To begin, BLACK MAGIC is not a good movie. It is however wildly entertaining with a rare opportunity to see Orson Welles at his thinnest (which makes you realize how tall he really was) and doing his best to emulate Tyrone Power when he was in full swashbuckling mode. The film was shot in Italy in 1949 with a largely Italian crew (which makes for some great looking scenic backdrops) and right after Welles had bombed as a director the year before with LADY FROM SHANGHAI and MACBETH.
He was always in demand as an actor and it was during this film that he began his 3 year quest to film OTHELLO by borrowing cameras and other equipment when they weren’t being used. Outside of Welles, only Akim Tamiroff would be familiar to audiences today although none of the other major players were top tier in 1949. The film was directed by the Russian born, Stanislavsky trained Gregory Ratoff who is best remembered for his acting performances as the producer in ALL ABOUT EVE the following year and as the old painter in O. HENRY’S FULL HOUSE 3 years later.
The basic elements of the plot are taken from Alexandre Dumas’ THE QUEEN’S NECKLACE combined with a highly fictionalized version of the life of Count Caligliostro (1743-1795). Here he is the son of itinerant gypsies who are put to death by a cruel French nobleman. He meets the famous hypnotist Franz Anton Mesmer who helps him discover his power to bend people to his will. He then uses a Marie Antoinette lookalike to get revenge and to try and seize power in France.
He is ultimately defeated by a French officer who is in love with the lookalike. Welles knows that the screenplay is rubbish and overacts outrageously and director Ratoff gives him full rein. It’s good old-fashioned rip-roaring melodrama and it’s incredibly entertaining. Vivid cinematography and a colorful soundtrack add to the fun. That’s a young Raymond Burr in the opening prologue as Dumas Jr. BLACK MAGIC isn’t great by any stretch of the imagination but it is great fun to watch. This Hen’s Tooth DVD is the best looking version of this public domain title.
The Capsule Critic 