I love a good, action movie. Sword fights, so much the better! Not the modern versions of sword fights that show all of the gore(I’m referring to you, 1995 film Rob Roy.) I know that in real life, a sword fight was a bloody battle, but I like the classic films that depict sword fights with the ultimate battle involving the baddie fighting the hero, with little blood flowing. The baddie usually ends the fight by grasping his fatal wound, eyes shut, staggering backwards, then falling over, dead.
When I found out that my favorite blog dedicated to silent movies was going to host a “Swashathon” dedicated to swashbuckler movies, I jumped right in. Be sure to visit Movies, Silently and read about all of the swashbuckler films being paid homage to this weekend.
On November 28th, 1941, the film The Corsican Brothers premiered to rave reviews. Distributed by United Artists, the film was based on French writer Alexandre Dumas’s adventure novel. Like many of Dumas’s works of fiction, The Corsican Brothers has a rollicking plot with lots of action.
Director Gregory Ratoff, working with the screenplay by George Bruce and Howard Estabrook, kept the story flowing fast;never a dull moment in this movie. To play the main characters, identical twin brothers, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. won the role. The movie’s main baddie played by a blustery and glowering Akim Tamiroff. The lovely Ruth Warrick is the love interest and damsel in distress. The wonderful supporting cast: J. Carrol Naish, H.B. Warner, Henry Wilcoxon, Gloria Holden, Walter Kingsford, and Nana Bryant.
The movie opens on the island of Corsica and we quickly meet two noble families, the good Franchi family and the evil Colonna family. It is known in the village that Countess Franchi(Gloria Holden) is about to give birth to her first child, and that all of Count Franchi’s(Henry Wilcoxon) relatives have come to his home to await the birth. Across town, Baron Colonna(Akim Tamiroff) and his minions are eating a meal and when the Baron learns that all of the Franchis are in one spot, he decides to attack them and murder them all! There is a blood feud between the two families, and it’s explained that in 1841 Corsica, when this story takes place, all Corsicans follow the idea of an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.
Countess Franchi bravely labors away in her gorgeous bedroom with the attentive care of Dr. Paoli(H. B. Warner) and a nun/nurse. Shortly after her twin sons are born, it is known to all that the Countess is dying. The Count hurries in to see his wife and his sons; he is overjoyed that God has blessed him with two sons! Dr. Paoli quietly tells him that the twins are conjoined. The Count is crushed by this news, and he begs the doctor to surgically separate the boys. Before a surgery can happen, Dr. Paoli manages to sneak the twins out of the mansion, with the help of Franchi family servant Lorenzo(J. Carrol Naish). Sadly, all of the rest of the Franchis are killed by Baron Colonna and his henchmen. There’s a touching moment as the nun is helping with the babies escape and she begs her mistress to leave too, but the Countess bravely smiles and tells the nun to not worry for her, as she’ll face her death with bravery and grace.
Dr. Paoli, back at his home with the babies and Lorenzo, shares his fear that Colonna won’t believe that the babies died in the inferno that engulfed the Franchi home and that he must somehow hide these boys until they are of age. The surgery has been done and the babies are now separated twins. With Lorenzo’s suggestion, they contact the Franchi’s good friends, Monsieur and Madame Dupre,(Walter Kingsford and Nana Bryant) who are childless. After the babies are baptized and christened Mario and Lucien, the Dupre’s take baby Mario back with them to Paris. Lorenzo agrees to raise Lucien, in the hills of Corsica, near the village of the Franchis.
20 years fly by. Mario is a cultured and educated young man. He meets Corsican Countess Isabelle Gravini and it’s love at first sight for him. At the Paris Opera House, where they meet, he protects her from the attentions of a clod, who later assaults Mario. When Mario suffers a wound in his shoulder, Lucien awakes with a pain in his shoulder! Despite being separated, Lucien feels the pains, pangs and passions his twin brother experiences.(Cue the Twilight Zone music! By the way, I have identical twin daughters, and they have never experienced this “spiritual twin” syndrome, as Dr. Paoli calls it.) Here’s a clip, courtesy of TCM, of this “spiritual twin” syndrome, and the meeting of Countess Isabelle and Mario.
When Mario and Lucien turn 21, Dr. Paoli asks for the Dupres to allow Mario to travel to Corsica as it’s time for the boys to meet and learn the truth of their ancestry. The Dupres comply and Mario and Lucien meet for the first time. Both brothers vow to avenge their parents death at the hands of Baron Colonna. Here’s the clip of that scene, also courtesy of TCM. The rest of the movie deals with the brothers exacting their revenge, with a love “square” getting put into the plot.

One of the many excellent camera shots of Fairbanks, Jr. playing twin brothers, appearing in the same scene.
I say love “square” instead of triangle because this plot device involves 4 people. Countess Isabelle loves Mario,Mario loves Countess Isabelle, Lucien loves Countess Isabelle(he has some fun getting her to kiss him as she thinks he’s Mario and he’s not about to correct her!), and evil Baron Colonna has seen Countess Isabelle, has asked her father for her hand, and when her father says, “No”, Colonna has him poisoned so that he can pursue the Countess unhindered!!
There is a somewhat sad plot point added to the end of the film, but it also ties the story line up neatly, like a bow. Fairbanks, Jr. is just fantastic as Mario/Lucien. He’s athletic, gorgeous, and sincere in his acting the dual roles. The special effects for this film were well done: scenes where Fairbanks, Jr. plays the twins talking to each other, or in scenes where both twins are with other actors at the same time. One scene where the twins get into a fight with one another, yes another actor/double was used but the fight was so carefully choreographed and shot from afar, that it’s hard to tell the double from Fairbanks, Jr.
Wilcoxon and Holden, the doomed Franchi parents,are noble and brave. H.B. Warner as Dr. Paoli is tender-hearted and wise. J. Carrol Naish is great as servant Lorenzo, who raises Lucien to be a defender of the people against the evil Colonna, and Kingsford and Bryant are also warm and wise, as the childless couple who raise Mario as their own. Ruth Warrick is so pretty, and has a natural chemistry with Fairbanks, Jr. I’d like to think they had a lovely time making this film together. Tamiroff has a blast playing Colonna and his sword fight scene showdown with Mario is a great scene. They fight in a large room, but with furniture to knock over and wounded bodies to dodge, plus a large mirror is used for good visual effect. Spoiler in this clip. If you don’t want to know what it is, then don’t watch this clip! Here it is, courtesy of Youtube.
TCM aired The Corsican Brothers this past July, the first time they had ever aired it. Check their schedule, especially in 2016 as I am sure they’ll be airing this film again. It’s available to purchase at Amazon in a dvd or to watch it through their prime instant video. It’s also available at TCM’s Shop.
For an excellent tale complete with swashbuckling derring do, seek out The Corsican Brothers.
Posted by Joe Thompson on November 13, 2015 at 5:43 AM
I saw this on TCM during the summer. What a wonderful movie. I thought Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.worked really well together. Too bad they didn’t team up in more movies. And I always enjoy Akim Tamiroff when he bites off big chunks of scenery and chews them up. Good choice to write about.
Posted by jennifromrollamo on November 13, 2015 at 2:21 PM
Thank you for your kind comments!
Posted by michael Evans on November 11, 2015 at 9:28 PM
Have not seen this one in ages (1960’s). I thought it might be a “lost film”. Enjoyed it back then & enjoyed your post. Thank you. I wonder if The Adventures of Sinbad with Fairbanks,Jr., Anthony Quinn & Walter Slezak is also available. It is another good adventure story.
Posted by jennifromrollamo on November 12, 2015 at 12:56 PM
I don’t know if The Adventures of Sinbad is available on dvd yet, but that’s another one I saw, courtesy of Turner Classic Movies last year, and yes, it’s also a good one.
Posted by michael Evans on November 11, 2015 at 9:23 PM
Have not seen this one in ages (1960’s). I thought it was one of those lost films. Would like to see The Adventures Of Sinbad with Fairbanks, Anthony Quinn & Walter Slezak, another one I have not seen in a long, long time.
Posted by Movies Silently on November 8, 2015 at 5:25 PM
Thank you so much for joining in! Wasn’t Douglas Fairbanks Jr. an absolute doll? And double Doug is always a good thing. 😉
Posted by Patricia Nolan-Hall (@CaftanWoman) on November 8, 2015 at 4:23 PM
Fairbanks is top-notch in his roles. I really feel for both characters and particularly Lucien. “The Corsican Brothers” is a dandy film.
Posted by jennifromrollamo on November 8, 2015 at 9:24 PM
I agree! I iked both brothers and wished that Countess Isabelle had a equally pretty sister for Lucien to fall for!
Posted by girlsdofilm on November 8, 2015 at 1:45 PM
So much Dumas-inspired goodness in this blogathon! Look forward to watching this one. And I totally agree with why you love swashbucklers, they are a nice reminder that violence doesn’t always have to be…. violent!
Posted by christinawehner on November 7, 2015 at 9:00 PM
This sounds like a hoot! I’m a real sucker for films where the actor gets to play a dual role.
Posted by jennifromrollamo on November 8, 2015 at 2:40 AM
Since I have twin daughters, I am always intrigued as to how twins are portrayed in movies…most of the time, Hollywood has taken the idea of twins and made crazy storylines out of a unique relationship, i.e. that film where Bette Davis played twin sisters, one good and one evil, and both love the same man, played by Glenn Ford. It’s called A Stolen Life, and it’s much more of a soaper/hoot too, than The Corsican Brothers could ever be. Try to find TCB, as you enjoy good literature, I think you’ll appreciate the movie made based on Dumas’s novel. 🙂
Posted by christinawehner on November 9, 2015 at 8:12 PM
Ooh…I haven’t see A Stolen Life yet, either. I will have to add that along with The Corsican Brothers. Thanks! That is funny how Hollywood always takes the twins idea and goes crazy with it. I wonder if there is a movie that is more realistic about how they portray twins.
Posted by Silver Screenings on November 7, 2015 at 7:16 PM
What a great choice for the blogathon! Judging by the TCM clip you linked to, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. looks like he’d be very charming in this film – in both roles.
Posted by jennifromrollamo on November 8, 2015 at 2:35 AM
I also found a few interviews he did on talk shows in the 60s and late 50s, a very intelligent and gentlmanly man. They’re on Youtube, also.