Beauty and the Beast (1962 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1962 American romantic fantasy film directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Joyce Taylor and Mark Damon. It is based on the 18th century fairy tale Beauty and the Beast written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont[1] and features title creature make-up by the legendary Jack Pierce.
Beauty and the Beast | |
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Directed by | Edward L. Cahn |
Produced by | Edward Small (executive) Robert E. Kent |
Screenplay by | George Bruce Orville H. Hampton |
Based on | Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont |
Starring | Joyce Taylor Mark Damon |
Music by | Hugo Friedhofer |
Cinematography | Gilbert Warrenton |
Edited by | Robert Carlisle |
Production company | Harvard Film Corporation |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 77 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Shot in Technicolor and distributed by United Artists,[1] the film is the first English language live action screen adaptation of the fairy tale story.[2] Edward Small, the film's executive producer, described it as a "fairytale for everybody - no messages, no menace."[3]
Plot
Set in the Middle Ages; Lady Althea (Joyce Taylor) travels to the castle of Duke Eduardo (Mark Damon), the heir to the throne, where the two of them are to be married. But the handsome Eduardo has a horrible secret: A sorcerer's curse--an alchemist, killed by Eduardo's late father--transforms him into a terrifying, wolf-like beast every night. When Eduardo's scheming rival, Prince Bruno (Michael Pate), who has also has ambitions for the throne, learns of this secret, he tries to seize the throne by stirs up the townspeople, revealing the beast's presence to them, turning them against the beast and setting them-up to kill Eduardo for him. Only the love of Lady Althea can save the duke and break the power of the curse.
Cast
- Joyce Taylor as Althea
- Mark Damon as Eduardo
- Merry Anders as Sybil
- Walter Burke as Grimaldi
- Eduard Franz as Orsini
- Alexander Lockwood as Man
- Dayton Lummis as Roderick
- Michael Pate as Bruno
- Herman Rudin as Pasquale
- Jon Silo as Benito
- Charles Wagenheim as Mario
- Meg Wyllie as Woman
See also
References
- Blum, Daniel, ed. (1963). Daniel Blum's Screen World 1963. Biblo & Tannen Publishers. p. 129. ISBN 0-819-60304-X.
- Scheuer, Philip K. (May 1, 1961). "Andrew Stone Will Produce War Tale: Civic to Stage 'The Balcony'; 'Beauty and Beast' Refilmed". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. C11.
- Hopper, Hedda (January 6, 1961). "Sea Movie Will Mark Pidgeon Film Return". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. B12.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beauty and the Beast (1962 film). |
- Beauty and the Beast at IMDb
- Beauty and the Beast at AllMovie
- Beauty and the Beast at the TCM Movie Database