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Black Magic

  • 19491949
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
Orson Welles and Nancy Guild in Black Magic (1949)
Hypnotist uses his powers for revenge against King Louis XV's court.
Play trailer3:40
1 Video
22 Photos
DramaMysteryRomance
Hypnotist uses his powers for revenge against King Louis XV's court.Hypnotist uses his powers for revenge against King Louis XV's court.Hypnotist uses his powers for revenge against King Louis XV's court.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
    • Gregory Ratoff
    • Orson Welles(uncredited)
    • Alexandre Dumas(novel "Joseph Balsamo, mémoires d'un médecin")
    • Charles Bennett(adaptation and screenplay)
    • Richard Schayer(additional scenes and dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Orson Welles
    • Nancy Guild
    • Akim Tamiroff
    • Gregory Ratoff
    • Orson Welles(uncredited)
    • Alexandre Dumas(novel "Joseph Balsamo, mémoires d'un médecin")
    • Charles Bennett(adaptation and screenplay)
    • Richard Schayer(additional scenes and dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Orson Welles
    • Nancy Guild
    • Akim Tamiroff
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 34User reviews
    • 18Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 3:40
    Watch Trailer

    Photos22

    Orson Welles in Black Magic (1949)
    Orson Welles and Nancy Guild in Black Magic (1949)
    Orson Welles in Black Magic (1949)
    Robert Atkins and Margot Grahame in Black Magic (1949)
    Nancy Guild and Lee Kresel in Black Magic (1949)
    Stephen Bekassy and Nancy Guild in Black Magic (1949)
    Nancy Guild in Black Magic (1949)
    Orson Welles, Valentina Cortese, and Akim Tamiroff in Black Magic (1949)
    Nancy Guild in Black Magic (1949)
    Nancy Guild and Frank Latimore in Black Magic (1949)
    Orson Welles and Nancy Guild in Black Magic (1949)
    Nancy Guild in Black Magic (1949)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Orson Welles
    Orson Welles
    • Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro
    Nancy Guild
    Nancy Guild
    • Marie Antoinette…
    Akim Tamiroff
    Akim Tamiroff
    • Gitano
    Frank Latimore
    Frank Latimore
    • Gilbert de Rezel
    Valentina Cortese
    Valentina Cortese
    • Zoraida
    Margot Grahame
    Margot Grahame
    • Mme. du Barry
    Stephen Bekassy
    • Viscount de Montagne
    Berry Kroeger
    Berry Kroeger
    • Alexandre Dumas, Sr.
    Gregory Gaye
    Gregory Gaye
    • Chambord
    • (as Gregory Gay)
    • …
    Raymond Burr
    Raymond Burr
    • Alexandre Dumas, Jr.
    Charles Goldner
    Charles Goldner
    • Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer
    Lee Kresel
    • King Louis XVI…
    Robert Atkins
    • King Louis XV
    Nicholas Bruce
    • De Remy
    Franco Corsaro
    Franco Corsaro
    • Chico
    Annielo Mele
    • Joseph Balsamo - as a child
    Ronald Adam
    Ronald Adam
    • Court President
    Bruce Belfrage
    Bruce Belfrage
    • Crown Prosecutor
      • Gregory Ratoff
      • Orson Welles(uncredited)
      • Alexandre Dumas(novel "Joseph Balsamo, mémoires d'un médecin")
      • Charles Bennett(adaptation and screenplay)
      • Richard Schayer(additional scenes and dialogue)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Orson Welles often said that making this film was the most sheer fun he had ever had working in the cinema.
    • Goofs
      In the early scene between Cagliostro and Mesmer, Mesmer says that Cagliostro had never heard of "hypnotism" but was practicing it anyway. In fact, Mesmer himself never used the term "hypnotism." He called it "animal magnetism."
    • Connections
      Featured in Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014)

    User reviews34

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Good neglected Welles film
    Black Magic is an unjustly neglected 1949 Orson Welles film, based on Alexandre Dumas's novel Joseph Balsamo, a fictionalized version of the life of the occultist better known as Cagliostro, set mostly against the background of the days just before the French Revolution. The film is entertaining and well done, though it's a pity that it's in black and white, since the meticulously recreated ancien regime sets and costumes would have looked much more impressive in color. Welles reportedly said that he had more fun making this film than any other, and it's easy to see why, since the melodramatic script gives ample room for over-the-top histrionics, which only an actor of Welles's talent could put over convincingly. It's interesting that Welles here again plays an eccentric genius whose early success was soon undermined by his own flaws -- in other words, a character whose career is intriguingly parallel to his own. I think most people will find the film entertaining, and real Welles fans should consider it a must-see.

    The Hen's Tooth Video DVD seems to be the only Region 1 DVD currently available, and it's of adequate sound and image quality, though from a rather poor original print. The film is certainly important enough to deserve a redigitized version with booklet and special features, if possible from a better print, but lacking that, the Hen's Tooth Video version is watchable.
    helpful•10
    2
    • jcorelis-24336
    • Apr 27, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 19, 1949 (United States)
      • Italy
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Italy
    • Production company
      • Edward Small Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 45 minutes
      • Black and White

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