Cirano di Bergerac

Almost never shown these days, "Cyrano de Bergerac", one of the best films of 1950, turned up the other night unexpectedly on a cable channel. It was a pleasure to see it again after so many years since we first saw it. Michael Gordon directed the screen version that became a favorite of people who were delighted to make concessions to a man that was far from being endowed with any physical attributes.

The enjoyment of the picture is due to the amazing tour de force by that wonderful actor, Jose Ferrer, a man whose friendship we cherished because he enriched our life with his honesty, frankness and charisma. Mr. Ferrer's contribution to the stage and screen can be best sampled as we watch him become Cyrano, a man in love with his cousin Roxanne, whose great fear is the possible rejection of the beautiful young woman in favor of the handsome, and younger, Christian.

This beloved theater play by Edmond Rostand had been translated by Brian Hooker, in what became the most familiar way American audiences met the illustrious French author. The screen play by Carl Foreman clarifies the text in ways that the movie going public of that era could relate to this man whose wit and charm outweighed his appearance, which was dominated by a big nose that rendered him an unattractive man. The poetry of the play is preserved even though it is not done in verse like the original manuscript. Dimitri Tiomkin's score lent itself to the action.

Mala Powers was a disappointment though. Yes, she was a beauty, but her Roxanne doesn't quite come across; she is at a disadvantage playing opposite an icon of the theater like Mr. Ferrer, who certainly had more experience. William Prince does a fair job as Christian. Morris Carnovsky, another great stage actor, appears as Le Bret and Ralph Clanton makes his contribution with his take of Guiche.

"Cyrano de Bergerac" is recommended to movie fans of all ages to watch the magnificent Jose Ferrer at his best.

Jose Ferrer first performed "Cyrano de Bergerac" on Broadway in 1946, where it achieved a very successful run (for a revival). Ferrer was highly acclaimed in the role and won a Tony for his performance. His success in the role enabled him to be the first actor to bring "Cyrano" to the big screen in English. This was in 1950, in a Stanley Kramer-produced film for which Ferrer won the Best Actor Oscar, beating out such actors as James Stewart in "Harvey", William Holden in "Sunset Blvd.", and Spencer Tracy in the original "Father of the Bride".

Until the 1990 Gerard Depardieu Technicolor spectacular in French, Ferrer's version of "Cyrano" was considered the one to see. But now, Depardieu's film has unfairly thrown this 1950 version into neglect. Part of the reason, perhaps, is the budget involved in this film. Cowardly studio executives who were afraid that a film in blank verse would fail at the box office refused to give this film the kind of budget that Laurence Olivier had enjoyed in his 1940's Shakespeare films, or the kind of budget that was used in films like the 1936 M-G-M version of "Romeo and Juliet" and the 1935 "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

And so, this "Cyrano" looks more like a cheap B-movie than a worthy film version of a classic play. There are no huge sets or spectacular camera shots--just the play, performed (with only a couple of added scenes in ordinary prose rather than the English translation's blank verse) on obvious Hollywood sound stages.

But, this film boasts what is certainly one of the greatest performances in the history of film--and especially American film. José Ferrer, an often maligned actor accused of hamminess and overemphasis, gives the performance of his life as Cyrano. His portrayal is in every way the equal of Depardieu's, and as far as I am concerned, even better. Depardieu relies on sincerity and subtle facial expressions. Ferrer also has these, but he has in addition one of the most beautiful, rich voices ever to come out of the theatre,and magnificent enunciation as well. Unlike Depardieu, who speaks the beautiful French verse as rapidly as if he were firing a machine gun (as do the others in the French film), Ferrer allows us to appreciate the rich poetry in Brian Hooker's translation, long considered the greatest verse translation of a play into English. His portrayal is more flamboyant than Depardieu, and he shows a heartbreaking sense of tragedy as he realizes that the beautiful Roxane will probably never be his. The "big moment" in the final scene is shattering in Ferrer's hands.

As for the rest of the cast, this is where the Depardieu and Ferrer versions differ. Depardieu's supporting cast was excellent, but here Mala Powers is disappointingly ordinary and one-note, though beautiful, as Roxane, and William Prince is quite good as Christian, but Ralph Clanton as De Guiche is rather cartoonish, an ordinary hissable villain until the last half-hour or so. The usually reliable Morris Carnovsky, though, is an excellent LeBret. The role of Ligniere, the drunk, has been eliminated,and his lines given to Rageauneau, the pastry cook (competently played by Lloyd Corrigan).

There are a few cuts in this version, as compared to Depardieu's, but Brian Hooker's English translation is given its due prominence. Michael Gordon's direction is excellent, and the duel at the theatre, while not allowed to roam all over the location, as in Depardieu's version, is well done and more faithful in staging to author Edmond Rostand's intentions.

This "Cyrano", however, definitely should not be allowed to fade away in obscurity, relegated to late-night TV, where it is now often mutilated for commercial breaks. It should be restored and brought back to cable to be fully appreciated.

Exceptional performance from Oscar winner Ferrer says it all in this adaptation of the famous Rostand classic love story. In one of the greatest characters in dramatic literature, Cyrano is the poet with the long nose who writes tender love letters to a beautiful lady for his friend. Cyrano loves the woman too...and the rest is magic.

Back years ago in high school studying Cyrano de Bergerac, with a textbook having pictures from this film, one of the other students asked simply why didn't he just get a nose job? It got a lot of amusement when the teacher told her that that procedure just wasn't available in Cardinal Richelieu's France.

I'm afraid that that might be the feeling of a lot of readers of the play and viewers of the film. Rostand, who wrote the play in the 19th century about the 17th century might as well have been writing about people on Mars.

If they take that tack then folks will be losing out on appreciating a great play and role essayed by a man who possessed one of the great speaking voices of the century. Jose Ferrer puts everyone else in the cast to shame with his performance of Cyrano.

To be sure Cyrano de Bergerac is a one man play. All the other characters Rostand gave absolutely no depth to. Roxanne is a sweet young girl looking for romance, Christian is a handsome dunce, Comte de Guiche is a Snidely Whiplash villain. But Cyrano, you have to be a real actor to play that one.

Cyrano is a soldier, writer, swordsman even a gourmet of sorts. But that proboscis fills him with doubt when the opposite sex is concerned. He's a tortured soul and Ferrer gives THE interpretation of Cyrano. It will be so a hundred years from now. He's a swashbuckler to be sure, but you certainly couldn't cast any of the normal movie swashbucklers in that part.

I don't know if the MTV generation will feel like my classmate of years ago, but if they turn away from music videos and watch this, they will be treated to a once in a lifetime acting performance.

This remains one of my all-time favorite movies. Ferrer is simply brilliant. But, as others have rightly pointed out, the production values are poor (to say the least), and the problem is only exacerbated by the poor quality of most video tapes currently available.

But don't be scared, go rent this, the French version, and for fun, Steve Martin's Roxanne, and have a great time with this classic story.

And for even more fun, check out the biography of the real Cyrano. His life was almost as fascinating as the play! Along with being a brilliant thinker, he is often credited as the first science-fiction writer.