Charlton Heston spent much of the shoot worrying about the script and in his diary damned his co-star with faint praise as "a competent actress, and a star". Currently wowing them at 86 in 'La Vita Davanti a Se', producer Samuel Bronston only had Sophia Loren for the first ten weeks of filming and she makes no mention of director Anthony Mann in her memoirs. This is hardly surprising since her role requires little of her but to stand there and look magnificent, along with the rest of the film.
Robert Krasker's photography, (described by Charlton Heston as "one of the outstanding qualities of 'El Cid'") constantly makes the film a pleasure to look at; especially it's startling flashes of red throughout. The supporting cast is enlivened by Herbert Lom hiding behind a cloak as Ben Yussuf, a surprisingly saturnine Andrew Cruickshank as Loren's father. And I should like to have seen much more of lynx-eyed Genevieve Page as the naughty Queen Urraca.
Robert Krasker's photography, (described by Charlton Heston as "one of the outstanding qualities of 'El Cid'") constantly makes the film a pleasure to look at; especially it's startling flashes of red throughout. The supporting cast is enlivened by Herbert Lom hiding behind a cloak as Ben Yussuf, a surprisingly saturnine Andrew Cruickshank as Loren's father. And I should like to have seen much more of lynx-eyed Genevieve Page as the naughty Queen Urraca.