Charge of the Lancers

The Crimean War serves as a backdrop as Goddard and Aumont aid the British in capturing the Russian naval base, Sebastopol. Playing a gypsy, the lovely Goddard along with Aumont let themselves get taken prisoner by the Russians to better carry on their spy activities.

CHARGE OF THE LANCERS is an all too typical Columbia "B" adventure film of the 1950s, with inexpensive sets, fading stars, and miles of stock footage. Paulette Goddard, pushing 50, plays a lively gypsy girl who romance an British military officer (the robustly non-British Jean-Pierre Aumont) during the Crimean War of the 1850s. Goddard and Aumont are captured by the Russians, but escape to do some spying for the Allied cause. All of this leads up to the British victory at Sebastopol, staged with both eyes on the budget sheet by resourceful director William Castle. CHARGE OF THE LANCERS was filmed in Technicolor, evidently the only real expenditure made by "quickie" producer Sam Katzman.