Fan-Fan the Tulip (1952)
"Fanfan la Tulipe" (original title)

Fanfan is a young handsome peasant. He joins the army to escape marriage and because a gipsy girl predicted he will get glory and the king's daughter as a wife. But the gipsy girl was in ... See full summary »

Director:

Christian-Jaque

Writers:

René Wheeler (original scenario), René Fallet (original scenario),

Stars:

Gérard Philipe, Gina Lollobrigida, Marcel Herrand

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gérard Philipe	...	Fanfan La Tulipe (as Gérard Philipe du Théatre National Populaire)
Gina Lollobrigida	...	Adeline La Franchise
Marcel Herrand	...	Louis XV
Olivier Hussenot	...	Tranche-Montagne
Henri Rollan	...	Le maréchal d'Estrée (as Henri Rollan de la Comédie Française)
Nerio Bernardi	...	La Franchise
Jean-Marc Tennberg	...	Monsieur Lebel (as Jean Marc Tennberg)
Geneviève Page	...	La marquise de Pompadour
Sylvie Pelayo	...	Henriette de France
Lolita De Silva	...	La dame d'honneur (as Lolita de Silva)
Irène Young	...	Marion
Georgette Anys	...	Madame Tranche-Montagne
Hennery	...	Guillot
Lucien Callamand	...	Le maréchal de Brandebourg
Gil Delamare	...	Un soldat

Storyline

Fanfan is a young handsome peasant. He joins the army to escape marriage and because a gipsy girl predicted he will get glory and the king's daughter as a wife. But the gipsy girl was in fact Adeline, the daughter of the recruiting officer. Once he has discovered the stratagem, Fanfan refuses to forget this dream and decides to fulfill the destiny of the fake prediction. Fantastic swashbuckling adventures in a 18th century setting, with a light criticism of the war and the mighty.

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Plot Keywords:

army | escape | king | death sentence | gypsy | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

French

Release Date:

4 May 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fan-Fan the Tulip

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amato Produzione, Filmsonor, Les Films Ariane

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa # 12475 delivered on 31-7-1952.

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Goofs

Fanfan's white trousers get dirty from falling off a horse, but in the next scene they are clean.

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Connections

Featured in No Holiday for Inochkin (1964)

User Reviews

Superb fun!

This is a tongue in cheek movie from the very outset with a voice-over that pokes fun at everything French and then produces a rather naif but very brave hero in Fanfan La Tulipe. Portrayed by the splendid Gerard Philippe, the dashing young man believes utterly in the fate curvaceous Lollobrigida foretells - notably that he will marry King Louis XV's daughter! Problem is, La Lollo soon find outs she too is in love with Fanfan...

Propelled by good sword fights, cavalcades, and other spirited action sequences the film moves at a brisk pace and with many comic moments. The direction is perhaps the weakest aspect but the film is so light and takes itself so un-seriously that I could not give those shortcomings a second thought. Look out for Noel Roquevert, a traditional heavy in French films, trying to steal La Lollo, making himself a nuisance, and feeding the script to the fortune teller that reads La Lollo's hand! And what a gem Marcel Herrand is as the megalomanous and lust-driven King Louis XV! That is not all: So many beautiful women in one film makes me wish I were in France and on the set back in 1952! The film may have come out that year but its verve, cheek, superb narration, immaculate photography and the memorable Gerard Philippe ensure that it remains modern and a pleasure to watch. I would not hesitate to recommend it to my grandchildren let alone to anyone who loves movies in general and swashbucklers in particular! Do see it!