Scaramouche - 1952 - romantic swashbuckler film.

Описание: Scaramouche is a 1952 romantic swashbuckler film starring Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, and Mel Ferrer. Filmed in Technicolor, the MGM production is loosely based on the 1921 novel Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini as well as the 1923 film version starring Ramon Novarro. It was directed by George Sidney and 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.

Plot
In France just prior to the French Revolution, Queen Marie Antoinette asks her cousin Noel, the Marquis de Maynes, to uncover the identity of "Marcus Brutus", a dangerous pamphleteer rousing hatred of the aristocracy. She also pressures de Maynes to marry to preserve his line, and at his request for her to choose his bride is introduced to Aline de Gavrilac, one of the Queen's wards.

Meanwhile, minor nobleman André Moreau kidnaps his beloved Lenore to keep her from marrying another man. After the two decide to get married, Moreau learns that his best man, Philippe de Valmorin, is in hiding for promoting revolution and distributing pamphlets under the allonym Marcus Brutus. Moreau tells de Valmorin to leave Paris, taking Lenore with him. At the same time, Moreau visits his lawyer, Fabien, and forcefully threatens him to disclose the name of his father in order to learn why he has stopped sending an allowance. When Moreau and de Valmorin rendezvous in the woods, it is without Lenore, who, not knowing the identity or motive of de Valmorin, escaped the carriage. They continue on their journey to meet Moreau's father, who is revealed to be the Comte de Gavrillac. Moreau runs into Aline de Gavrillac when her carriage breaks down in the road. They are strongly attracted to each other, but Moreau's ardor suddenly cools when he learns that she is his half-sister. He hides that information from her, partly because of sympathy, when they both enter the House of Gavrillac to see that the Comte has died.

By chance, de Maynes encounters de Valmorin. A master swordsman, de Maynes provokes de Valmorin into a duel, then toys with his inexperienced opponent before finally killing him. Enraged, Moreau attacks, but does no better than his dead friend. After de Maynes easily disarms him several times, Moreau seizes a pistol and vows to kill de Maynes the same way he slew de Valmorin, then flees for his life.

Chased by de Maynes' henchmen, led by the Chevalier de Chabrillaine, Moreau hides out in the commedia dell'arte troupe in which Lenore performs. Forced to disguise himself as the character Scaramouche, he discovers a hidden talent as a performer. Burning for revenge, Moreau seeks out de Maynes' fencing instructor, Doutreval of Dijon, and trains diligently in secret for weeks, while also performing with the troupe. However, de Maynes appears during a training session, and they fight for a second time. Moreau is still overmatched, and is saved only by Aline's unexpected arrival, enabling Moreau to escape (with Doutreval's assistance).

He decides to seek out Doutreval's teacher, Perigore of Paris, the man who according to Doutreval "is the master of all swordsmen." Moreau takes the troupe to Paris for that purpose. There, Dr. Dubuque, a deputy of the new National Assembly, seeks his help. The aristocrats in the assembly are systematically killing off the deputies representing the common people by provoking them into duels. Moreau is not interested, until Dubuque mentions that de Maynes is one of the duelists; then he eagerly accepts the seat of a deceased deputy. Each day, he shows up at the assembly to challenge de Maynes, only to find his enemy absent on trivial but official duties, arranged by Aline, who works with Lenore to protect the man they both love. However, other nobles in the National Assembly are eager to fight the newcomer, challenging him on a daily basis. Moreau wins every duel; the Chevalier de Chabrillaine barely escapes with his life.

In the meantime, de Maynes becomes engaged to Aline. Overhearing de Maynes' intention to confront Moreau that night, Aline persuades him to take her out instead. At the suggestion of de Chabrillaine, they attend a performance of the De Binet Troupe, where Andre seizes his opportunity for revenge. The two men engage in a prolonged duel (reputedly the longest in screen history at about eight minutes) that ranges throughout the theater and finally back onto the stage itself. At the end, Moreau has de Maynes at his mercy, helpless as Philippe de Valmorin had been, but something he cannot explain stays his hand. Moreau stalks off, leaving de Maynes bloodied but alive.