Ruy Blas (film)

Ruy Blas
Directed byPierre Billon
Screenplay byJean Cocteau
Based onRuy Blas by Victor Hugo
Produced byGeorges Legrand
Nino Martegani
André Paulvé
StarringDanielle Darrieux
Jean Marais
Marcel Herrand
CinematographyMichel Kelber
Edited byMaurice Serein
Music byGeorges Auric
Production
companies
Films André Paulvé
Productions Georges Legrand
Martegani Produzione
Distributed byDisCina
Atlantis Film
Release date
  • 15 February 1948 (1948-02-15)
Running time
93 minutes
CountriesFrance
Italy
LanguageFrench
Box office2,453,187 admissions (France)[1]

Ruy Blas is a 1948 French-Italian historical drama film directed by Pierre Billon and starring Danielle Darrieux, Jean Marais and Marcel Herrand. The screenplay was written by Jean Cocteau based on the 1838 play of the same title by Victor Hugo.[1] It was shot at the Icet Studios in Milan and on location at Cassis in Southern France. The film's sets were designed by the art director Georges Wakhévitch.

Cast

Reception

Bosley Crowther, The New York Times critic, wrote:

... it is plainly, [sic] apparent that the famous "bad boy" of French films [Cocteau] has paid more attention to the appearance than to the dramatic vitality of his job. ... the story here played of a young student, who, because of his resemblance to an errant grandee, is introduced into the Spanish court as a pawn in an intrigue against the queen is so stiff and vague in its development that it lacks emotional force. And it is performed with such decadence of gesture that it is just a bit absurd. Jean Marais, who plays the student Ruy Blas and also the naughty grandee, is a very handsome young fellow, but he is decidedly prissy in this film. And his wild and grinning expressions in those scenes wherein he's called upon to play with a great Douglas Fairbanks abandon are almost ludicrous.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Box Office Figures for Jean Marais films". Box Office Story.
  2. ^ Crowther, Bosley (October 4, 1948). "'Ruy Blas,' With Danielle Darrieux and Jean Marais, Arrives at Elysee -- 'The Black Arrow' Also Opens". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2026.

Bibliography

  • Chiti, Roberto & Poppi, Roberto. I film: Tutti i film italiani dal 1930 al 1944. Gremese Editore, 2005.
  • Tolton, C.D.E. The Cinema of Jean Cocteau: Essays on His Films and Their Coctelian Sources. Legas, 1998.