Swords flash in the flickering torchlight. Shadows dance wildly on the wall. The backround music builds to a climax as the hero lunges, passing his rapier blade neatly through the villain, who stiffens and falls.... a familiar scene to anyone who has thrilled to the special magic of a swashbuckler film. But for Ralph Faulkner, who was a fencing master and veteran of more then 100 films, TV shows and stage plays, it was a career that spanned more than fifty years. Errol Flynn, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone and many others depended on Faulkner for their sword-wielding expertise.

From the 1930s until his death in 1987, Faulkner taught fencing at his theatrical school, Falcon Studios. And he looked the part. With his gray hair, mustache and powerful build, he looked as he just stepped out of a painting by Rembrandt. Ralph Faulkner got into fencing in a roundabout way. He actually started in films playing non-fencing roles. But his acting career came to an aburpt halt when he slipped from a log during a river action sequence in "The Man from Glengarry" severely injuring his knee. Faced with being an invalid, Faulkner began experimenting with various exercises that might help his leg. "I came up with two that were especially beneficial," he said. "One was rowing a gymnasium shell; the other was fencing. I tried rowing first but found it too boring. Fencing, on the other hand, gave me the precise therapy I needed and was fascinating besides."

Entering the world of competitive fencing, Faulkner won many titles including the 1928 World Amateur Sabre Championship. In both 1928 and 1932 he was a member of the U.S. Olympic fencing team. But in 1935 his love of teaching and the film industry combined to lure him away from amateur fencing. His first fencing role came in that year in "The Three Musketeers" with Walter Abel and Paul Lukas.

Faulkner played the captain of Cardinal Richelieu's guards in the film, the first sound version of "The Three Musketeers." Setting out to arrest musketeers for dueling, he was promptly killed in a duel himself. "My work on Musketeers didn't end there," Faulkner remembered. "I played five other parts in the film, most of the time ending up dead. I was face down in the film so much, the director, Rowland Lee, said he'd know me anywhere by the seat of my pants."

"The Prisoner of Zenda" was Faulkner's first attempt at directing swordplay in a film. The story of British adventurer Rudolph Rassendyll, who masquerades as his kidnapped, look-alike cousin, the soon-to-be-King of Ruritania, starred Ronald Colman, Madelein Carrol, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Mary Astor, Daved Niven, Raymond Massey and C. Aubrey Smith. Faulkner also appeared in the film supporting role and doubled extensively for Colman and Fairbanks. The picture went smoothly with the exception of one incident that illustrates the danger of film swordplay.

"I won't name any names," Faulkner once said rubbing his mustache, "But there was a bit of trouble on Zenda. Toward the end of the picture, Ronnie Colman as Rudolph Rassendyll, was to rush down some stairs and stop me from killing the king [also played by Colman]. Ronnie was supposed to drive his sword into the wall right in the front of my downward slashing weapon. I had an 8" x 8" piece of balsa wood placed in the wall, which was otherwise constructed of extremely hard wood. Balsa wood is so soft, you can drive a sword point into it with no trouble. But since Ronnie had to do the stunt himself, I wanted to have the special effects man put foam rubber into his sword guard for extra protection. And that, of course, took time. Well a controversy developed about my holding up the shooting, so Ronnie said, 'Anything Ralph wants me to do, I do.'

"The assistant director, however, didn't like actors telling him what to do. 'I can do that stunt without any padding in my sword,' he said, so I told him to go ahead. He took the sword, rushed down the steps, missed the balsa wood, and jammed the blade into the solid timber and broke his thumb. Ronnie just looked at me and raised an eyebrow."

The next major production Faulkner was involved in was "The Sea Hawk," which he considered one of the Errol Flynn's best pictures. "Many people underrated Errol," Faulkner observed, "but he never failed to amaze me. In those days, he had a memory like an elephant. He could remember duels, move for move, even after we'd laid off them for some time. I never tried to remember them; I always wrote everything down.

"Planning and shooting a film duel was no simple task. That's why it was necessary for most of us to write down the moves we were doing. If you forgot an action and made a mistake someone might get his ears lopped off.

"But Errol was the exception. The way his brain worked and the way he handled himself with a sword, made it clear to me there was more to him that met the eye. There'll never be another quite like him."

In 1946, Faulkner took charge of the fencing in "The Bandit of Sherwood Forest," a son-of-Robin-Hood movie starring Cornel Wilde. "I always liked Cornel very much. He was one of the few stars in Hollywood who'd had competition training in fencing. He'd fenced in college and was a national intercollegiate fencing champion," Faulkner noted. The fencing master thought an incident concerning Bandit, illustrated Hollywood thinking at it's "best": In the early days of production on Bandit, I was talking with Harry Cohn, the big boss at Columbia, about the type of swordplay we'd be using. He took me down to his screening room and showed me, of all things, my duel from Sea Hawk. 'I want the fight in my picture to be just like that, 'he told me. 'Fine, I said. I could deliver that easily enough. 'I especially like those swords,' he continued. 'I want swords just like those in my picture.' This put me off a little. 'But Harry,' I explained, 'those swords weren't invented until 500 years after our film takes place.' Harry shook his head. 'Oh, we can always get around that,' he replied matter-of-factly."

One of Faulkner's all-time favorite films was "The Court Jester" staring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns and Basil Rathbone. Here we have the adventures of a dolt, who through magical hypnosis becomes a dashing swordsman, defeating evil-doers and returning the rightful king to the throne of England.

"Danny Kaye," Faulkner liked to say, "is a brilliant person, both mentally and physically. We had an almost impossible stunt where he had to pour wine into a glass while fencing without looking at his opponent Basil Rathbone. Ever try patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time? It's something like that -- only maybe ten times more difficult. It was such a difficult maneuver, I had to double for Basil. It wasn't that he didn't have the ability with the sword but not being a professional swordsman, he just didn't have the precise timing that was needed to guide Danny through the routine. As for Danny, his extra-quick mind and reflexes made up completely for his lack of fencing experience."

The late 1950's and 60's were dry periods for swashbuckler films. However, the production of costumed adventures picked up some in the 70's and 80's. Faulkner coached stars like Bo Derek, Harry Hamlin, and Richard Thomas, he also found time to act. Faulkner's last film work was on "Clash of the Titans," in 1981. Faulkner, ever the professional, always had strict ideas about what should and shouldn't be done with fencing in films.

"To produce a decent duel, you must have a thorough knowledge of swordplay and how to tranalate it to the screen. It's vital. But in many of the fights staged these days, this knowledge seems to have been overlooked or thought unimportant. So you end up with nothing more than an exhibition of body movement and noise. Example -- you put your blade here, and I'll put my blade there. Then we'll scream and yell and knock over some furniture. I don't think displaying a knowledge of swordplay in a sword fight is too much to ask. For those watching the action -- whether they're experts on fencing or not -- it can mean the difference between having a good time or a good sleep."

Maestro Faulkner continued his active pace right up to the time of his death in 1987. Teaching fencing for him was more than a job; it was a way of life. As he used to say, "How can you retire from something you love? When you do that, you might as well be dead."

Text by: Nick Evangelista (c) 1998