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IMDbPro

Kean: Genius or Scoundrel

Original title: Kean - Genio e sregolatezza
  • 19571957
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
99
YOUR RATING
Kean: Genius or Scoundrel (1957)
  • Biography
  • Drama
Edmund Kean is a popular British actor and theatrical nineteenth addicted to vices, however, and in debt. He contends with the Prince of Wales, his companion of excesses, the Danish ambassad... Read allEdmund Kean is a popular British actor and theatrical nineteenth addicted to vices, however, and in debt. He contends with the Prince of Wales, his companion of excesses, the Danish ambassador's wife, but eventually falls in love with Anna, a young but promising rookie actress.Edmund Kean is a popular British actor and theatrical nineteenth addicted to vices, however, and in debt. He contends with the Prince of Wales, his companion of excesses, the Danish ambassador's wife, but eventually falls in love with Anna, a young but promising rookie actress.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
99
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Vittorio Gassman
  • Writers
    • Suso Cecchi D'Amico
    • Alexandre Dumas(play "Kean")
    • Vittorio Gassman
  • Stars
    • Vittorio Gassman
    • Eleonora Rossi Drago
    • Gérard Landry
Top credits
  • Director
    • Vittorio Gassman
  • Writers
    • Suso Cecchi D'Amico
    • Alexandre Dumas(play "Kean")
    • Vittorio Gassman
  • Stars
    • Vittorio Gassman
    • Eleonora Rossi Drago
    • Gérard Landry
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination

    Photos

    Kean: Genius or Scoundrel (1957)
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    Top cast

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    Vittorio Gassman
    Vittorio Gassman
    • Edmund Kean
    Eleonora Rossi Drago
    Eleonora Rossi Drago
    • Contessa Elena Koefeld
    Gérard Landry
    Gérard Landry
    • Principe di Galles
    Cesco Baseggio
    • Salomon
    Mario Carotenuto
    • Peter Patt
    Helmut Dantine
    Helmut Dantine
    • Lord Mewill
    Anna Maria Ferrero
    Anna Maria Ferrero
    • Anna Damby
    Nerio Bernardi
    Nerio Bernardi
    • Conte Koefeld
    Massimo Burrelli
    Alberto Carloni
    Bianca Maria Fabbri
    • Prima attrice
    • (as Maria Fabbri)
    Amedeo Girardi
    • Bob
    • (as Amedeo Girard)
    Carlo Mazzarella
    Carlo Mazzarella
    • Dario
    Mario Passante
    Mario Passante
    • Creditore
    Winni Riva
      Dina Sassoli
      Dina Sassoli
      • Amy
      Bruno Smith
      Ferruccio Stagni
      • Director
        • Vittorio Gassman
      • Writers
        • Suso Cecchi D'Amico
        • Alexandre Dumas(play "Kean")
        • Vittorio Gassman
      • All cast & crew
      • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

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      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Vittorio Gassman's debut as a director.
      • Connections
        Referenced in Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)

      User reviews1

      Review
      Top review
      6/10
      Gassman As Shakespeare Star Makes Interesting Comparison With Mosjoukine
      This mid 50s coproduction, a vehicle for the theatrics of star/cowriter/codirector Gassman, gives viewers a chance to see what he was like on stage and makes an interesting comparison with, among others, a famous 1924 silent version of the same material featuring the equally larger than life Mosjoukine. The romanticized biography of English Regency era Shakespeare actor Edmund Kean is largely similar though there is the added writer contribution here from Sartre.Instead of excerpts from Romeo and Juliet we get Othello and instead of the actor breaking tradition by talking to the audience during Hamlet before going mad here he does it during the climax of Othello,which had been turned into a comedy by the inexperienced replacement Desdemona and the rude comments of aristocratic snobs in the loges. The big advantages this version offers are the spoken word ( especially interesting to hear the Bard adapted for Italian) and the lush production values offered by Gianni Di Venanzo's color cinematography, the sets and costumes, and the widescreen. Mosjoukine the émigré Russian performer was arguably a greater actor than Gassman but this role suits the sometimes overly flamboyant Italian star to a T. Up and coming director Francesco Rosi assisted Gassman with the technical side of the production, which is quite polished.
      helpful•0
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      • lchadbou-326-26592
      • Mar 12, 2021

      Details

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      • Release date
        • 1958 (West Germany)
      • Country of origin
        • Italy
      • Language
        • Italian
      • Also known as
        • Genie und Wahnsinn
      • Production companies
        • Lux Film
        • Vides Cinematografica
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Technical specs

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      • Runtime
        1 hour 23 minutes
      • Sound mix
        • Mono
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.85 : 1

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