This 72-year-old action movie has the greatest sword fight I’ve ever seen

ScarmouchA period piece from the 1950s, features the greatest sword fight I’ve ever seen in my life. Over the years, I’ve been treated to a number of entertaining sword battles on the big and small screen, across a variety of genres. The Pirates of the Caribbean, The Princess Bride, The Lord of the RingsAnd a long list of Hong Kong martial arts movies stand out to me in terms of the quality of their sword-on-sword action.

Many of them delivered what are arguably the greatest movie sword fights of all time. However, what I personally consider to be the best comes from a 1952 film set in 18th century France. with Stewart Grainger, Scarmouch Tells the story of Andre Moreau, a carefree nobleman, whose life takes a sudden turn when his political activist best friend is challenged in an unwinnable duel by an expert swordsman. His friend’s death sends Andre on a mission of revenge, setting up what I see as an unforgettable action sequence.

Scaramouche has one of the best movie sword fights ever

Nothing tops Stewart Granger vs Mel Ferrer in Scaramooch

At the beginning of the movie, Andre wants to defeat his friend’s killer, Marquis de Mayne (Mel Ferrer), but quickly realizes that he too is unable to win. To fix this, Andre seeks help to improve his sword skills. Meanwhile, he becomes the star of a popular theater production. To create an intense atmosphere for the final showdown between Andre and de Mayne, Scarmouch Much of the movie is spent building up to it, with Andre’s two love interests going to great lengths to ensure that he and his rival don’t cross paths – until De Maine happens to attend one of Andre’s stage shows.

With the long and well-crafted build, the fight – started by a challenge from Andre – sees the two square off in the theater, engaging in a strikingly well-choreographed sword battle. Surprisingly, it lasts nearly seven minutes. However, it never feels tiresome, because the amount set up for the battle made such a long fight feel like the appropriate ending for Scarmouch. Of course, a seven-minute fight came with the risk of losing its intensity, but the final showdown easily held my interest for every second.

Another element that helped Scarmouch Keeping the excitement over the fight was his decision not to keep the fight on the ground. Rather than just Andre and the Marquis fighting it out in a normal duel on the floor of the theater, Scarmouch Took the battle over the buildingUp the stairs, on the balcony, on the seats and also outside the theater.

Stunts come into play as well, as the actors’ athleticism is used by Scarmouch To improve the sword. For example, at one point in the film, Andre swings on a chandelier. I also remember being amazed to see Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer continue to exchange sword slashes as they fearlessly maneuvered across the balcony of the theater, with Andre at one point nearly falling to his death. The jumping, tumbling, and acrobatics displayed by the actors (and their stuntmen) contributed to what was already a thrilling sword-fighting sequence.

A major casting change saved the end of Scaramouche

Scaramoch almost didn’t include Mel Ferrer as Granger’s opponent

No sword fight I’ve seen since has managed to top what happened at the end of Scarmouch. Interestingly, however, the fight was almost different, in a way that would have fallen short of its potential. Before production, the plan was for Stewart Granger to play the dual roles of Marquis de Maine and Andre Moreau. of course, Having Granger play both the hero and the villain would have posed a massive filming challenge For a 1950s movie. Most likely, it would have resulted in Andre and de Maine not fighting until the end, where the former had his “Scarmouche” mask.

With Andre’s disguise as a masked performer, it would be feasible for both Stewart Granger characters since one could be played exclusively by a stuntman. This could come with its own issues though, as it would detract from Granger’s spectacular performance as Andre. Andre removed his mask during the fight, allowing Granger to make great use of his acting abilities, displaying anger, fear in certain moments, and a calculated and stoic demeanor as he outperforms the Marquis in swordsmanship. Had the movie gone with its original plan, Granger’s acting would have been a non-factor.

What’s more, it would have watered down the setup for the fight, because it’s hard to imagine a 1950s film succeeding in making the earlier fights between Andre and de Mayne look realistic with the actor taking on both roles. That’s why these fights probably wouldn’t have happened, which would have lasted Scarmouch of adequately demonstrating Andre’s gradual progression from someone who is nowhere near the marquee level to a fighter of vastly superior skill.

Stewart Granger starred in some enjoyable swashbuckling movies

Stewart Granger is one of the best sword-fighting actors

Scarmouch Is not the only sword-fighting film of Stewart Granger worth recommending. Rather, it’s a solid example of what he brings to the table, which makes his filmography a great source of fun action flicks, both with swords and without. Easily one of the biggest action heroes of the 1950s, Stewart Granger starred in a number of memorable action movieswith most of them being period pieces. Quite a few are 1950s western movies, although others – viz Scarmouch – There were great swashbuckler films that used Granger’s dashing onscreen persona and fencing background.

Made between the late 1940s and the 1960s, these include Moonfleet, Swordsman of SienaAnd The Magic Bow. Perhaps the one that comes closest to matching the entertainment value of Scarmouch Is Prisoner of Zenda, which released in the same year. It was a medieval adventure film where Granger really wound up playing dual characters. It wraps up with an exciting sword battle that pits him against James Mason, another versatile Hollywood star of the same era. It is similar to Scarmouch In that respect, however, it is the latter film that remains my favorite swashbuckling film.