The Flashing Blade

This 13-part miniseries recounts the breakneck adventures of a young French nobleman in the 17th century. France and Spain are on the verge of signing a truce. However, the fortress of Casel, occupied by the French, is still besieged by the Spanish. However, the cunning young nobleman Chevalier de Recci (Robert Etcheverry) and his loyal servant Guillot (Jacques Balutin) are able to outwit the Spanish time and again. It is not for nothing that the Chevalier de Recci is also called the "whirlwind". "This action-packed swashbuckler was originally a full color French mini-series of four 75-minute episodes called Le Chevalier Tempête. Bought by the BBC, it was cut up into twelve 25-minute episodes for British broadcast and dubbed, spectacularly well, into English. Originally shown in the UK in 1969, it was so popular it was rerun repeatedly during the Seventies. The story is a heady mixture of political intrigue, headlong chases, and sudden swordplay, and if the heroes don’t have the depth of a d’Artagnan or a Cyrano, at least they’re good-looking and active. [...] This series isn’t deep, but it’s heartfelt. For a TV show, the period-perfect costumes are excellent, the forts and châteaux are all authentic locations, and the fencing with cup-hilt rapiers isn’t bad. The French and Spanish musketeers — with muskets! — are spot on." (Lawrence Ellsworth, auf: blackgate.com) In 1639, Spanish troops besiege the fortress of Casel, a town that would open access to neutral Savoy and thus to France for the Spanish. The fortress seems lost, for the French's defensive strength is at an end. When Chevalier de Recci learns of this, he knows that he will save the fortress. First, however, he must outwit his extremely clever and spirited aunt with a somewhat unfair trick in order to obtain her permission.