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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0857_8.JPG]]
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3''When Knighthood Was in Flower'' is a 1922 film directed by Robert G. Vignola, starring Creator/MarionDavies.
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5It is set at the court of King UsefulNotes/HenryVIII, and stars Davies as the king's sister, Mary Tudor. Vivacious young Mary is a highly sought-after marriage candidate both for her noble standing and her beauty. Her brother Henry decides to marry her to Louis XII, king of France, to cement an alliance between the two countries. There are a couple of problems with this, however. Mary is scornful of the idea that she is a pawn to be married off. She is particularly repulsed by the idea of marrying Louis, who is a doddering old man. And most inconveniently for Henry, his sister has fallen in love with Charles Brandon, a captain in Henry's guard. They are determined to be married no matter what.
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7Produced by William Randolph Hearst, Davies' paramour; the most successful of the elaborate costume dramas Davies made during this era. A 30-year-old Creator/WilliamPowell, in only his second movie, appears as Francis, King Louis's nephew and heir (later King Francis I).
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10!!Tropes:
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12* AbhorrentAdmirer: King Louis XII is pretty stoked at the idea of getting a hot young wife, but Mary is much less enthusiastic about him. Francis, young and handsome but thoroughly creepy, is abhorrent to Mary in a whole different way.
13* AfterActionPatchUp: Mary helps bandage up the cut on Charles's hand after he gets hurt defending her from the Duke of Buckingham's goons.
14* AndStarring: After everyone else in the cast is introduced in the opening credits with their name and picture, there's a card that says simply "And", followed by Davies' picture and name.
15* ArrangedMarriage: Mary is pissed off at the idea that she'll be married to the king of France.
16* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Charles Brandon was not a commoner. He was the son of a knight--UsefulNotes/HenryVII's bannerman at Bosworth Field, in fact--and had grown up in the Tudor court. He was created Duke of Suffolk ''before'' he got married to Mary. And there was no dramatic flight from Francis's court, although they did get married in secret without telling her brother.
17* BoundAndGagged: Done to ''the king of France'', as Charles and Mary tie up Francis before their hasty departure from court.
18* FortuneTeller: Grammont the creepy "soothsayer", who predicts that Mary will be queen of France before a death makes her happy. He's right.
19* HaveAGayOldTime: "King Louis is determined to show his young queen that he is a gay and romantic youth."
20* LoveAtFirstSight: Mary is enchanted with Charles from the moment she first sees him, at a jousting tournament.
21* NeutralFemale: Mary just sort of cowers as Charles tries to fight off Henry's men. This is a particularly odd example, as Mary had shown in the scene immediately before that one that she is an excellent sword fighter when fighting off the creeps at the inn (Marion Davies took intensive fencing lessons).
22* OminousOwl: The creepy soothsayer's lair is made doubly creepy by the scary owl perched right behind him.
23* RebelliousPrincess: Mary refuses to obey her brother and be used as a marriage pawn.
24* RightBehindMe: Mary goes on an angry rant about how there's no way her brother will make her get married, "though he be seven times the king of England", and is embarrassed to realize that he has entered the room and is standing right behind her.
25* SplashOfColor: The torches of the posse chasing Charles and Mary are colored yellow, as is the lantern of the random guy who gives them directions.
26* StandardRoyalCourt: Didn't become a DecadentCourt until later, when Henry started cycling through wives and lopping off heads. In 1514 the biggest problem was getting the king's sister married off.
27* UptownGirl: The main source of plot tension, as the king's sister falls in love with a commoner.

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