''The Black Tulip'' (French: ''La Tulipe noire'') is a French-Italian-Spanish film which reused some names in the novel of the same title by

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 ...

but its story does not follow the novel. It is, essentially, a

star vehicle In the motion picture industry, a star vehicle (or simply vehicle) is a film written or produced for a specific star, regardless of whether the motive is to further their career or simply to profit from their current popularity. It is designed to ...

for the popular French actor

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...

. Like the popular European

Karl May movies Karl May film adaptations are films based on stories and characters by German author Karl May (1842–1912). The characters Old Shatterhand, Winnetou, and Kara Ben Nemsi are very famous in Central Europe. In most of the film versions the novels we ...

of the same time, the script actually used only the main characters of a popular

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

, but didn't stick to the original story.

Synopsis

In June 1789 in the town of Roussillon, aristocrat Guillaume de Saint Preux leads a double life as a masked bandit known as the Black Tulip. The Black Tulip only robs rich aristocrats, so the local peasants regard him as a hero. Baron La Mouche is convinced Guillaume is the Tulip. During a robbery, he scars the Tulip's face, and hopes to use this to expose Guillaume. Guillaume asks his twin brother Julien to impersonate him. Julien is much more gentler and idealistic than his brother. While the impersonation goes well at first, Julien is shocked to discover that Guillaume robs aristocrats for the thrill and the money, not for political reasons. Julien falls in love with a peasant girl called Caroline, the daughter of the revolutionary Pantin. Caro helps teach Julien how to be a better swordsman. When Baron La Mouche feels that there may be a connection between Guillaume de Saint Preux and the masked hero, he has Julien imprisoned. The original Black Tulip rescues him, but while Julien escapes, his brother is caught in the act and soon afterwards, executed. In the end, Julien 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.

Cast

– Julien de Saint Preux / Guillaume de Saint Preux *

Virna Lisi Verna or Virna may refer to: People * Verna Aardema (1911–2000), American author of children's books * Verna Bloom (1939–2019), American actress * Virna De Angeli (born 1976), Italian former sprinter * Virna Dias (born 1971), Brazilian retired ...

- Caroline „Caro“ Plantin *

Adolfo Marsillach Adolfo Marsillach Soriano (January 25, 1928 – January 21, 2002) was a Spanish actor, playwright and theatre director. He was born in Barcelona. He was known for his collaborations with playwright Alberto Miralles. He is the father of a ...

– Baron La Mouche *

Dawn Addams Victoria Dawn Addams (21 September 1930 – 7 May 1985) was a British actress, particularly in Hollywood motion pictures of the 1950s and on British television in the 1960s and 1970s. She became a princess in 1954 (until 1971). Early years Ad ...

– Marquise Catherine de Vigogne *

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 ...

– Marquis de Vigogne *

Laura Valenzuela Rocío Espinosa López-Cepero (born 18 February 1931, in Seville), known professionally as Laura Valenzuela, or Laurita Valenzuela in her beginnings, is a retired Spanish television presenter, actress and model. She was one of the first televi ...

– Lisette *

George Rigaud Pedro Jorge Rigato Delissetche,George Rigaud

– Polizeichef *

Francis Blanche François Jean Blanche, known as "Francis Blanche" (20 July 1921 – 6 July 1974) was a French actor, singer, humorist and author. He was a very popular figure on stage, radio and in films, during the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Blanche was ...

– Plantin *

José Jaspe José Jaspe ( gl, Xosé Jaspe Rivas) (10 August 1906 – 5 June 1974) was a Spanish film actor. He played Konev the conductor in ''Horror Express'' (1972), Ahmed in '' House of 1,000 Dolls'' (1967), Henneker in ''The Man Called Noon'' (1973), the ...

– Brignon * Robert Manuel as Prince Alexandre de Grassillac de Morvan-Le-Breau

Production

Delon made the film after seeing the success

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...

had in a swashbuckler, ''

Cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...

'' (1962). The film was shot on location in Spain, including Cáceres. Interiors were shot at the

Victorine Studios Victorine Studios (French: Studios de la Victorine) are a film studio in the French city of Nice. They are also known as the Nice Studios. Several small studios have also existed in the city. Originally built in 1921 in an attempt to create a H ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

Reception

The film was a big success at the French box office. It was the tenth most popular film of 1964, following ''

The Troops of St. Tropez ''The Troops of St. Tropez'' (french: Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez; literally ''The Policeman from Saint-Tropez'') is a 1964 French comedy film set in Saint-Tropez, a fashionable resort on the French Riviera. Starring Louis de Funès as Ludovic Cru ...

'', '' The Sword in the Stone'', '' From Russia with Love'', '' That Man from Rio'', ''

Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared ...

'', '' The Train'', ''

Greed in the Sun ''Greed in the Sun'' (french: Cent mille dollars au soleil) is a 1964 French-Italian adventure film directed by Henri Verneuil. The film was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. Plot The forwarder Castigliano instructs Steiner to drive ...

'', ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'' and ''

Weekend at Dunkirk ''Weekend at Dunkirk'' (french: Week-end à Zuydcoote) is a 1964 war drama film directed by Henri Verneuil and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. It is based on the 1949 Prix Goncourt winning novel ''Week-end at Zuydcoote'' (French: ''Week-end à Zuydc ...

''. 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 A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

in his Zorro film.

References

External links

* * * *
Review of film
at The Spinning Image {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Tulip, The Films based on works by Alexandre Dumas 1960s historical adventure films French historical adventure films Italian historical adventure films Spanish historical adventure films French swashbuckler films Films set in 1789 Films set in France Films based on French novels Films scored by Gérard Calvi Films shot at Victorine Studios Italian swashbuckler films Spanish swashbuckler films Films shot in the province of Cáceres 1960s French-language films 1960s Italian films 1960s French films