The Corsican Brothers *** (1941, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Ruth Warrick, Akim Tamiroff, J Carrol Naish, H B Warner, Henry Wilcoxon) – Classic Movie Review 12,016

Director Gregory Ratoff’s 1941 swashbuckler film The Corsican Brothers stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr in a dual role as the title twins, Ruth Warrick, Akim Tamiroff, J Carrol Naish, H B Warner and Henry Wilcoxon.

The Alexandre Dumas père tale of Siamese twins Mario and Lucien Franchi separated at birth and raised differently but still bonded spiritually becomes a sprightly, enjoyable action adventure film, with the splendid Fairbanks Jr swashing a more than fair buckle in those title roles. Juicy villain Akim Tamiroff as Colonna leads the strong support acting, and there is clever trick work and Oscar-nominated music. Gloria Holden is especially effective as the matriarch, Countess Franchi.

Both Mario and Lucien Franch are bent on revenge against Baron Colonna (Akim Tamiroff) who killed their parents, and both fall in love with Countess Isabelle Gravini (Ruth Warrick).

Dimitri Tiomkin was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

The creative screen story by George Bruce and Howard Estabrook is very loosely based on the 1844 novella Les frères Corses [The Corsican Brothers] by French writer Alexandre Dumas père.

Also in the cast are John Emery, Gloria Holden, Walter Kingsford, Nana Bryant, Pedro de Cordoba, Veda Ann Borg, William Farnum and Sarah Padden.

A stuntman wore a special Fairbanks mask, including moustache, so the two twins could appear in medium shot without trick photography. Otherwise the footage of the twins was achieved with double exposure, editing and optical illusions.

Filming took place from late July to September 1941, after which Fairbanks Jr joined the US Naval Reserve in distinguished World War Two service, and it was his last film till Sinbad the Sailor in 1947.

Fairbanks Jr said the film was his tribute to his swashbuckler father Douglas Fairbanks. He thought ‘the special effects could be better but our budget was limited. The final swordfight is the best thing about the picture.’ He called Akim Tamiroff ‘an excellent Russian actor who was woefully miscast. He was physically short and too fat.’

Ratoff called it ‘a great picture… I made every second of it inside a studio.’

It was remade for TV as The Corsican Brothers by director Ian Sharp in 1985, and starring Trevor Eve, Geraldine Chaplin, Olivia Hussey and Nicholas Clay.

The cast are Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Mario and Lucien Franchi, Ruth Warrick as Countess Isabelle Gravini, Akim Tamiroff as Colonna, J. Carrol Naish as Lorenzo, H. B. Warner as Dr. Enrico Paoli, John Emery as Tomasso, Henry Wilcoxon as Count Victor Franchi, Gloria Holden as Countess Franchi, Walter Kingsford as Monsieur Dupre, Nana Bryant as Madame Dupre, Pedro de Cordoba as Gravini, Veda Ann Borg as Maria, William Farnum as Priest, and Sarah Padden as Nurse.

Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was the son of actor Douglas Fairbanks and once married to Joan Crawford, and is best known for The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Gunga Din (1939) and The Corsican Brothers (1941).

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,016

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com