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Captain Fracasse is among the best films you've ever heard of. Recently recovered and restored; it was long thought among the 75% of lost silent cinema. Had it remained available over the years, Alberto Cavalcanti's stylish 1929 production would enjoy a marvelous reputation, for it's a lavish, action-filled, involving, poignant, extremely cinematic adventure-romance. A colorful troupe of itinerant actors gives background to the episodic adventures of a chivalrous noble (Pierre Blanchar) traveling incognito and a dastardly Duke (Charles Boyer) pursuing an innocent damsel (Lien Deyers) in the basest manner. It also has highway robbers, sword fights, disguises, Royal commands, and the very long arm of coincidence.
In much the same vein as The Three Musketeers, Captain Fracasse by Theophile Gautier has been a celebrated novel since its publication in 1863, especially in France. Its colorful characters and lively incidents inspired eight film versions from 1909 to 1991, several of them notable.
"Making a film of such a well known novel, with it plethora of action scenes alternating with moments of poignant reflection, must have been an ambitious undertaking, but Cavalcanti manages to pull it off with surprising skill and panache," writes British critic James W. Travers. "He is served by some sublime acting talent, which includes Pierre Blanchar and Charles Boyer, who would become major film stars in the following decades. The lack of dialogue makes this a curiously eloquent silent film; so much is conveyed by facial expression and the sombre photography that the spoken word is rendered superfluous."
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