Vendetta

Based on the famous Alexander Dumas novel of the same name, Siamese twins, Mario and Lucian Franzi are separated at birth by surgery and adopted by different parents. Lucian is raised in Corsica as a bandit, while Mario grows up in Paris as a suave gallant, but Lucian has a special psychic ability to feel his brother's feelings, though he is not even aware of his existence. At age 21, they are reunited in Corsica by their foster-parents and are informed that their parents were murdered by Count Colorra who has become the ruler of Corsica by killing off all his enemies through vendettas. In typical Sicilian fashion, the bandit brothers swear vengeance and start their campaign by attacking Colorra's interests. Mario becomes romantically involved with Countess Isabelle Gravini who is under pressure from Colorra to marry him and saves her from Colorra's clutches. Lucian who also falls in love with Isabelle,becomes jealous of his brother and abandons him when Colorra captures Mario. How Lucian escapes and gets his girl constitutes the final part of the movie.

The highlight of this movie is Douglas Fairbanks, Jr, who stars in the title roles with great gusto and suavity. He is great in roles in like this, much better than his father was. However, to swashbuckling buffs, the swordfights in this film are, perhaps, only of middling quality. While Fairbanks carries the film on his broad shoulders, his co-star Ruth Warrick is not impressive. And Basil Rathbone would have been a great choice to play the villain Colorra rather than Akim Tamiroff who comes across more as a buffoon than as a sinister Sicilian cutthroat.

In summary, "The Corsican Brothers" is a pleasant, highly watchable movie, with just the right amount of violence to make it exciting. However, the director Gregory Ratoff should have portrayed the unsavory institution of vendetta which blighted so many families in the isle of Sicily, in a less approving light.

Reviewed by Sundar Narayan

Alexander Dumas liked stories about separated twins so this time we find it is brothers "Mario" and "Lucien" (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) who are born conjoined. The doctor manages to separate them but before they can do much more, violence at the hands of the cunning "Baron Colonna" (Akim Tamiroff) robs them of their parents and the boys are split up. "Mario" ends up being well brought up and used to the finer things in life whilst "Lucien" becomes a highwayman but both have a sensation that they are not alone! When they do finally meet, they begin to understand just how connected their spirits actually are and how easily they can feel each other's pain - and they both determine to avenge their murdered parents. As a team they are chalk and cheese, and so must learn to trust each other - and that's not made any easier as both of them fall for the "Countess Isabelle" (Ruth Warrick) who is also the object of the desires of their scheming nemesis. With love triangles all over the places and a solid dose of familial vengeance here, too, this is an ideal vehicle for Fairbanks to shine. Somehow, though, he just doesn't. The photography that puts them both in the same shot regularly is natural but his reconciliation of the two differing characters doesn't quite come off. Even at it's most swashbuckling, there's just a paucity of flare. Not for the first time in his career, it's really Tamiroff who steals the show with an effort that could easily have inspired the nasty from the "Zorro" adventures from the late 1950s. The production looks great though and when there is action, it mixes the swordplay with a little humour and delivers a perfectly watchable adventure film that though it does disappoint, that's maybe just because I had higher expectations of this actor in his element. It's still worth watching.

Two babies are born connected together in this film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' story. But in order for them to live a fulfilling and healthy life, their father asks the attending doctor to separate them. They survive the operation and are taken away from the family estate, during a revolt in which the babies' parents are killed. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. plays the twins and gives good, fleshed out performances as both brothers, as he tries to avenge his parents' death. Ruth Warrick, from All My Children and Citizen Kane, is very lovely as the love interest, who coincidentally is the object of desire of the bad guy, Akim Tamiroff, who killed Doug's parents. Despite Doug carrying the film and pulling off credible performances, it's really Akim as the villain who steals the spotlight from him, as he gives a very compelling and three-dimensional performance, making the character seem even more real to the viewer than anyone else. With the imagination and creativity of Alexandre Dumas, this is one film to discover today.

The Corsican Brothers" is a 1941 black and white adventure films from the Alexander Dumas novel (1844) of the same name. It was the 8th adaptation of the book to film, and would continue to be adapted including "Cheech and Chong's The Corsican Brothers" (1984) and "Start the Revolution without Me" (1970). This is probably the best of the serious adaptations, but that's not saying much. The acting, photography, and music are all very ordinary, with nothing noteworthy to remark on. The special effects (using Fairbanks as his own brother) are relatively poor, even given the date of the film.

If you like films about France in the pre-industrial age, my favorites are Marat/Sade (1967), Napoleon (1927), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) and The Three Musketeers (1921, 1935).

I saw the movie as a youngster and many times again as an adult. It was Great. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. played well in both roles as the twin brothers. Ruth Warrick was absolutely gorgeous as Countess Gravini. Akim Tamiroff was perfect as Baron Colonna and John Emery as his Cousin,Tomasso. J. Carrol Naish was wonderful as always as the caretaker of Brother Lucien, the almost bad brother. The old time actor H.B. Warner was excellent as the doctor who separates the twins at birth, and takes care of them as adults. The action was good and comical at times. The ending sword play was just fine and ended in a good conclusion. I highly recommend this movie.