A Hollywood swashbuckler by way of France.
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Only in France could you have a hard-fighting, devilishly handsome hero, idol of young men and terror of the young ladies, go by the name of "Fanfan la Tulipe."
But Fanfan it is, and both he and Gérard Philipe, the actor who played him, became international hits as the film became one of the more popular international hits of the 1950s, thriving on both sides of the Atlantic. Directed by Christian-Jaques, then a filmmaker of great renown but forgotten today, the 1952 film is a Hollywood swashbuckler by way of France. Set in the 18th century, the film tells the story of a young peasant (Fanfan) who dreams of love and adventure and achieves both.
The film´s primary appeals are obvious. A dashing rogue, lots of swordfights, Gina Lollobrigida, and Gina Lollobrigida. The pneumatic Italian star´s talents are manifest, indisputable and put to work so shamelessly in this film you´d think that Aaron Spelling was producing, perhaps with an assist by Russ Meyer.
In fact, one major difference between "Fanfan" and Hollywood-produced films of the same era is the sheer raunchiness of the whole affair. Not only does Lollobrigida (as Adeline, the fake gypsy) constantly threaten to spill out of her cantilevered costumes, the film often takes a frank approach to its hero´s sexual proclivities. In an early scene, a man races up to inform another man that his daughter "is being tumbled." Fanfan is the tumbler, of course, and though he is caught in the immediate aftermath of besmirching the young lady´s honor, he mocks the father: "I showed her she had charms!" Later Fanfan scales a roof where he gets a bird´s eye view of Lollobrigida: "What a charming view. There´s a lovely valley between those hills." Christian-Jaques treats us to a POV shot; Fanfan´s assessment is accurate.
Fanfan finds trouble even when young ladies aren´t involved (though they usually are.) He is impatient, narcissistic and so full of piss that he can´t take orders from anyone which becomes a problem when he enlists in the army to escape the threat of marriage. When he wants something (or someone), he refuses to wait or work on anyone else´s terms for even one second, which probably explains the character´s charm to young audience members but also makes him pretty damned annoying and difficult to root for. Let´s be honest. Fanfan is a punk who needs to be slapped hard and often.
But it´s usually Fanfan that does the slapping or at least the sword fighting. Philipe, not yet 30 during the shooting of the film, was a lithe athletic figure capable of dancing across rooftops and performing elaborately choreographed scenes. Philipe´s athleticism aside, the fights which were no doubt thrilling in their day play about as convincingly now as the average Captain Kirk slugfest in the original "Star Trek" series, but they still have a certain charm.
There´s a story here but it´s of little consequence. When he first meets Adeline she pretends to be a fortune teller, predicting that he will become a great soldier and marry the king´s daughter. It´s a lie to get him to enlist but he still embraces his "destiny," saves the princess from brigands and pursues her, remaining oblivious (at first) to Adeline´s growing love for her charming young rebel. Once the amorous King appears on the scene and begins to wonder if there´s gold in them thar hills of Adeline, things get really complicated.
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[release]25132[/release]