A riddle that could kill a king—and the answer will wreck you.
Traveling through his kingdom’s forest one day King Arthur is confronted by The Red Knight who plans to slay him but decides to challenge him with the riddle “What does a woman want from a man?” Instructing him that there is only one correct answer he sets him free with the proviso that he must return in a month with the solution or be put to death. Riding beside the King, Sir Gawain and he become acquainted with Maid Marian who exiled herself to the forest. A frustrating month ensues as Arthur seeks the answer finally, striking a bargain with a hag to save himself. But will the price be too high?
Acting
Natalie Wood's forest exile energy is weirdly compelling.
Writing
That riddle answer still slaps nearly 70 years later.
Director
Don Weis
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This adapts Chaucer's 'Wife of Bath's Tale'—one of the few medieval stories where a woman's desire takes center stage, filtered through 1950s American television sensibilities.
The 'correct answer'—that women desire sovereignty over their husbands—was considered subversive enough that Chaucer's version faced censorship attempts. The 1956 TV adaptation softens the hag's transformation scene considerably.
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