L'archet magique

Stewart Granger stars as Niccolo Paganini in this biopic of the great violinist.

Usually in these reviews, I will go over the outline of the subject's real life. Here, however, there are so many lies and misapprehensions to make it a romance -- this is a Gainsborough Picture, after all -- that it seems to be 99 and forty-four one hundredths per cent made up. The one detail that that rings true is that the Jean Kent character traveled with Paganini on his tours and bore him a son. Otherwise, it's all piffle, although Cecil Parker, as the violinist's manager, makes the most of his part, being humorous, hard-working, and a thoroughly decent chap. Some respect must be given to Granger, who worked hard under David McCallum Sr. To look like he was actually producing the notes from the violin. The violin on the soundtrack was played by Yehudi Menuhin, and the choices of music, particularly in the first third of the movie, seem calculated to astonish the audience for their difficulty rather than their musicality.

Other than that, it's a typical Gainsborough picture, notable for costuming and a cast that includes Dennis Price, Felix Aylmer, Frank Cellier, Phyllis Calvert, and Marie Lohr.

The Magic Bow is usually known as the "worst" of the Gainsborough costumers - to call it that shows how very good all the others are, because this one is by no means poor, though the ending falls a little short. The actresses, who apparently hated the whole thing, don't let a bit of that show, although Stewart Granger looks a bit uncomfortable at times - perhaps the daggy long hair? The main three assume almost identical roles to those in Madonna Of The Seven Moons - Stewart Granger is perfectly content with his mistress Jean Kent until beautiful Phyllis Calvert comes on the scene - then it's watch out Bianchi! In this, he's a poor violinist and she's a noblewoman who falls for him, but is unfortunately betrothed to another, and can not get out of the situation. The whole thing is filled with some very lovely music, and is terribly romantic, probably more so than most of the other costumers. But, the plot is pretty thin, and Granger's performance is a little tired. 9/10 - raised an extra point by both the girls who really give it their all.

Considering Leonard Maltin's brief review that the music overshadowed the story, it should be noted that the violin tracks were played by Yehudi Menuhin, and arranged into an exceptional introduction to that instrument for impressionable minds like my own at the time.

This movie is pretty a good costume drama from the Gainsborough stable about famous Italian violinist Nicolo Paganini, set in the 17th century around the time of Napoleon. The Film on a basic level, is a rags to riches tale and also includes a love story, various complications amount as a result. On a technical level I was really impressed with how Stuart Granger did all the violin finger movements and bow strokes himself, all seemingly in synchronization with all the musical selections played in the film. No double or close up shots here, ala Hurmoresque with John Garfield. He's quite convincing as the 17th century violinist. The music in the film is great and a real treat for anyone who likes the violin, (though I'm no expert here, just very pleasing to the ear). The title might be seen as a little misleading, as the bow isn't really magic at all, though I suppose some might beg to differ when talking about a Strativarious. This is definitely one of the better Gainsborough costume pictures. All in all a great film with good performances all around, and I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

Just one postscript, if anyone is after a good read I can wholeheartedly recommend Stuart Granger's autobiography "Sparks Fly Upwards". His real life was as much of a drama and adventure as it was in any of his movies.

1st watched 4/22/2000 - 4 out of 10 (Dir-Bernard Knowles): Slow-moving romanticized story of classic violinist named Paganini. The movie seems to want to woo the women and share the man's story but doesn't do either very well.