''Black Magic'' is a 1949

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

's novel ''Joseph Balsamo''. It was directed by

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...

. Set in the 18th century, the film stars

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

in the lead role as Joseph Balsamo, a hypnotist, magician, and

charlatan A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through false pretenses, pretense or deception. Synonyms for ''charlatan ...

who also goes by the alias of Count Cagliostro, and Nancy Guild as Lorenza/

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...

has a featured role as Gitano. The film received mixed reviews.

Plot

Alexandre Dumas, Sr. (

Berry Kroeger Berry Kroeger (October 16, 1912 – January 4, 1991) was an American film, television and stage actor. Career Kroeger was born in San Antonio, Texas. He got his acting start on radio as an announcer on ''Suspense'' and as an actor, playing fo ...

) tells his son Alexandre Dumas, Jr. (

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

) the story of Joseph Balsamo (

) aka Cagliostro. Through flashbacks we learn that Balsamo was a French

gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

boy who endured much hardship. He was tortured under the command of Viscount de Montaigne ( Stephen Bekassy) and his parents were ordered to hang. He was rescued by some gypsies led by Gitano and swears revenge on de Montagne. Some years later, he learns the secrets of

hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

from Dr. Mesmer (

Charles Goldner Charles Goldner was an Austrian-born actor who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s. Born in Vienna, Austria, on 7 December 1900, he made his screen debut in the 1940 film '' Room for Two'' and went on to appear in '' ...

). Ignoring the doctor's advice that he use his powers for healing, he exploits his new talent to the full, gaining

wealth Wealth is the abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial assets or property, physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for financial transaction, transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the ...

, fame and prestige. After changing his name to Count Cagliostro, he becomes famous throughout Europe. Things begin to go downhill when he enters a plot to substitute a young girl called Lorenza ( Nancy Guild) for Queen

along with gypsies Gitano (

) and Zoraida (

Valentina Cortese Valentina Cortese (1 January 1923 – 10 July 2019) was an Italian actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in François Truffaut's ''Day for Night'' (1973). Personal life Cortese was bor ...

). The plot is organised by de Montaigne in association with Madame du Barry. They plan for Lorenza to impersonate the Queen and buy a frivolous necklace. Zoraida becomes jealous of Lorenza, who has fallen under Cagliostro's power, forgetting her true love, Gilbert. Gilbert runs away with Lorenza. Cagliostro recaptures her and marries her, hypnotised. King Louis XV dies and Marie Antoinette becomes queen. She orders Cagliostro to leave the country. Cagliostro gets Lorenza to impersonate the Queen and pretend to be in love with de Montaigne. He buys the necklace and the Queen's reputation is damaged (true

Affair of the Diamond Necklace The Affair of the Diamond Necklace (, "Affair of the Queen's Necklace") was an incident from 1784 to 1785 at the court of King Louis XVI of France that involved his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The Queen's reputation, already tarnished by gossi ...

). Zoraida brings Lorenza to Marie Antoinette and reveals Cagliostro's plot. Lorenza agrees to testify against Cagliostro, but at the trial, Cagliostro hypnotizes her into stating that she knows nothing. Cagliostro hypnotizes Gilbert into testifying against the queen. However, Dr. Mesmer then uses the necklace to hypnotize Cagliostro into confessing. Cagliostro awakens from his trance and escapes with the hypnotized Lorenza. Gilbert pursues them and kills Cagliostro in a sword fight.

Cast

as Joseph Balsamo a.k.a. Count Cagliostro * Nancy Guild as Marie Antoinette / Lorenza *

as Gitano *

Frank Latimore Franklin Latimore (born Franklin Latimore Kline, September 28, 1925 – November 29, 1998) was an American actor. Life and career Latimore was born in Darien, Connecticut. He came from a well-to-do family, and was able to trace his lineage ba ...

as Captain Gilbert de Rezel *

as Zoraida *

Margot Grahame Margot Grahame (born Margaret Clark; 20 February 1911 – 1 January 1982) was an English actress most noted for starring in '' The Informer'' (1935) and ''The Three Musketeers'' (1935). She started acting in 1930 and made her last screen app ...

Madame du Barry Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last ''maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed, by guillotine, during the French Revolution due to accounts of treason—particularly being ...

* Stephen Bekassy as Viscount de Montaigne *

as Alexandre Dumas, Sr. *

Gregory Gaye Gregory Gaye (born Grigoriy Grigoryevich Ge; October 10, 1900 – August 23, 1993) was a Russian-American character actor. The son of an actor, he was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was the uncle of actor George Gaynes. He was a cadet ...

as Chambord / Monk *

as Alexandre Dumas, Jr. * Charles Goldner as Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer * Lee Kresel as King Louis XVI / Innkeeper * Robert Atkins as King Louis XV * Nicholas Bruce as De Remy * Franco Corsaro as Chico * Annielo Mele as Joseph Balsamo, as a child *

Ronald Adam General Sir Ronald Forbes Adam, 2nd Baronet, (30 October 1885 – 26 December 1982) was a senior British Army officer. He had an important influence on the conduct of the British Army during the Second World War as a result of his long tenure ...

as Court President *

Bruce Belfrage Bruce Belfrage (30 October 1900 – August 1974) was an English actor and BBC radio newsreader.Obituary in ''The Times'', ''Mr Bruce Belfrage'', 17 August 1974, p.14 He was casting director at the BBC between 1936 and 1939, and founded th ...

as Crown Prosecutor * Alexander Danaroff as Dr. Duval / Baron von Minden * Leonardo Scavino as Gaston / Beniamino Balsamo *

Tamara Shayne Tamara Shayne (25 November 1902 – 23 October 1983), also known as Tamara Nikoulina, was a Russian-born actress and long-time resident in the United States. Early life Tamara Shayne was born Tamara Veniaminovna Olkenitskaya on 25 November 1902 i ...

as Maria Balsamo * Joop van Hulzen as Minister of Justice * Peter Trent as Dr. Mesmer's Friend * Giuseppe Varni as Boehmer *

Tatyana Pavlova Tatyana Pavlova (10 December 1890 – 7 November 1975) was a Russian-born theatre director and stage and film actress who settled in Italy.Cardullo p.75 Her name is sometimes written as Tatania Pavlova. Selected filmography * '' Everybody's Woman ...

as The mother

Production

The movie was originally known as ''Cagliostro''. Producer

Edward Small Edward Small (born Edward Schmalheiser, February 1, 1891, Brooklyn, New York – January 25, 1977, Los Angeles) was a film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movi ...

went through a number of directors and stars in trying to get this film off the ground, starting in 1943.

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

was to star with Akim Tamiroff, and

Irving Pichel Irving Pichel (June 24, 1891 – July 13, 1954) was an American actor and film director, who won acclaim both as an actor and director in his Hollywood career. Career Pichel was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh. He attended Pittsburgh Cent ...

directing, then in early 1944

J. Carrol Naish Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 credits during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Naish received two Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in the films '' Sahara ...

was reported to play Alexandre Dumas, Sr. Later that year,

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...

was announced as the star with

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left fo ...

directing.

Louis Hayward Louis Charles Hayward (19 March 1909 – 21 February 1985) was a Johannesburg-born, British-American actor. Biography Born in Johannesburg, Louis Hayward lived in South Africa and was educated in France and England, including Latymer Upper Scho ...

was also at one stage announced to star. In 1943

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

suggested Orson Welles should play the lead role. He signed in September 1947. In 1947, Small was to make the film in Mexico, but dropped those plans when it turned out to be more expensive to shoot there than he expected – so the location of shooting was changed to Italy, where Small could use blocked lira. Small borrowed

and Nancy Guild from

Twentieth Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

and took over the Scalera studios in Rome from early October 1947 to late January 1948. Charles Bennett, who wrote the script, said

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...

was supposed to play the lead but he demanded a three-picture contract from Small who refused. Bennett later said Ratoff and Welles rewrote the film, but he admired Welles' performance.

said Small ("no mean master of suggestion, by the way") approached him "very cleverly with the role of Cagliostro. He waited 'til I had reread the Dumas novels and become so 'hypnotised' by the scoundrel that I felt I had to play him. Then Small announced casually, '

is going to direct'. That cinched it. Gregory is a great friend, and more fun to work with than anybody I know." United Artists were so enthusiastic about the film they agreed to distribute the film for 25% of the profits as opposed to their usual fee of 27.5%. Welles allegedly directed several scenes in the film, which was released on 18 August 1949.

Reception

Reviews were mixed. The 2006 film ''Fade to Black'' has Welles (

Danny Huston Daniel Sallis Huston (born May 14, 1962) is an Italian-born American actor and film director. A member of the Huston family of filmmakers, he is the son of director John Huston and the half-brother of actress Anjelica Huston. He is known for h ...

) involved in a murder mystery while in Rome for the production of ''Black Magic''.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Magic (1949 film) 1949 films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Gregory Ratoff Films directed by Orson Welles Films based on French novels Films based on works by Alexandre Dumas Films set in France Films set in the 18th century Films about Marie Antoinette Works about Alessandro Cagliostro Works about the Affair of the Diamond Necklace Works about Louis XV Films about hypnosis Films about Romani people Films about Alessandro Cagliostro Cultural depictions of Madame du Barry Cultural depictions of Louis XV Cultural depictions of Louis XVI United Artists films Films scored by Paul Sawtell Films with screenplays by Richard Schayer