Black Magic

Gregory Ratoff’s Black Magic is a fine story of manipulation, revenge, and identity theft with some basis in historical fact (for example, the Affair of the Diamond Necklace), but the main reason to watch is its extraordinary craftsmanship and endless visual splendor. Along with two production designers, two cinematographers, and two editors, Ratoff skillfully recreates the opulence of the French king’s court, every set more lavish that the last, literally hundreds of exquisitely dressed extras (who are recognized in the opening credits) coordinated in elaborate deep focus configurations. Based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas, the film resembles Anthony Mann’s Reign of Terror, released the same year, in its incorporation of historical figures from French history, in this case King Louis XV (played by Robert Atkins) and Marie Antoinette (played by Nancy Guild). Against this historical backdrop Orson Welles stars as Joseph Balsamo, a man who uses his advanced powers of hypnosis to manipulate people into aiding his pursuit of revenge against the monarchy that executed his parents and tortured him as a young boy. Adopting the stage name Count Cagliostro, Balsamo becomes a Christ figure as he traverses Paris “healing” the poor and afflicted with his mind manipulation and stirring up resentments among the upper classes (“I believe he’s the devil himself”). Overtaken by greed, Balsamo soon executes a plot to purloin a diamond necklace by infiltrating the royal palace through  a young girl named Lorenza (also played by Guild) who bears a striking resemblance to the queen and is highly susceptible to Balsamo’s mental “charms.” Akim Tamiroff and Valentina Cortese play a pair of gypsies who saved Balsamo as a young boy and have remained his lifelong friends and protectors, and Frank Latimore plays Balsamo’s rival for Lorenza’s affections, Captain Gilbert de Rezel, who engages in a brilliantly choreographed, climactic swordfight with the hypnotist across the royal roofs of Paris on the last night. Some viewers may (understandably) question the film’s noir credentials, but what’s unquestionable is its impact on the senses.