This disappointingly made, low-budget version of Edmond Rostand’s classic play is directed by Michael Gordon without wit, verve, or style. It is mostly known today for garnering the Best Actor Oscar on Jose Ferrer.

 

Ferrer (over)plays the famous, long-nosed, swordsman-poet, who courts the woman he adores, Roxanne (Mala Powers), for another man, a handsome but tongue-tied suitor (William Prince).

 

The screenplay is by Carl Foreman, based on Brian Hooker’s translation of Rostand’s play.

 

Oscar Nominations:

 

Best Actor: Jose Ferrer

 

Oscar Awards: 1

 

Best Actor

 

Oscar Context

 

The Best Actor contest in 1950 included Louis Calhern in “The Magnificent Yankee,” William Holden in “Sunset Boulevard,” James Stewart in “Harvey,” and Spencer Tracy in “Father of the Bride.”

 

This was the second nomination for Ferrer, who had previously received a nod in the supporting actor category for “Joan of Arc,” in 1948, starring Ingrid Bergman.

 

The play has been adapted into the big screen numerous times, but the best version is the 1990 French film, for which Gerard Depardieu received a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

 

Production: UA (Stanley Kramer Productions)