The Black Tulip (1964 film)
The Black Tulip | |
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Film poster for La Tulipe noire | |
Directed by | Christian-Jaque[1] |
Written by |
Henri Jeanson Christian-Jaque |
Music by | Gérard Calvi[1] |
Cinematography | Henri Decae[1] |
Edited by | Jacques Desagneaux[1] |
Production company | |
Release dates |
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Running time | 110 minutes[2] |
Country |
France Italy Spain[1][2] |
Box office | 3,107,512 admissions (France)[3] |
The Black Tulip (French:La Tulipe noire) is a French-Italian-Spanish film which indeed reused some names in the novel of the same title[4] by Alexandre Dumas but its story does not follow the novel. It is, essentially, a star vehicle for the popular French actor Alain Delon.
Synopsis
Like the popular European Karl May movies of the same time, the script actually used only the main characters of a popular novel, but didn't stick to the original story. Alain Delon plays a swashbuckling French Robin Hood who fights corrupt nobles in the era before the French Revolution. Like Zorro, the Black Tulip is, in real life, a fixture at the court and, therefore, needs to camouflage himself before he can fight for justice. Unfortunately, Guillaume de Saint Preux, the first Black Tulip, gets injured. Marked by a scar on the face, he has to beseech his twin brother Julian to cover for him.[5]
The gentle, clumsy Julian fulfils his brother's wish, but Guillaume's arch enemy Baron La Mouche still seeks the Black Tulip. When he feels that there may be a connection between Guillaume de Saint Preux and the masked hero, he has Julian imprisoned. The original Black Tulip rescues him, but while Julian escapes, his brother is caught in the act and soon afterwards, executed.
In the end, Julian succeeds his brother as the Black Tulip. He rises to the occasion, and is now as good a fighter for justice as his brother was. He has also won the heart of Caroline, who supports him.
Alain Delon used this opportunity to demonstrate his range as an actor by playing both brothers. In 1975, he would again play a masked swashbuckler in his Zorro film.
Cast
- Alain Delon - Julien de Saint Preux / Guillaume de Saint Preux
- Virna Lisi - Caroline „Caro“ Plantin
- Adolfo Marsillach - Baron La Mouche
- Dawn Addams - Marquise Catherine de Vigogne
- Akim Tamiroff - Marquis de Vigogne
- Laura Valenzuela - Lisette
- George Rigaud - Polizeichef
- Francis Blanche - Plantin
- José Jaspe - Brignon
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "La Tulipe noire". Bifi.fr (in French). Retrieved February 10, 2013.
- 1 2 3 Hassen, Kristie. "La Tulipe Noire". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
- ↑ Box office information for film at Box Office Story
- ↑ "The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas as e-book". Retrieved 2011-05-08.
- ↑ "Saint Preux appeals to his younger brother, Julien, to assume his identity for a time". Retrieved 2011-05-08.
External links
- The Black Tulip at the Internet Movie Database
- The Black Tulip at AllMovie
- "La Tulipe noire" with Alain Delon on YouTube
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