The Corsican Brothers | |
---|---|
Directed by | Gregory Ratoff |
Produced by | Edward Small |
Written by | George Bruce Howard Estabrook |
Based on |
Les frères Corses (The Corsican Brothers) by Alexandre Dumas, père |
Starring |
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Ruth Warrick Akim Tamiroff |
Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
Cinematography | Harry Stradling Sr. |
Edited by | William F. Claxton and Grent Whytock |
Production
company |
Edward Small Productions
|
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date
|
|
Running time
|
111 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1.3 million (US rentals) |
The Corsican Brothers is a 1941 swashbuckler film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in a dual role as the title Siamese twins, separated at birth and raised in completely different circumstances. Both thirst for revenge against the man who killed their parents (played by Akim Tamiroff), both fall in love with the same woman (portrayed by Ruth Warrick). The story is very loosely based on the novella Les frères Corses (in English: The Corsican Brothers) by French writer Alexandre Dumas, père.
Dimitri Tiomkin was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score (Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture).
In Corsica, the entire Franchi clan gather in anticipation of the birth of the child of Count and Countess Franchi (Henry Wilcoxon, Gloria Holden). Dr. Enrico Paoli (H. B. Warner) informs the count that his wife has given birth to Siamese twins. Count Franchi insists he try to separate them surgically, even after Paoli tells him that it would be a miracle if the babies survived. Before he can begin, however, the Franchis' bitter rivals the Colonnas launch a surprise attack, led by Baron Colonna (Akim Tamiroff). All of the Franchis are killed except the babies, who are carried to safety by Paoli and faithful family retainer Lorenzo (J. Carrol Naish).
Later, Paoli successfully separates the boys, but wonders if he has done the right thing. Since Colonna has found out that twins were born, Paoli agrees to let Count Franchi's good friends, Monsieur and Madame Dupre (Walter Kingsford, Nana Bryant), take Mario Franchi to Paris to raise as their own son, while Lorenzo hides in the hills with Lucien Franchi.