The King's Thief is a fairly standard-issue swashbuckler, enlivened more by the talents and appeal of its cast than by the originality (or even clarity) of its story or the imagination of its director. The screenplay is something of a mishmash, as if the writer were told to study a number of Errol Flynn period pictures and borrow freely from them, and especially from The Adventures of Robin Hood. The story thus feels a bit disjointed, and one constantly has the feeling of "Haven't I seen this before?" Robert Z. Leonard's direction plays up the heroics and the derring-do, as is appropriate, and his fight scenes and duels are well staged, but overall his work lacks real spark and verve. Thief is certainly colorful, with nice period costumes and some pretty photography, but its chief asset is its cast. Edmund Purdom can't match Flynn in the swashbuckling department, but who can? He's handsome and has flair and certainly handles his sword with ease. A cast-against-type David Niven is a great deal of fun as the villain of the piece, and George Sanders, though given frightfully little to do, does it frightfully well. Ann Blyth is appropriately decorative and, when given half a chance, quite a bit more. And fans of Roger Moore will be delighted to catch him in a small role, complete with long blonde hair.