Black Magic
Black Magic is a 1949 film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's novel Joseph Balsamo. It was directed by the Russian-born Gregory Ratoff. Set in the 18th century, the film stars Orson Welles in the lead role as Joseph Balsamo, a hypnotist, magician, and charlatan who also goes by the alias Count Cagliostro, and Nancy Guild as Lorenza/Marie Antoinette. Akim Tamiroff has a featured role as Gitano.
Plot
Alexandre Dumas, Sr. (Berry Kroeger) tells his son Alexandre Dumas, Jr. (Raymond Burr) the story of Joseph Balsamo (Orson Welles) aka Cagliostro. Through flashbacks we learn that Balsamo was a French gypsy boy who endured much hardship. He was tortured under the command of Viscount de Montagne (Stephen Bekassy) and his parents were ordered to hang. He was rescued by some gypsies led by Gitano and swears revenge on de Montagne.
More details
| author | Charles Bennett |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | France |
| director | Gregory Ratoff Orson Welles |
| editor | Fred R. Feitshans Jr. James C. McKay |
| keywords | celebrity dr. mesmer fame fictional representations of romani people flashback franz mesmer gypsy hypnosis marie antoinette rescue sword fight torture true love wealth young girl |
| musicBy | Paul Sawtell |
| producer | Gregory Ratoff |
| productionCompany | Edward Small Productions |
| publisher | United Artists |