Cyrano De Bergerac (1950)

Cyrano de Bergerac is a 1950 black and white drama film based on the 1897 French play by Edmond Rostand and poet Brian Hookers 1923 translation of it to blank verse. It was produced by Stanley Kramer, directed by Michael Gordon and starred José Ferrer as Cyrano de Bergerac, Mala Powers as Roxane, and William Prince as Christian de Neuvillette. It was the first film version of Rostand's play in English. Ferrer won an Academy Award for Best Actor, while Powers was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

In seventeenth century Paris, poet and supreme swordsman Cyrano de Bergerac (José Ferrer) stops a play from being shown because he cannot stand the bombastic style of the principal actor, Montfleury (Arthur Blake). An annoyed aristocratic fop, the Vicomte de Valvert (Albert Cavens), challenges him to a duel by tritely insulting Cyrano's enormous nose. Cyrano first mocks his lack of wit, improvising numerous inventive ways in which Valvert could have phrased it (much to the amusement of the audience). He then composes a ballade for the occasion on the spot and recites it during the swordfight. With the last line, he dispatches his opponent.

Cyrano's friend Le Bret (Morris Carnovsky) warns him he has made powerful enemies of his victim's friends, but he is unconcerned. He has a more pressing matter on his mind; he confesses to Le Bret that he is in love with his beautiful cousin Roxane (Mala Powers), but harbors no hope of it being returned because of his nose. When he receives a request from Roxane to see her in the morning, he is finally emboldened to act.

Then pastry chef and fellow poet Ragueneau (Lloyd Corrigan) approaches him for help. Ragueneau has learned that a nobleman he had mocked with his verses has hired a hundred ruffians to teach him a lesson. Cyrano escorts him and kills some of them and drives off the rest.

The next day, before he can tell Roxane of his feelings, she informs him that she has fallen in love with a handsome guardsman, Christian de Neuvillette (William Prince), though she has not even spoken to him. Cyrano hides his devastation and agrees to help her.

Cyrano befriends the young man and discovers that he is infatuated with Roxane, but is too inept with words to woo her. To help him, Cyrano composes Christian's love letters to Roxane, which she finds irresistible. Later, Christian decides he wants no more help and tries to speak to Roxane, listening from her balcony, but fails miserably; Cyrano, hiding in the bushes, has to come to his rescue. He is so eloquent that Roxane invites Christian into her house.

When another suitor, Antoine Comte de Guiche (Ralph Clanton), pressures Roxane to marry him, Cyrano deceives and delays de Guiche long enough for her to wed Christian. Furious, de Guiche, Christian's commander, orders him to join him in the war against the Spanish.

Roxane visits her husband in camp and lets slip that she fell in love with him not merely for his looks but because of his words. Realizing that she really loves Cyrano, Christian gets his rival to agree to tell Roxane the truth and let her decide between them. But before the opportunity arises, Christian volunteers for a dangerous mission and is fatally wounded, silencing Cyrano.

Years pass, with Cyrano visiting Roxane weekly. One night, one of Cyrano's enemies prepares an ambush; the poet is run down by a carriage. Near death, he hides his injuries and goes to keep his appointment with Roxane for the last time. His secret is finally revealed when he recites from memory one of the love letters Roxane has preserved, but it is too late. Cyrano first slips into delirium, then dies, leaving Roxane to mourn a second time.

Directed by: Michael Gordon
Produced by: George Glass, Stanley Kramer
Starring: José Ferrer, Mala Powers, William Prince
Crew: Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Planer, Harry Gerstad
Copyright: Public Domain
Format: Black + White
Duration: 112 mins
Year: 1950
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