La tulipe noire (1964)

Director:

Christian-Jaque

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas père (novel) and
Marcello Ciorciolini (additional story) ...

Release Date:

28 February 1964 (France)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

Plot:

In 1789, when the Revolution went on, a bandit named "Black Tulip" held the surroundings of village Roussillon in fear...

Plot Keywords:

Bandit | Revolution | Black Tulip | Capture | Nickname

Cast

Alain Delon	...	Julien de Saint Preux / Guillaume de Saint Preux
Virna Lisi	...	Caroline 'Caro' Plantin
Adolfo Marsillach	...	Baron La Mouche
Dawn Addams	...	La marquise Catherine de Vigogne
Akim Tamiroff	...	Marquis de Vigogne
Laura Valenzuela	...	Lisette
George Rigaud	...	Intendant General / Chief of Police
Francis Blanche	...	Plantin
José Jaspe
Perla Cristal
José Luis Pellicena
Enrique Ávila
Álvaro de Luna
Robert Manuel	...	Prince Alexandre de Grasillach de Morvan Lobo
Yvan Chiffre		(as Ivan Chiffre)

Also Known As:

El tulipán negro (Spain)
Il tulipano nero (Italy)
The Black Tulip (UK)

Runtime:

115 min | Hungary:110 min | Spain:100 min | Argentina:113 min

Country:

France | Italy | Spain

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-8 | Norway:A | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Cáceres, Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain

Company:

Flora Film

Trivia:

The film bears no resemblance whatsoever with the novel by Dumas entitled "La tulipe noire".

Movie Connections:

Version of Black Tulip (1988)

Somehow Entertaining

Just for cape and sword adventure fans, "The Black Tulip" is the French version of Zorro. Very much alike. There's Alain Delon in the main role for the ladies and he is not bad. You'll also find Virna Lisi in one of her early works rendering an acceptable work too. But if it comes to acting, veteran Akim Tamiroff is the clear winner in a supporting role as a villain noble. Photography and shooting on location in real palaces and old European cities add to the movie and a sort of sticky tune helps too.

But what "The Black Tulip" really lacks is the sense of passion and real heroism American classics of the genre usually transmit, this being really odd since most of them are usually located in Europe including France. I think the director didn't make up his mind whether this would be a serious swashbuckler with a touch of humor or a comedy with a touch of serious adventure. So it didn't work neither way.

Nonetheless the film is entertaining and worth a watch.