Watch Scaramouche For Free

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Right from the start it is established that Andre is this witty fella who gets out of chaos by any means necessary. Stewart Granger does a wonderful job playing his character. He was like the Jack Sparrow of the 50's; actually I would not be surprised if the character of Sparrow was influenced by Andre or Scaramouche. Eleanor as Lenore does a great job too, she is almost as equally hilarious as Andre is, however towards the end she becomes more docile and 'damsel-like' which I'm a little annoyed at. But it wasn't so bad. Those two were the highlight of the show for me. Mel Ferrer was good but apart from his sword skills his acting didn't really stand out to me, nor did Janet Leigh's, it was kind of average.The screenplay is really well written and never has a dull moment. I was supposed to read the book for my literature course, but I decided to watch the film instead and I'm so glad I did. In my opinion, it does a wonderful job of condensing the novel into two hours worth of footage. I know that some events have been altered (the marriage of Marquis and Aline was not arranged in the novel), but overall I think that it is pretty accurate. But I'll have to read the book to find out.I don't really know what else to say about the film. It was engaging and comical, had action scenes (that felt a little long and repetitive sometimes), and great characters.Read more movie reviews at: championangels.wordpress.com

Stewart Granger spends most of this 1952 film hiding in the character of Scaramouche, a fool playing on the comedy stage of pre- revolutionary France. He is aided by Eleanor Parker, who plays an actress on stage. She loves him dearly.Granger seeks revenge for the killing of his friend, a writer of the famous Liberty, Equality and Fraternity who has been slain by nobleman Mel Ferrer. Nina Foch, as the queen, designates the Ferrer character to watch over subject Janet Leigh. Foch is hoping for romance to blossom between the two.Granger becomes adept at using the sword. He is hiding the secret that he can never love Leigh since she is his sister. (He was supposedly the illegitimate child of her father.)There is a tremendous duel between Granger and Ferrer at the play house and nothing is spared. Granger cannot bring himself to kill Ferrer and then learns a most shocking secret. He is not the brother of Leigh and guess who his real brother is? This frees him to pursue Leigh and Parker is most gracious in literally releasing him.Swashbuckling historical fun may best describe this period piece.

In 18th century France, the air is filled with imminent Revolution. Accused of stirring the masses with pamphlets proclaiming, "equality, liberty, fraternity," handsome actor Stewart Granger (as Andre Moreau) is forced to disguise himself as clownish stage performer named "Scaramouche" to avoid authorities. Learning his best friend Richard Anderson (as Philippe de Valmorin) is actually involved in overthrowing the monarchy, Mr. Granger is drawn into the cause. He finds a major foe in swordsman Mel Ferrer (as the Marquis de Maynes) and romances two beautifully figured women...Red-haired Eleanor Parker (as Lenore) and white-tressed Janet Leigh (as Aline) are well-costumed, as is this swashbuckler from MGM. It's a re-make of the studio's "Scaramouche" (1923), a critical and commercial hit for Ramon Novarro. Interestingly, his rival in the old "silent" was played by Lewis Stone, who has a featured role in this new version. A veteran MGM contract player, Mr. Stone is a standout; Elisabeth Risdon is a fine vis-à-vis. This production's greatest strengths are the colorful art/set direction and a nicely choreographed sword duel between Granger and Mr. Ferrer.****** Scaramouche (5/8/52) George Sidney ~ Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrer

Scaramouche is a reasonably average swashbuckling Technicolor extravaganza with great sword fights, but the story, the characters and the performances just didn't impress me as much as I had hoped.Set in France in the period leading up to the French Revolution we follow the story of André Moreau the bastard son of a nobleman. Initially a carefree young man living off an allowance he is spurred to action by the death of his principled friend. Andre hides out with a theater troupe where he adopts the character of Scaramouche a clown while he contemplates how he can avenge his friend's death. There are a number of intertwined sub plots which are fairly convoluted for a film of this type.When Scaramouche is compared to other swashbuckling epics such as; Robin Hood, Captain Blood or even The Sea Hawk all of which were made 10 or more years earlier, it pales in comparison. Director George Sidney isn't Michael Curtiz, Stewart Granger certainly isn't Errol Flynn and Mel Ferrer isn't Basil Rathbone or Claude Rains. Of all the principles only Vivien Leigh compares adequately to her predecessors.These are not the only deficiencies in the film though, it appears that the story upon which the film was based had considerably more depth and likely could have been adapted better. In all likelihood parts of the story should have been sacrificed to make the story flow better.The production values (costumes, sets, music, etc) are all OK but nothing stands out, perhaps my opinion is affected by my overall opinion of the film but I didn't find anything memorable here.The film despite its deficiencies isn't without its charm and for fans of the era and genre it will likely provide enjoyment. The sword-fights and the rich Technicolor picture just weren't enough for me to see it as anything more than mediocre.The film is based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini who also penned The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood.