Scaramouche

Stewart Granger at his prettiest. Above average film and story. However the final dueling scene maybe just about the very best of its kind. Worth sitting thru the entire film for the fantastic duel between Granger and Mel Ferrer

Spectacular swordplay in musical style in this superior version of the classic Rafael Sabatini novel . M-G-M presents Sabatini' exciting story of love and adventure . The picture contains overwhelming action , intrigue , romantic adventure , mayhem and a lot of fencing . For the second time is adapted in the greatest Hollywood splendor , the complete romance , the historical characters, the full novel just as Rafael Sabatini write it ; it stars Stewart Granger as the rake young who turns revenger when his best friend is killed and he , subsequently , becomes the role Scaramouche and finally faces off his deadly enemy , featuring a top-notch seven-and-a-half minute sword battle . This delightful adaptation contains an awesome casting and lavish production shot in Metro Goldwyn Studios make for a fairly amusement swashbuckling . This is the classic version of the Sabatini's novel with a handsome Stewart Granger in a brave role as a young and handsome nobleman , a dashing , audacious lover . The film is well set in the days of the French revolution and it starts with the youngster Andre Moreau (Stewart Granger , this is one of Granger's best movies at MGM) , a bastard nobleman searching for his family . Moreau , then , carries out a relentless revenge to avenge the death of a friend . As he joins a theatre troupe , being disguised as Scaramouche , there he meets Aline (Eleanor Parker , very well cast) , and forms an interest in her . Meanwhile , aristocrat marquis Noel (Mel Ferrer) is ordered by the French queen (Nina Foch) to seek the hand of a young ingenue , Aline (Janet Leigh) , in marriage . Later on , Andre becomes a politician at National Assembly to protect the third estate from mean aristocracy and contra-revolutionaries . After that , Andre spends his days learning how to handle a sword , thanks to a master swordsman .

This is a slight and hugely budgeted retelling about the durable Sabatini's novel with all-star-cast . It is packed with comedy , derring-do , intrigue , a triangular love story , action , drama and moving as well as dazzling swordplay between Granger and Ferrer . Entertaining swashbuckling with lavish production by Carey Wilson , glamorous gowns and luxurious sets by Oscar winning Cedric Gibbons and Hans Peters . The climax is one of the most rousing and longest duel scenes ever shot , that ranges throughout the theater, from the balcony boxes , to the lobby, through the main seats, backstage and finally on the stage itself . It bettered the one Stewart Granger was to have with with James Mason in another remake , The prisoner of Zenda . During the filming of the incredible fencing , Granger narrowly missed serious injury to his groin when he landed astride the next row of chairs, and filming had to be halted temporarily . However , in the original novel by Sabatini , the climactic duel occurred outdoors . The main cast is frankly well . Nice acting by Stewart Granger as Andre-Louis Moreau , a nobleman bastard become an actor in a Commedia troupe and vowing to avenge his friend ; being his nemesis , Mel Ferrer , as Noel De Maynes , a marquis in love with two women : the queen , Marie Antoinette , well played by Nina Foch , and the gorgeous aristocrat Janet Leigh . And enjoyable secondary cast , as the marvelous main actors are completed by a stellar cast full of classical and veteran players as Henry Wilcoxon , Nina Foch , Richard Anderson , Robert Coote , Lewis Stone , John Dehner and John Litel .

It displays an evocative and romantic musical score by Victor Young . Lush production design is wonderfully reflected on the luxurious interiors and exteriors filmed at Hollywood . Colorful cinematography in brilliant Technicolor by Charles Rosher . The motion picture was compellingly directed by George Sidney . Sidney was a good Hollywood filmmaker , becoming MGM's most successful director in the 1940's . George was an expert in big budget musicals , but also handled rollicking swashbucklers like The three musketeers (1948) that he formerly made in similar style and this Scaramouche (1952) . Some of his biggest hits were movie versions of successful Broadway plays , like Annie get your gun (1950) and Magnolia (1951) . After leaving MGM in 1955, Sidney went over to Columbia under a seven-year contract and had one more major hit with Pal Joey (1957), made under the banner of his own production company and after directing other successes . Scaramouche rating : Better than average . It is a very good film thanks to fabulous scenarios , luxurious exteriors and interiors , glamorous gowns and being lavishly financed by MGM .

This classy story was subsequently remade on several versions , firstly take on this classic is the following : Scaramouche (1923) by Rex Ingram with Ramon Novarro , Alice Terry , Lloyd Ingraham and Lewis Stone who played the 'heavy' - the Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr - in this old retelling and he came back to play the elderly character of "Georges de Valmorin" in this new version Scaramouche (1952) . And European version titled The mask of Scaramouche (1963) by Antonio Isasi Isasmendi with Gerard Barray , Michelle Girardon , Gian Maria Canale and Alberto De Mendoza . Finally , Adventures and lovers of Scaramouche (1970) by Enzo G Castelli with Michael Sarrazin , Úrsula Andress , Sal Borghese , Aldo Maccione and Michael Forest .

As has been commented by the other two people, the final sword fight makes the movie (although it is not the only reason to watch). It runs non-stop for over 7 minutes. One interesting point is that aside from the leap from the staircase to the floor below, Granger did all of his own stunts in the sequence (including swinging from the stage into the opera box and dangling over the audience early in the fight). The only fight that comes anywhere near it is the one between Danny Kaye and Basel Rathbone in "Court Jester".

I recently saw this movie again on cable - it is a wonderful mixture of period romantic adventure with examples of great comedia del'arte and... especially... the best fencing scenes ever put on film. Both Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer were excellent swordsmen and their final confrontation is a brilliant tour de force. Watch it just for this sequence - remember it was made in 1953 and is still highly enjoyable.

The Commedia dell'Arte is an old Italian form of stage presentation, dating from the 16th century and featuring a series of stock characters like Arlecchino, Pantolone, Pulchnello, and Capitano. Everyone in the audience knew their comic weaknesses and looked forward to seeing them on display, kind of like a John Ford movie. The characters were called zanni and played practical jokes on each other (called "burle", which gives us "burlesque.") As in this movie the humor was often improvised. When the form was taken to France, Arlecchino became Harlequin, Pantalone became Pantaloon (from which we get our "pants"), Pulchinello morphed into Punch, and Capitano, a character who was a braggart soldier, was changed to Scaramouche and became an admired acrobatic mime, which suited French tastes. Sorry for the tedious introduction but it helps to get the interesting history out of the way fast.

The rest of the movie is a comic book and, like a comic book, filled with colorful people in comic-book costumes, zestful and exuberant. If you want a movie to have zip, one way of doing it is to have lots of people riding horses. But the horses should always be ridden at a gallop, and with slightly accelerated motion. (The gallops were shot partly in Golden Gate Park.) Another way of adding action is to have the lovers fight each other physically, as in "Taming of the Shrew", instead of wistfully melting into each others' arms at every meeting and parting. A third way is to build the main plot around a few well-choreographed action scenes -- and in this respect the movie is superb.

"Scaramouche" reminds one of Errol Flynn at his best, in "The Adventures of Robin Hood." Instead of Saxons and Normans, we have aristocrats and poor people. (Fortunately the Saxons in "Robin Hood" didn't win a revolution and implement a reign of terror.) The aristocrats dress in outrageously ornate costumes. The poor people are in dark clothes, like the figure on the Quaker Oats package.

There's quite a lot of fencing but much of it is brief and in long shot. There are three main encounters between Stewart Granger and his nemesis Mel Ferrer. Granger is manly and well built and forceful in his style. Ferrer is long-limbed and lanky, deceptively clumsy at times, but he has never given a more graceful physical performance.

In the first match between the two, Granger knows nothing about the sword and hacks away at Ferrer, who stands there nonchalantly, smiling, leaning on his weapon as if it were a walking stick between easy parries. In the second, Granger has picked up a few tricks but is still easily outmatched and has to escape through one of those secret doors in a paneled wall. The third match is more than six minutes long and is as well staged as any duel on screen -- better than anything in "Robin Hood" and at least as good as "The Mark of Zorro." Granger swings off the stage on a rope to confront Ferrer who is in the theater balcony. And you should see Stewart's wardrobe in this scene! Unbelievable skin-tight leotards, white boots with furry tops, a white cape -- everything -- mostly white with black accents. Ferrer strips off his jacket and is dressed in black shoes and stockings, black pants, black vest, and a white blouse with ruffles, mostly black, that is. (I warned you this was a comic book.) The ensuing duel wanders all over the theater while the spectators tumble out of the actors' way. Note the scene where the advantage changes from Ferrer to Granger when the fight moves from the bottom of the stairs to the rows of theater seats. Ferrer does an almost impossible balletic leap from one row to the next, twirling around in midair. (Another footnote: original ballet steps borrowed heavily from contemporary fencing movements. Sorry.)

The movie has its sad moments too, and the plot is a bit complicated although never hard to follow. But its overall tonus is comedic, as befits Scaramouche's venue. Granger may not be Errol Flynn but he's pretty good, and a better actor. The two women in his life are adequate, but Janet Leigh was a beginner and it shows. She was to be better in some later movies like "Psycho." She looks like a porcelain doll in some shots. The supporting players are all professionally competent.

It's an entertaining and well-crafted piece of entertainment -- exciting and vibrant with color. A comic book worth checking out.