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Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
is perhaps the most popular film that no one ever went to see. Recreating his stage role, Jose Ferrer stars as Edmond Rostand's Cyrano, a 17th-century French cavalier, poet and swordsman whose prominent proboscis is the subject of many a duel. Cyrano is madly in love with the beautiful Roxanne Mala Powers, but assumes that she'd never love him back due to his cathedral of a nose. Roxanne is also loved by the handsome Christian William Prince, who unfortunately can't put two consecutive words together when it comes to pitching woo. Cyrano agrees to help Christian win Roxanne by feeding him the right words for his midnight courtships and love letters; in this way, Cyrano can vicariously express his own ardor for the fair lady. Years later, Cyrano's deception is revealed, and he dies happily in the arms of his beloved Roxanne, who realizes that she has really loved Cyrano all along—by way of Christian.
Jose Ferrer's Oscar-winning performance of Cyrano is so unforgettable that it's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role, even though such actors as Peter Donat and Gerad Depardieu have also given excellent accounts of themselves in the part. Ferrer would become the bane of acting teachers everywhere thanks to the young would-be Cyranos who would insist upon reciting ad nauseam the character's famous "No, thank you" speech or his hilarious categorical response to the insult "Your nose is...rather large." As mentioned, Cyrano de Bergerac wasn't seen by many paying moviegoers upon its original showing, but its relative box-office failure resulted in an early release to television, where it has remained a perennial attraction for the past forty years.
Cast: Jose Ferrer, Mala Powers, William Prince, Morris Carnovsky, Ralph Clanton
Director:Michael Gordon
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