Knights of the Teutonic Order (Polish: Krzyżacy), also known as Knights of the Black Cross, is a 1960 Polish historical epic film adapted from a 1900 novel by Nobel laureate, Henryk Sienkiewicz. The film, directed by Aleksander Ford, is one of the most successful movies in the history of Polish cinema.
The plot is situated in late-14th century and early-15th century Poland and centers on the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War and the climactic Battle of Grunwaldin 1410. 15,000 extras were employed to create the battle scenes.
The film attracted huge audiences: it sold 14 million tickets in its first four years of release and had more than thirty million viewers as of 2000, making it the most popular film ever screened in Poland. It was later exported to forty-six foreign countries, selling 29.6 million tickets in the Soviet Union and a further 2.6 million tickets in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, and was the most successful Polish film internationally. It was a Polish submission to the 33rd Academy Awards.
It was released on 15 July 1960, the 550th anniversary of the battle of Grunwald.
Cast
Grażyna Staniszewska as Danusia Jurandówna
Urszula Modrzyńska as Jagienka ze Zgorzelic
Mieczysław Kalenik as Zbyszko z Bogdańca
Aleksander Fogiel as Maćko z Bogdańca
Andrzej Szalawski as Jurand ze Spychowa
Leon Niemczyk as Fulko de Lorche
Henryk Borowski as Zygfryd de Löwe
Tadeusz Białoszczyński as Duke Janusz I of Warsaw
Emil Karewicz as King Władysław Jagiełło
Józef Kostecki as Lithuanian duke Witold
Lucyna Winnicka as Duchess Anna Danuta, wife of Janusz I of Warsaw
Cezary Julski as Zawisza Czarny
Jerzy Kozakiewicz as Cztan z Rogowa
Janusz Paluszkiewicz as royal marshal
Jerzy Pichelski as Powala of Taczew
Stanisław Jasiukiewicz as Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Ulrich von Jungingen Mieczysław Voit as Kuno von Lichtenstein Janusz Strachocki as Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen