What Do The Princess Bride and The Black Adder Have in Common?

Written by Jean Akins on June 19, 2002. Updated on July 10, 2002. POLL ADDED ON JULY 10, 2002! Vote for your favorite character in The Princess Bride movie! Poll is located at the bottom of this page.

Warning: Spoilers. If you haven’t seen ‘The Princess Bride’, go see it first before reading this. Ditto for the first series of ‘The Black Adder’. Go ahead. We’ll wait for you.

I viewed the 1987 movie ‘The Princess Bride’ for the first time this past Saturday evening June 15th. Loved it. I now consider it to be my all-time favorite movie.

A few days later I noticed a few similarities between Westley a.k.a. ‘The Man in Black’ of the movie ‘The Princess Bride’ and Prince Edmund Plantagenet a.k.a. the Black Adder of the television series ‘The Black Adder’.

The first is obvious. MEN IN BLACK. When I first saw ‘The Man in Black’ climbing up the Cliffs of Insanity, I thought he looked a lot like Zorro, minus the hat. He reminded me even more of Zorro during the swordplay between him and the Spaniard. Prince Edmund a.k.a. ‘The Black Adder’ often wears black throughout the series.


The second: SWORDPLAY. There is a marvelous display of swordplay between Westley and Inigo the Spaniard atop the Cliffs of Insanity. It’s my favorite part of the entire movie. In the episode titled ‘Born To Be King’ Prince Edmund engages (reluctantly) in a sword duel with Douglas McAngus. Doesn’t take long before McAngus cuts Edmund’s sword down to a mere stub, leaving poor Edmund to plead for his life by offering to give McAngus all his worldly possessions.


The third: FRIENDSHIP. During the swordplay between Westley and Inigo, I’m sure the two men must have been thinking that if only they had met under different circumstances they would have become good friends instead of trying to kill each other. Of course they do become good friends later in the movie. In the episode ‘Born To Be King’ Prince Harry assures his father that Edmund and McAngus have become ‘firm friends’. Well, Edmund is only pretending so he can trick McAngus into sticking his head down a cannon so Edmund can blow it up, which he successfully does.


The fourth: SCREAMS. Inigo hears the loud dying screams of Westley who is trapped inside the Pit of Despair. In the episode ‘The Black Seal’ Percy and Baldrick hear the loud screams of Edmund as the torture chair does its unspeakable acts of mutilation.

The fifth: MACHINES OF TORTURE. Westley has to face torture in the Pit of Despair. He is strapped into a machine that inflicts unspeakable pain and can take years off its victim’s life. Westley is killed by this machine, but not completely, because Inigo has the good sense to bring him to Miracle Max who brings Westley back to life. Prince Edmund is strapped into a chair of torture by the evil Hawk. His body is mutilated beyond recognition. That alone would have killed him even if he had not taken a sip of the poisoned wine. Edmund’s father assures him that even though his body has been mutilated beyond recognition, his soul will live forever, as his name will last as long as their dynasty. Sure enough, we see Edmund Blackadder in series two, three, four and a few specials.

The sixth: A SPANIARD. Inigo is the Spaniard in 'The Princess Bride'. Don Speekingleesh is the Spaniard who is the Infanta of Spain's interpreter in 'The Black Adder' episode titled 'The Queen of Spain's Beard'.


The seventh: PETER COOK. He guest starred in both 'The Princess Bride' and the first episode of 'The Black Adder'. He played the Impressive Clergyman in 'The Princess Bride', and he played King Richard III in the episode of 'The Black Adder' titled 'The Foretelling'.


The eighth: "PREPARE TO DIE!" That is uttered by Inigo several times. Die-hard fans of this movie have memorized the entire speech Inigo says to the evil Count Rugen: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father; prepare to die!" In the episode 'The Black Seal', Edmund says to the Hawk: "Prepare to die!"

I must credit Angus MacLennan for alerting me to this ninth similarity that slipped past me: POISONED WINE! Vizzini drinks the poisoned wine that Westley slipped into both glasses, and thus dies. And everyone (including poor Edmund) dies from drinking the poisoned wine in the final episode of The Black Adder. Thank you, Angus!

The tenth: UNFINISHED WEDDING CEREMONY. The messenger bursts in just in time to halt the wedding between Prince Edmund and the Infanta of Spain (see 'The Queen of Spain's Beard' of The Black Adder). And in 'The Princess Bride', Westley points out to Buttercup that since she never said, "I do," then she's not really married to the Prince.

The eleventh: RATS. Westley is attacked by a Rodent Of Unusual Size in 'The Princess Bride'. Prince Edmund is trapped in the cell with Mad Gerald and Mad Gerald's best friend Mr. Rat.

The twelfth: BOATS. Westley in a boat chases the boat carrying the three men who have kidnapped Buttercup in 'The Princess Bride'. In 'The Archbishop of Canterbury' Prince Edmund who was trying to sneak off to France, but got caught by his father and his brother, tries to convince them he is really on his way to Canterbury. Just then Percy comes over and tells Edmund that they must hurry if they are to catch the boat to France. Sure, we never get to see the boat, but it's a boat nonetheless. Yeah, yeah, it's a stretch!

The thirteenth: FALLING DOWN. Buttercup pushes 'The Man in Black' down into the ravine. In The Black Adder episode 'The Queen of Spain's Beard' Edmund is pushed by a woman while up on the highest battlements of the castle, and he topples over.

The fourteenth: I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS REALLY YOU! In 'The Princess Bride' Buttercup is surprised to learn that 'The Man in Black' is really her beloved Westley. In the episode 'The Queen of Spain's Beard' of The Black Adder, the woman who meets Edmund high up on the castle battlements is surprised (and disgusted) to learn he is Edmund and NOT his brother Harry.


So there it is. Thirteen uncanny similarities between my favorite film of all-time and my favorite television series of all-time.

The Princess Bride
The Black Adder
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