Bill Le Sage
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	39 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Edward J. Danziger Harry Lee Danziger
Producer(s)	Brian Taylor (associate producer)
Cinematography	Walter J. Harvey
Editor(s)	Peter Pitt John S. Smith
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Danziger Productions Ltd.
Distributor	Independent Television (ITV) (1962-1963) (UK) (TV)
Release
Original network	Independent Television (ITV) (UK)
Picture format	16 mm film 1.33 : 1 Black and white
Audio format	Mono
Original release	20 November 1961 (1961-11-20) – 14 October 1965 (1965-10-14)

Richard the Lionheart was a British ITV television series. It aired in 1962 and 1963. The show was made for younger viewers, like you!

The story begins after the death of King Henry II. It shows King Richard the Lionheart as a brave hero. His brother, Prince John, played by Trader Faulkner, is the villain.

The Irish actor Dermot Walsh played Richard. He said they focused on Richard's good side. Richard was a complex person. He was a brilliant general but not always a great ruler. He was also a sensitive poet and singer.

The people who made the show said it was mostly based on facts. But since not much was known about Richard's personal life, they "took some liberties." This means they made up some parts to make the story more exciting.

Main Characters in the Series

Besides Richard and Prince John, other important characters appeared regularly. These included:

• Sir Gilbert, played by Robin Hunter
• Sir Geoffrey, played by Alan Haywood
• Blondel, played by Iain Gregory
• Leopold of Austria, played by Francis de Wolff
• Queen Berengaria, played by Sheila Whittingham

What Critics Thought

The BFI Screenonline website said the show was a typical adventure story. It featured knights doing good deeds and villains causing trouble. They especially liked Trader Faulkner as the sneaky Prince John. They also enjoyed Francis de Wolff as the "delightfully monstrous" Leopold of Austria.

DVD Release

A DVD of the series was released on June 6, 2016. It included five episodes:

• Long Live The King
• School For a King
• Crown In Danger
• The Pirate King
• The Challenge

The picture quality on the DVD was generally good. However, the sound sometimes had problems.

Cast