''Sword of Freedom'' was a 1958 drama adventure series for a family audience. Like several of its predecessors (most notably ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia d ...

''), it was produced by

Sapphire Films Sapphire Films Ltd. was a British television production company, active in the 1950s. Amongst their best-known series are ''The Adventures of Robin Hood,'' ''The Adventures of Sir Lancelot'', ''The Buccaneers'', and '' The Four Just Men'' produc ...

for

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

and fitted into the same

swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

genre as previous productions. It ran for 39 half-hour monochrome episodes.

Plot

Marco del Monte is a young Republican artist living in sixteenth century

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

. The city is ruled by the tyrant Duke de Medici. Marco's girlfriend is Angelica, a beautiful former pickpocket. Sandro is Marco's friend and confidant. Machiavelli is the Duke's advisor, and Captain Rodrigo is the head of the Medici forces. The series depicts the struggles of the Republicans to combat the attempts of the Duke to strengthen his position and make himself a dictator.

Cast and characters

* Edmund Purdom as Marco del Monte *

Adrienne Corri Adrienne Corri (born Adrienne Riccoboni; 13 November 1931 – 13 March 2016) was a Scottish actress. Early life She was born Adrienne Riccoboni in Glasgow in November 1931, the daughter of an English mother (Olive Smethurst) and an Italian ...

as Angelica * Roland Bartrop as Sandro * Martin Benson as the Duke de Medici * Kenneth Hyde as Machiavelli

Recurring characters

* Derek Sydney as Captain Rodrigo * Monica Stevenson as Francesca de Medici (De Medici's sister) *

Andrew Keir Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career ...

Edward Atienza as

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...

* Kevin Stoney as Niccolo the innkeeper Guest stars included

Joan Plowright Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier, (née Plowright; born 28 October 1929), professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career has spanned over seven decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony ...

Peter Wyngarde Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert, 23 August 1927 – 15 January 2018) was a British television, stage and film actor from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s. He was best known for portraying the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist ...

, Charles Gray,

Paul Eddington Paul Clark Eddington (18 June 1927 – 4 November 1995) was an English actor best known for playing Jerry Leadbetter in the television sitcom '' The Good Life'' (1975–78) and politician Jim Hacker in the sitcom '' Yes Minister'' (1980–84) ...

Brian Nissen Brian Nissen (20 October 1927 in London – 8 February 2001 in Salisbury, Wiltshire) was a British actor and television continuity announcer. Biography Nissen made an early appearance in Laurence Olivier's film of Shakespeare's ''Henry V'', an ...

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 '' ...

and

Roger Delgado Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto (1 March 1918 – 18 June 1973) was a British actor. He played many roles on television, radio and in films, and had "a long history of playing minor villains" before becoming ...

Episodes

Airdate is for ATV Midlands ITV regions varied date and order. Production order as the Network DVD. Filmed during 1957–1958. Production Nos 101, 117–139 at Walton Studios, Walton on Thames, England and 102–108 at Alliance Film Studios, Twickenham, EnglandTaken from each episode end titles

Series 1 (1958)

Series 2 (1960–1961)

Music

The theme music to ''Sword of Freedom'' was composed by Eric Spear, more famous for his theme for ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

''.

DVD

Network released the series on a 5-disc region 2 DVD set in June 2010.

References

External links

*
British Film Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sword Of Freedom 1958 British television series debuts 1961 British television series endings 1950s British drama television series 1960s British drama television series Television series by ITC Entertainment ITV television dramas Television shows set in Italy British adventure television series Black-and-white British television shows English-language television shows Television shows set in Florence