Cyrano de Bergerac (1950 film)

Cyrano de Bergerac
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Gordon
Screenplay byCarl Foreman
Brian Hooker (Translation)
Based onCyrano de Bergerac
by Edmond Rostand
Produced byStanley Kramer
StarringJosé Ferrer
Mala Powers
William Prince
CinematographyFranz Planer
Edited byHarry W. Gerstad
Music byDimitri Tiomkin
Production
company
Stanley Kramer Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • November 16, 1950 (1950-11-16)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.1 million[1]
Box office$1.9 million (US rentals)[2]
José Ferrer and Mala Powers
Cyrano de Bergerac, 1950

Cyrano de Bergerac is a 1950 American adventure comedy film based on the 1897 French Alexandrin verse drama Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. It uses poet Brian Hooker's 1923 English blank verse translation as the basis for its screenplay.[3] The film was the first motion picture version in English of Rostand's play, though there were several earlier adaptations in different languages.

The 1950 film was produced by Stanley Kramer and directed by Michael Gordon. José Ferrer received the Academy Award for Best Actor for his starring performance as Cyrano de Bergerac. Mala Powers played Roxane, and William Prince portrayed Christian de Neuvillette.

The film lapsed into the public domain in the mid-1980s.[4][5] In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."[6][7]

  1. ^ Balio, Tino (December 15, 1987). United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0299114404.
  2. ^ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
  3. ^ Crowther, Bosley (November 17, 1950). "Cyrano De Bergerac (1950)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  4. ^ Gray, Marianne (1991). Depardieu. Sinclair-Stevenson, Limited. p. 160. ISBN 9781856190954. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  5. ^ Zuckerman, Faye (23 March 1985). "Prism Into Public Domain: 24 Film Classics Set for Release". Billboard. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  6. ^ Carrie, Titicut Follies, Tongues United, Pariah & More Added to National Film Registry|The Film Stage
  7. ^ 2022 National Film Registry Announcement - Library of Congress on YouTube