Scaramouche (1952)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Rafael Sabatini (novel)
Ronald Millar (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 June 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance

Plot:

Andre-Louis Moreau is a nobleman's bastard in the days of the French revolution. Noel, the Marquis de Mayne...

Plot Keywords:

Duel | French Revolution | Beautiful Woman | Fencing | Palm Reading

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Stewart Granger	...	Andre Moreau
Eleanor Parker	...	Lenore
Janet Leigh	...	Aline de Gavrillac de Bourbon
Mel Ferrer	...	Noel, Marquis de Maynes
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Chevalier de Chabrillaine
Nina Foch	...	Marie Antoinette
Richard Anderson	...	Philippe de Valmorin (Marcus Brutus)
Robert Coote	...	Gaston Binet
Lewis Stone	...	Georges de Valmorin
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Isabelle de Valmorin
Howard Freeman	...	Michael Vanneau
Curtis Cooksey	...	Lawyer Fabian
John Dehner	...	Doutreval of Dijon
John Litel	...	Dr. Dubuque
Jonathan Cott	...	Sergeant

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (MPAA rating: #15626) | UK:U | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Château de Pierrefonds, Pierrefonds, Oise, France

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Having discovered Moreau (Stewart Granger) taking fencing lessons in his own house, Noel, Marquis de Maynes (Mel Ferrer) challenges him to a duel, during which a large iron chandelier falls towards Granger as he lays on the floor. As originally scripted, the heavy chandelier would halt inches from Granger's face. The director encouraged Granger to do it "first take" and not rehearse the scene or test the safety rope, which was considered sound. Granger balked and said he wanted to see a test first. On the first test, the rope snapped and the iron chandelier crashed through the floor of the set. The scene was reshot with Granger rolling out from under the chandelier as it fell towards him. The sound of the swords clashing didn't sound correct so the sounds were re-recorded using glass cylinders.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Discovering Moreau is taking fencing lessons in house, de Maynes challenges him to a duel, during which a large iron chandelier falls towards Moreau as he lays on the floor. If you watch very closely on the right side of the screen, when the chandelier hits the ground the "decorative" armor on the pedestal moves.

Quotes:

Philippe de Valmorin: [about a revolutionary pamphlet] Well, what do you think of it?
Andre Moreau: Well, the grammar is appalling. On the first page you've doubled two negatives, split an infinitive and missed out three commas.
Philippe de Valmorin: Negatives, infinitives, commas... he prattles punctuation while France is in agony!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick (2007) (V)

A great film, they dont make them like that anymore

Scaramouche was and remains one of my all-time favorite films. It may not qualify as a deeply thought-out criticism of the social situation in France at the time preceding the revolution, but it does not intend to. It gives us a perfectly presented adventure with all the trimmings -revenge, disguises, hidden identities- plus the wonderful duel at the end. Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer are both excellent. The entire cast presents the film while avoiding any slip into comedy and parody. The highly improbable story is presented seriously and here lies the beauty of this film. I have to admit being biased: I have always been a Stewart Granger fan and there is very little of the work of his "good years" that I do not like.