Scaramouche (1952) User Reviews (68)

This swashbuckler set in 18th Century is a magnificent rendition from the famous novel with big budget , impressive swordplay and breathtaking scenarios

[ma-cortes · 8/10 · 18 May 2016]

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 .

Sabatini's swashbuckling tale brought to vivid life in gorgeous technicolor...

[Doylenf · 6 May 2002]

An 18th century nobleman (Stewart Granger) avenging the death of a friend sets in motion the action-filled plot of this Rafael Sabatini tale filmed in gorgeous technicolor and done in rollicking tongue-in-cheek style by an able cast. Eleanor Parker and Janet Leigh both look beautiful as the women in love with Granger's character, who, to hide his true identity must wear the mask of an actor called Scaramouche. It's all done in high style with some beautifully filmed sets and costumes that are breathtaking in color.

Not for a moment can the improbable plot bear close scrutiny--nor is it intended to judging from the over-the-top performance of Stewart Granger in the kind of role that brought stardom to actors like Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power. Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer are dueling opponents throughout, including the final seven minute duel that takes place in a crowded theater where the astonished audience is treated to one of the most skillful duels ever filmed.

The finale would have been even more impressive if the film hadn't already offered a number of extensive dueling scenes. Director George Sidney seems to relish the swashbuckling elements of the screenplay and gives too much time to the various duels without giving the characters too much dimension. Eleanor Parker is strikingly beautiful as the tempestuous actress constantly bickering with the athletic Granger, obviously relishing her colorful role. By contrast, Janet Leigh seems very demure indeed in a more conventional role.

Victor Young's colorful score is a decided asset, punctuating the proceedings with the required dash and eloquence. If swashbuckling romantic adventures are the kind of action films you admire, you'll have a grand time with this one. Grade A production values all the way and directed at a fast clip despite its two hour running time.

The Harlequin Swordsman

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 28 October 2009]

In Scaramouche Stewart Granger hides among a troupe of strolling players while vowing vengeance upon Mel Ferrer who killed Granger's foster brother Richard Anderson. Vengeance however is not a simple matter.

Mel Ferrer plays a foppish privileged aristocrat, favorite of the French Queen Marie Antoinette who's got a deadly blade and killed many a rival, political and personal. Who he has in his sights now is Anderson who is another aristocrat, but a minor one who has taken to hanging out with revolutionaries and publishing incendiary pamphlets.

Ferrer is like a hired gun in the old west, the kind who would goad some poor schnook into a draw and then kill him in 'self defense'. He's unpopular, but damned effective. For Granger to take him on, he's going to have to learn the art of fencing and learn it quickly.

Granger has two women who love him as well, Eleanor Parker from the troupe of players and Janet Leigh another aristocrat who in this case has been promised to wed Ferrer. That gives the Granger-Ferrer rivalry an added incentive for both men to kill the other.

The sets on Scaramouche were quite lavish, why they weren't considered for an Oscar nomination is a mystery. The cast settles nicely into familiar roles and performs well. Elizabeth Risdon and Lewis Stone play Anderson's parents and Granger's guardian. They get a stipend from Granger's unknown father to conceal his origins. The last three films for Lewis Stone, this one, The Prisoner of Zenda and All The Brothers Were Valiant were all done with Stewart Granger.

Scaramouche is a nice tale of adventure and romance in those final days before the French Revolution. It's interesting to speculate just how all these characters might have survived the coming Reign Of Terror in a few years. Things got so insane in France then, it's anybody's guess. One could write all kinds of speculation.

Still I would speculate and still enjoy Scaramouche.

Lots of fun

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 29 July 2003]

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.

Stewart Granger's Best

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 11 June 2005]

What a wonderful swashbuckling adventure movie!! It stacks up well with the best of them--Captain Blood, The Mark of Zorro, Adventures of Robinhood and The Sea Hawk. Like 3 of the previously mentioned films (all but Zorro), this movie is loosely based on a Raphael Sabatini novel by the same name. And, like the others, the plot diverges from the book in many key points. I actually recommend that if you really like the films, you should also try to track down the novels as well (if you can find them--they have been out of print for MANY years).

Granger's character, Andre Moreau, sees his friend murdered in a sword fight with the incredibly detestable Marquis, played to the hilt by Mel Ferrer. Although Granger would LOVE to kill Ferrer, he is in no way his equal with the sword, so he hides in a traveling acting company and dons the mask of the character "Scaramouche" to hide his real identity (and save his tush).

Time passes, during with Granger has a lot of time for romance and to hone his skills with the sword. Eventually, he and Ferrer meet again and their showdown in the theater is reportedly the longest sword fighting sequence in Hollywood history! It's an incredible sight to behold!

FYI--the end (the REAL identity of Granger's character) is VERY different in the original book. Also, there was an excellent silent version of this film which starred Ramon Novarro--though it doesn't come close to this 1952 version, which is so perfect in every way.

The most lavish of all movie duels!

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 10/10 · 17 May 2000]

Two of the best swashbuckling pictures were made by a director best known for musicals, George Sidney, with "The 3 Musketeers," and "Scaramouche" from Rafael Sabatini... Both films had a quick rhythm and a light grace that is almost choreographic...

The 1952 version has our hero André Moreau (Stewart Granger) as a lighthearted adventurer of unknown parentage... Is he the son of the Count of Gavrillac? Is Aline De Gavrillac his sister?

Aline (Janet Leigh) is impressed and confused by André's behavior in the coach romancing her... At the same time she is courted by Noel, Marquis De Maynes (Mel Ferrer) a bachelor and a protégé of an angry queen... Marie Antoinette (Nina Foch) known as the first swordsman in France...

After his best friend, Philippe De Valmorin (Richard Anderson) is slain by Marquis De Maynes, André Moreau escapes holding the ultimate swordsman at pistol point and making an important vow: "Yes, you're going to die, but not by a bullet. You're going to die as he died by the sword.")

Now a traitor and a refugee, Moreau flees his enemies and join Binet's charming troupe of traveling players which Lenore is a member... Lenore (Eleanor Parker) is a graceful woman madly in love with him... Discovering his talents for acting, he adopts a drunkard's role playing the masked clown Scaramouche...

Gaining fame as an actor in La Crosse, Moreau seeks out "skill for his right arm" from a master swordsman, the great Doutreval of Doujon (John Dehner) who agrees to take him as a pupil...

When Doutreval is discovered by the marquis giving fencing lessons to Moreau, he arranges for Scaramouche to receive expertise in fencing from Perigore of Paris (Richard Hale), the old master of all swordsmen...

In the meantime, Moreau is presented with an opportunity to foil his enemy's plans, this time as a new deputy in the National Assembly... André agrees, but mostly in order to come face to face with Marquis De Maynes.

De Maynes' fate steps in one day attending the theater with Aline his fiancée... Seeing him, Scaramouche whips off his mask and picks up his light, straight thin sword... It was the beginning of an unexpected climax, a surprising conclusion...

The colorful duel is among the few classics in Swordsplay... A delight for the eyes!

It begins in the floor corridor, behind the boxes of an elegant theater, then continues through the golden separate compartments and upon the narrow red ledges, with Granger swinging out over the auditorium on a strong yellow sash cord... He then leads Ferrer back through the boxes, down the rich corridor to the grand stairway and into the entrance hall... From there, inside the theater, over the red seats, between the astonishing audience, and upon the stage, far from the players...

Stewart Granger has made a strong contribution to a number of highly entertaining films that remain likable... He may not have been a swashbuckler of Errol Flynn' standards, but he wields a nice sword in "The Prisoner of Zenda," "Beau Brummel," and especially, in "Scaramouche"... His successive efforts as an adventurer, poet, player, lover and buffoon lead his enemies to call him the clownish fellow, a nobleman wanted for treason against the Crown of France, a rare talent with the sword, a deputy who have no interest in politics whatsoever...

Mel Ferrer is rarely thought of as a swashbuckler... His handling of the blade and his graceful movement distinguish him as one of the most accomplished actors with the sword... He is cast as the chivalrous villain who makes his blade a tool for butchery...

The ravishing redhead, Eeanor Parker, considers Scaramouche a liar, a cheat and a fraud. Also an impostor. But she ought to be burned at the stake for loving him...

Janet Leigh, projecting sweetness and light, is a nice pretty girl who wants to be loved...

"Scaramouche" pushes the frontiers of Technicolor photography to their limits of excellence... The sets and costumes are captured in great style... Marvelous sequences of brightly uniformed cavalrymen pursuing André Moreau through woods, across streams, bridges and richly green grassland...

The film, an exciting adventure story with outstanding action scenes, is first-rate class entertainment for the whole family...

a lot went on in pre-revolutionary France

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 26 May 2018]

OK, so George Sidney's "Scaramouche" probably isn't the most historically accurate look at eighteenth-century France, but seriously, it's a fun romp! Lots of intrigue, sword-fighting, and romance. The best scene is certainly the sword fight at the end, but don't ignore the stage performances. I have no doubt that they had fun filming those.

Stewart Granger gets top billing, but I feel compelled to talk about Eleanor Parker's and Janet Leigh's characters. These women provide a pair of fine love interests, both of them in resplendent dresses and dolled up to the max. Of course, Janet Leigh could've worn a burlap sack and she still would've been a real piece of eye candy.

No, the movie isn't a masterpiece, but it's not supposed to be. The purpose is to provide two hours of entertainment, and it succeeds in every way. If ever you're looking for a truly enjoyable time, then this is the movie for you. Fun plot, cool score, clever dialogue, and Eleanor Parker and Janet Leigh showing off what babes they were. How can you not want to see it?

He was born with a sense of humor...

[theowinthrop · 19 November 2004]

It is, possibly, the best opening line of any novel written in the 20th Century: "He was born with a sense of humor and a belief that the world was mad!" Yet it is not from Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Orwell, Faulkner, Woolf, Colette, Mann, or any of the "serious" novelists we come across. It is from Rafael Sabbatini, and it begins his best remembered novel - SCARAMOUCHE. Although there is a silent film version of the novel, it is the 1952 version with Stewart Granger, Mel Ferrer, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, and Nina Foch that people remember.

The film has a major change in the plot of the novel - Granger's relationship to Ferrer's Marquis is not that of older half-brother, but is illegitimate son to the Marquis. He can't kill the man he hates, who basically murdered his closest friend, because he can't kill dad, not brother. But the change of the relationship is actually more acceptable for the film plot - it makes the dueling somehow more acceptable if the antagonists are contemporaries.

SCARAMOUCHE is probably the best fencing movie ever made. Only DON JUAN with Errol Flynn comes close, because of the fencing school sequences. Here it is the training of Andre (Granger) as he prepares to destroy the Marquis, especially in scenes with John Dehner as his first trainer. But if it was solely for the fencing it probably would not be as popular as it is today. The "comedia del arte" background, in 18th Century France, and the early years of the French Revolution (it is one of the few films to show the meetings of the National Assembly) all make it fascinating. So does it's humor. Witness the scene (early in the film) when Granger confronts his old girlfriend (Parker) in a carriage with her fiancé (Howard Freeman as a pompous sausage manufacturer), he manages to change the angry Freeman into a man who is slowly realizing that the attractive woman he is about to wed may not be worth the potential financial costs involved. Also the various pantomimes of Granger, Parker, Robert Coote and the others are genuinely funny, especially when Parker works off her spleen (and old scores) on Granger, hitting him with extra pleasure at each whack (which Granger soon returns with interest). The film also ends on a great final note: Granger and Leigh getting married, when a bouquet thrown by Parker explodes in Granger's face. While he waves to her, we see Parker (the loser in this triangle with Granger and Leigh) being shown in her room with her latest boyfriend - and a glimpse into the Revolution's future path.

Frequently (on this board) SCARAMOUCHE is compared to Erroll Flynn's movies.

Flynn's first film in Hollywood was another great swashbuckler, CAPTAIN BLOOD. It too was based on a historical novel by Rafael Sabbatini. He may not be in the Hemingway, Fitzgerald class of novelists, but he is definitely worth another look.

Sabatini adventure brought to life by Granger and MGM

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 6 October 2009]

The robust Stewart Granger is "Scaramouche" in this 1952 adaptation of the Sabatini novel, and it's a good example of the kind of film MGM excelled at - it's a fast-moving adventure in beautiful color, with great production values.

Granger plays Andre Moreau, who watches a friend killed in a sword fight with the Marquis (Mel Ferrer). Andre, alas, can't go after the Marquis - he can't handle a sword anywhere close enough. Instead, he joins a traveling company of actors and becomes "Scaramouche." He encounters romance, but he has plenty of time to learn how to use a sword. Finally, he and the Marquis meet again, in a long, exciting, swordfight that takes place in a theater, the highlight of the film.

Very exciting movie in spots, gorgeous to look at, with strong performances by the well-cast Granger, Mel Ferrer, and the beautiful Eleanor Parker. A rousing adventure - if you like swashbuckler movies, don't miss this one!

A Bitter Sweet Delight

[jromanbaker · 10/10 · 26 June 2021]

This is surely one of Hollywood's greatest achievements. Nothing jars in this film, and there are scenes in it that can still take the breath away. The climax is not alone in doing that, and watch out for the final figure in the final frames of the film. The future of Europe is there, and no one knows it! A stroke of genius, and no spoilers. The plot is basically a swashbuckler story, but the film is so much more. It is also about the theatre of the time, and Scaramouche the star of it, behind his incredibly effective mask, steals for me almost the whole of this cinematic masterpiece. Stewart Granger never made a better film, and Eleanor Parker never more delightful. Janet Leigh shines as well, and so does Mel Ferrer as the aristocratic ' villain'. It is one of those rare films; one of pure artifice that has profound moments, and also made with a rare wit and intelligence. I cannot end this review without commenting on the colour which too is superb in its 'unreality' that is so real, and neither must I fail to mention the (for me) underrated Nina Foch as Marie Antionette who opens the film, and with an elegance that shines, and this elegance continues from beginning to end. Hollywood (and I am often critical of it) at its best.

Will you do the fandango with that trusty blade sir?

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 10 June 2010]

"He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad"

Scaramouche is a romantic revenge adventure brought to us by MGM. It's based on the 1921 novel Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. The story was also filmed as a silent film in 1923 that starred Ramon Novarro. Directed by George Sidney (Anchors Aweigh/Kiss Me Kate), it stars Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrer and John Dehner. It's produced by Carey Wilson from a screenplay by Ronald Millar and George Froeschel. The original music score was composed by Victor Young and the cinematography by Charles Rosher.

Do you want your buckle swashed? Would you like to be whisked away on an adventure with beautiful women and handsome men at every turn? All played out in sumptuous Technicolor? Where the sets and costumes are of a very high quality and the choreography of the sword play is as good as it gets? If yes then Scaramouche is the film for you. A classic swashbuckler in the truest sense of the saying.

The makers have simplified Sabatini's novel to make the film family friendly, the script is literate and witty, while the cast attack the material with gleeful relish. Particularly Granger, who smirks his way thru the piece with debonair ease; and Mel Ferrer who delivers one of the finest villains the genre has thrown up. At the core of the film is the longest filmed ever sword duel at six and a half minutes, every second of which is vibrant, bold, and yes, damn sexy too. Sidney's direction is very astute because the pace never sags and there's just enough characterisation to make us root for the hero and to boo the villain. Whilst the piece rightly in its approach work never resorts to being a boorish history lesson. Even the love triangle {poor Stewart has both the sensual Parker and the sweet Leigh lusting after him!} never cloys the story, and in fact gives the film a solid centre as the outer edges merge into its adventure based being.

Not as famous as some of Errol Flynn or Tyrone Powers' sword play movies, but it should be because it's a rapier ripper of a movie. 8/10

The best swashbuckling film ever

[lotsofwordz · 10/10 · 15 November 2005]

A breathtaking display of sword-fighting at its best, excellent acting from all the main characters, brilliant direction, superb over-the-top script and dialogue, first-class photography.

The final duel between Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer is the longest in screen history. But more than that: its staging is first class. The protagonists fight up and down the theatre steps (of course), but also along the edge of balconies, in the foyer and even in the props warehouse. This is not just a sword fight, though: it's a display both of acrobatics and of the characters' personalities, with Granger's character exhibiting courage and magnanimity; Ferrer's is less generous but equally brave.

The drama is punctuated by scenes of low humour (at the clowns' theatre) and high irony (in the National Assembly).

Both of the female leads - Janet Leigh and Eleanor Parker - are stunningly beautiful. You feel sorry one of them has to lose Granger to the other; but at least the loser gets together in the end with a famous historical personage ...

Granger is Granger: suave, handsome, commanding. He is supposed to have done most of his own stunts: riding, duelling and climbing.

Highly recommended!

One of MGM's Greatest adaptations.

[Scaramouche2004 · 22 May 2004]

This is a movie milestone in my life.

I have chosen this handle and this film to be my first review on this site because it was the very first film I ever watched.

However my enjoyment was limited due to the fact that I was five days old at the time. This resulted in a rather poor grasp of the plot and an overall lack of excitement from beginning to end. The story goes that the day my twin brother and I were taken home from hospital after our birth, Scaramouche was the evening film on the BBC and we were given our baths completely oblivious to the movie gem we were being treated to on our first night in our new home.

I personally do not remember this but I have been reliably informed that this is so.

Over the years however, I have acquired a great passion for the films of the golden age and Scaramouche, although not the best of films, is definitely a classic.

Stewart Granger plays Andre Moroe a free spirit, who's life has amounted to nothing more than his constant pursuit of fun and wealthy ladies in 17th Century France. However the murder of his closest friend, a revolutionist in the making, turns him into a man driven by revenge. However there is one tiny drawback as the man on whom he seeks vengeance is the best swordsman in France and Andre has never held a sword in his life. But he is determined to learn it's ways in order to meter out his terrible revenge.

Immediately taking up lessons he wastes no time in becoming an expert fencer........about half an hour in fact.

This however is for me the most entertaining part of the film as the student out-fences the teachers in a series of montage images. It also contains one of the best uses of the English Language I have ever seen on film....or maybe I'm just easily pleased.

'if i can no longer be taught by the man who taught my enemy, then what is more fitting in a mad world,than to be taught by the man who taught the man who taught my enemy' Catchy eh?

However all this time Moroe is evading the villain's men by hiding out in a circus of sorts where he has adopted the role of the masked Scaramouche.....the clown.

It is at one of his performances where Moroe comes face to face with his friends killer and in true Hollywood fashion, they duel in and out of the shocked spectators hanging over perilous ledges and high theatre balconies and of course up and down grand staircases.

Mel Ferrer is wonderful as the evil Demain and gives his role an almost Bond villain presence with his charm ans sophistication, and for love interest we have both Eleanor Parker and Janet Leigh (before she started taking showers) Yet for once Hollywood decided to put romance on the back burner and these two beauties, although great in the roles, have nothing more to do than parade around in cleavage inducing bodices, although that's fine with me. If this film is your cup of tea or not, it's worth watching for that alone.

There are other aspects of the plot which I need not go into here except that they amount to the "he was my father which makes you my sister" scenario and when the unknown brother is revealed, you will be forgiven in thinking you had tuned into a period edition of EastEnders but despite all this is definitely worth the watch.

Incidentally the final sword fight was the longest sword fight in movie history until Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta Jones fenced their way into the record books in The Mask of Zorro. They may now have the longest but Scaramouche still has the best.

Fantastic rapier work

[ng-4 · 6 July 1999]

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.

Duel. wow!

[jcgreg · 18 July 1999]

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

Info on that Sword Fight

[rarpsl · 3 August 1999]

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".

A great film, they dont make them like that anymore

[dimandreas · 8/10 · 22 March 2002]

Scaramouche was and remains one of my all-time favorite films. It may not qualify as a deeply thought-out criticism of the social situation in France at the time preceding the revolution, but it does not intend to. It gives us a perfectly presented adventure with all the trimmings -revenge, disguises, hidden identities- plus the wonderful duel at the end. Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer are both excellent. The entire cast presents the film while avoiding any slip into comedy and parody. The highly improbable story is presented seriously and here lies the beauty of this film. I have to admit being biased: I have always been a Stewart Granger fan and there is very little of the work of his "good years" that I do not like.

excellent entertainment!

[mvfever · 10/10 · 26 March 2004]

I just love this movie, the best of its kind, excellent in every aspect. 50 years after it was made, thirty more years after I first saw it, not only I still love it, I appreciate more each time watching it again. Appreciate mostly, the Stars, there are just no more stars nowadays with such "star quality" like Granger and Parker, so exquisitely handsome, beautiful and elegant , not a bit common, never ordinary. With such star quality, the movie can elaborate as much as possible of their showmanship and the audience will never feel it is excessive, but only enjoyment. The good old Hollywood magic works at its best here.

An Unknown Gem

[daynlarz · 9/10 · 14 January 2007]

I came across this movie it in Blockbuster Movies Online while searching for movies to rent. I had never heard of this film before but the line up of stars, Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Mel Ferrer and Janet Leigh, and the description intrigued me. The story of Scaramouche is set in the turbulent times prior to the French Revoultion. The film makes no political statement and is purely entertaining featuring some the greatest sword play ever filmed. The period costumes and sets are fantastic and the color superb throughout. Stewart Granger is at his dashing best and Janet Leigh is a beauty to behold! This is an unknown gem of a movie and deserves to be included the list of all time classics!

Adventure in Full Color

[Tweetienator · 7/10 · 15 March 2022]

A fine swashbuckling adventure movie, rich in color, nice settings and costumes, some spectacular duels, some funny and witty scenes too. No doubt, a fine old school adventure movie that let you travel back in time. There is also a lot of chemistry between Steward Granger and Janet Leigh. Highly recommended to everyone who likes all those old fashioned cloak and dagger and swashbuckling business a la The Three Musketeers, The Sea Hawk, The Black Swan and the like.

The most intelligent of the great swashbucklers. (spoilers)

[the red duchess · 8/10 · 24 April 2001]

George Sidney may not be Michael Curtiz, but he did direct the wonderful Gene Kelly 'Three Musketeers', and this is an equally impressive film. I never thought I'd say this, especially about an action film, but its chief virtue is its clever, thoughtful script.

The plot distils a number of conventional plot elements: the reckless outsider-hero who learns to abandon childish ways (dependence on a surrogate brother, etc.), who through a number of tests of masculinity (significantly involving how to fence properly) can take his place in society by way of publicly approved marriage; an inner conflict in the hero between desire and duty, represented in the choice of females fighting for him, a fiery, sexually voracious, gold-digging, working class, actress red-head, and an aristocratic virgin who is often filmed in an ethereal haze - where consummation is frequently interrupted, disrupted and delayed; the overthrowing of a dark, Oedipal double impeding social reinstatement.

This in some form, is the model of almost every Hollywood action narrative. It is a good form because it has produced some good movies, but it is essentially conservative. 'Scaramouche''s interest lies in the tension between this narrative arc, and the contents of the narrative that get us there. For instance, the film isn't named after the hero - like, say, Captain Blood or Robin Hood - but the buffoonish role he plays to evade capture and to further his revenge.

Andre Moreau spends his time in the company of a theatrical troupe, and the major plot events take place around the theatre, or involve assumed identities, the invention of plots to deceive. This idea of role-playing is patterned in the film's doubling, both centring around Moreau - two brother figures, two lovers. The actual plays' content reflects Sabatini's theme, about the laughter needed to confront the madness of life and history: there is a remarkable buffa sequence, where Moreau 'performs' for the first time as Scaramouche, subjected to all kinds of violence from props and off-screen malevolents, which prefigures Beckett's 'Act Without Words 1', and offers a similar vision of life's essential absurdity. The revelation of Moreau's origins (which suggests his imagined brother is more true than his 'real' one) takes place on stage, while the seat of power, the Assembly, is pure theatre, with stock roles and off-stage violence.

All these theatrical elements systematically break down Moreau's identity, splitting him between different loyalties and motives, until he is at the very least schizophrenic, torn between grim avenging and gay fatalism. So where the narrative is supposed to fix the male hero in his place in society, remove all doubts as to his identity, origins and future, the theatrical setting achieves the opposite. The marriage is outdoor theatre, with audience and boxes, from which the marvellous Lenore continues her stage act, throwing a trick flower at Moreau; when it explodes, it forms a black mask on his face, suggesting he will never be free from role-playing and identity-fragmentation.

Further, on the eve of the French Revolution, the theatre is the visual means by which the working class infiltrate the power of the aristocracy, first of all by protecting an outlaw, using art to deceive and mock authority; more pertinently, by becoming successful, moving from rustic taverns to elegant Parisian halls to entertain the nobs. The quality of content seems to suffer, inventive slapstick replaced by elaborate choreography, but when Scaramouche on stage challenges Noel in his box, the theatre world spills into real life, the working class into the aristocracy, foreshadowing the Revolution itself.

This script brilliance should not take away from the sheer fun of 'Scaramouche', the energetic action scenes, where the hero is not required to be superhumanly invincible; the game acting, where modest talents - Granger and Ferrer - surpass themselves - and great talents - Eleanor Parker - have a ball; the splendid art direction, creating a period look that strikes the right balance between artifice and evocative detail; and a general tongue-in-cheek tone that sees the deadly serious sword-fights mockingly (and very suggestively) parodied in the pot-fight in the caravan between Moreau and Lenore.

Probably the Best Swashbuckler

[ragosaal · 10/10 · 28 September 2006]

This adaptation of Rafael de Sabattini's novel "Sacaramouche" set in the pre-French revolution days is certainly a great film.

George Sidney handles the story of Andrè Moraeu -a bastard born who doesn't take life too seriously and has "... the sense that the world is mad"- with an unusual skill. Everything is alright here: great color and photo, good adequate music score, accurate settings and gowns, consistent dialogues and one of the best achieved sword duels in film's history.

The cast is perfect too. Stewart Granger -a just correct actor in my opinion- renders here what is perhaps his best performance in the leading role. Mel Ferrer is outstanding as the sophisticated educated yet dangerous Marquis de Maines who defends with his deadly sword the nobles's privileges. Both Eleanor Parker (Andre's lover) and Janet Leigh (not so ingènue as she seems) are very good too in the main female leads. Nina Foch has the required class to play the Queen of France and Henry Wilcoxon is right too as de Maines's sidekick.

I insist: this is perhaps the best cape and sword film ever.

Trivia: I read in a review here that Scaramouche's final sword fight was the longest one in movies until the one between Banderas and Zeta Jones in "The Mask of Zorro". I must disagree; in fact I think the largest one ever was between Alain Delon (Zorro) and Stanley Baker (Captain Huerta) in the French version of "Zorro" released in 1975 and lasts 12 minutes.

Cloak and dagger highlight

[searchanddestroy-1 · 9/10 · 1 February 2022]

And what a performance for a director mostly specialized in musical and comedies, except THE THREE MUSKETEERS. So this one is awesome to watch, especially for an old timer for whom this film can remind so many things from his childhood. Stew Granger has rarely been better, Mel Ferrer and the lead ladies too. It's colourful, action packed, scenery beautiful, directing overwhelming, musical score so enchanting. As a French, I have alwats been astonished to watch so many Hollywood films about France history. They don't make films like this any more. Nostalgia, when you grab us....

Wonderful on many levels

[richman0829 · 10/10 · 19 September 2005]

This has been one of my favorites for over half a century! When I was a kid, I loved it for the action scenes, of course (I had already seen Gene Kelly in The Three Musketeers doing the kind of acrobatics Jackie Chan became famous for much later on). The buildup is superbly done, with Granger pathetically believable in his clumsy rage early on, and his hero training a la Joseph Campbell is fairly well described (although Sabatini's book added a touch: Scaramouche reads! And learns from books how to surpass his teacher).

Later on, I fell in love with Janet Leigh, and my enjoyment of her beauty hasn't diminished with time either.

Still later, I began to enjoy the comedic touches, like the boisterous, raunchy affair Granger enjoys at the beginning of the film, the shaving scene that he did all in one take, and the evolution of the comedic troupe itself throughout the film.

Lastly, but not the least, I still enjoy thinking about the historical aspects of this period piece, which takes place just prior to the French Revolution. There is an interesting hint that the exchanging of aristocratic bullies for a commoner "hired gun" was not necessarily a step forward; and the wench Scaramouche began with certainly shows her resourcefulness at the end!

Brilliantly Lucid Images; Colorful Adventure Classic

[silverscreen888 · 8/10 · 12 July 2005]

This film was mounted by MGM's experts as a vehicle for its new British leading man, as were "Beau Brummel" and "The Prisoner of Zenda". Stewart Granger, was the star; the narrative was produced as if it were a Busby Berkeley problem in blocking, motions and physical 'business' to be presented after rehearsal on the screen. The novel upon which the film was based, by Rafael Sabattini, was adapted for the screen by Ronald Millar and George Froeschel; and it was probably a very difficult transformation, speaking from a writer's point of view. This is true because the events were interesting, the narrative logical, but the problem became to give 'dramatic movement' to what was basically a series of physical steps taken by Andre, the hero. Moreover, the central character is a man of parts with a hot temper, no visible means of support and no stated profession. This left the writers to make the viewer care about Andre mostly by reaction at first. So when his younger brother is murdered in a duel by the Marquis de Maynes, representing the wrath of the old order in France who looks so much like our own republican right-wing in lace cuffs, Andre picks up a sword and is spared by the amused de Maynes; but he vows that the man will die by the sword , a sword held in his hand. This solved all the writer's problems. the middle section of the piece involves escape, disguise, and practice, leading to the time when he can avenge his brother.Andre takes up with an old girl friend in a commedia dell'arte troupe, wearing the mask of the buffoon "Scaramouche", and training with first one swordmaster--de Maynes' teacher-- then old Perigore of Paris, the swordmaster's master. All the while he is romancing the young woman affianced to de Maynes. When he is made a member of the Assembly, this gives him opportunity to challenge and defeat de Maynes' friends on the field of 'honor'. he discovers the lovely fiancée is actually his own sister; then all that is left to him is to challenge de Maynes, and begin the greatest sword fight in film history. But he recognizes de Maynes as he prepares to kill him, and spares his life. Then, it is time for all of them to escape the coming Revolution in France that is destined to sweep away not only justice and sanity but also the bad old Order. This is a very good storyline for an adventure, with touches of comedy and drama; it is directed with imagination by George Sidney. Others contributing to its physical beauty include Charles Rosher, cinematographer, Victor Young, its composer, art directors Cedric Gibbons and Hans Peters, set decorators Richard Petterle and Edwin B. Willis, costume designer by Gile Steele, and the other MGM department chiefs Douglas Shearer providing sound, William Tuttle the Makeup and Sydney Guilaroff doing the period hair. In the very good cast, Eleanor Parker stands out as the actress who lets Andre join the troupe,; Janet Leigh is too young for a good part as the fiancée, and Mel Ferrer good at an understated de Maynes. Others in the cast include Henry Wilcoxon, Nina Foch as Marie Antoinette, Richard Anderson as the brother who dies, Robert Coote, Lewis Stone and Elisabeth Risdon as Andre and Philippe's parents, John Dehner as the fencing master, Richard Hale as Perigore and John Litel. Many familiar players have bit parts. This is a film not as good perhaps as it is credited with being and every bit as good and better as a production than it has ever been credited with being. In lesser hands, it could have been a succession of costume scenes badly acted and static; in the hands of George Sidney's MGM team, it becomes an adventure classic with sparkling humor and a memorable presentational brilliance. There is a change in the film, that de Maynes is Andre's brother not a father figure, which helps the plausibility of the crisis scene immensely.  Having a character for Andre, as for Rick in "Casablanca" or many another hero would have added stature to an interesting, likable but slightly-underdeveloped character.