Lucrèce Borgia (1953)

In the early 16th century, Italy is ruled by the powerful Borgia family, led by César Borgia and his sister Lucrètè. In a ruthless power play, César plots to have his sister's husband ... See full summary »

Director:

Christian-Jaque

Writers:

Alfred Schirokauer (novel), Christian-Jaque (screenplay),

Stars:

Martine Carol, Pedro Armendáriz, Valentine Tessier

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martine Carol	...	Lucrèce Borgia
Pedro Armendáriz	...	César Borgia
Valentine Tessier	...	Julie Farnese
Arnoldo Foà	...	Michelotto
Piéral	...	Le bouffon
Christian Marquand	...	Paolo (as Christian Marquant)
Tania Fédor	...	La dame d'atours
Jean d'Yd	...	Le médecin
Maurice Ronet	...	Perotto
Raphaël Patorni	...	L'envoyé d'Este
Olivier Mathot	...	Le sculpteur
Jackie Blanchot	...	Un spadassin (as Jacky Blanchot)
Joé Davray	...	Un spadassin (as Joe Davray)
Georges Demas	...	Un bourreau de Micheletto
Gilles Quéant	...	Sforza

Storyline

In the early 16th century, Italy is ruled by the powerful Borgia family, led by César Borgia and his sister Lucrètè. In a ruthless power play, César plots to have his sister's husband murdered. But without her brother's knowledge, Lucrècè has taken a strong lover who will challenge the Borgias.

---

Plot Keywords:

borgias | midget | melodrama | 15th century | arranged marriage | 

---

Genres:

Drama | History

---

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

French

Release Date:

23 October 1953 (France)

Also Known As:

Lucretia Borgia

Filming Locations:

France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmsonor, Francinex, Les Films Ariane

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 93 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

SINS OF THE BORGIAS (Christian-Jaque, 1953) **1/2

This reasonably well-mounted and quite stylish historical saga features impeccable period detail but, unfortunately, fizzles out in the second half – emerging to be rather uneven overall. Besides, it doesn’t rise to the full potential offered by its famous (and much-filmed) events – especially given the fact that the character of Lucretia has been considerably whitewashed! Still, the court intrigue is more interesting than the romance – but the pageantry is rather splendid, and there’s plenty of exciting action throughout (including a manhunt a' la THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME [1932]).

The casting, too, is exemplary: Martine Carol is an ideal Lucretia (she went on to portray another famous ‘courtesan’ in Max Ophuls’ sublime LOLA MONTES [1955]); a dashing Massimo Serato; a rather subdued Pedro Armendariz as Cesare Borgia; an impressively slinky Arnoldo Foa' as Cesare’s resourceful lieutenant; rugged Christian Marquand and an impossibly young Maurice Ronet as two of Lucretia’s ill-fated conquests; a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him Howard Vernon as a vicar; Valentine Tessier as a wealthy eccentric (she had been Madame Bovary in Jean Renoir’s 1933 version); and Pieral, the psychoanalyst dwarf from Luis Bunuel’s THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE (1977), who provides amusing but somewhat misplaced comic relief.

For the record, the following are the other films I’ve watched centering around this infamous noble family: Mitchell Leisen’s BRIDE OF VENGEANCE (1948), Henry King’s PRINCE OF FOXES (1949; recently released on DVD); and Sergio Corbucci’s much-inferior remake of THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1966). One I’d love to check out is Abel Gance’s LUCREZIA BORGIA (1935; also available on disc through Image).