This 72-Year-Old Action Movie Has The Greatest Sword Fight I’ve Ever Seen

Scaramouche, a period piece from the 1950s, features the greatest sword fight I’ve ever seen in my life. Over the years, I’ve been treated to a number of entertaining sword battles on the big and small screen, across a variety of genres. The Pirates of the Caribbean, The Princess Bride, The Lord of the Rings, and a long list of Hong Kong martial arts movies stand out to me in terms of the quality of their sword-on-sword action.

Many of them have delivered what are arguably the greatest movie sword fights of all time. However, what I personally consider to be the best comes from a 1952 film set in 18th century France. Starring Stewart Granger, Scaramouche tells the story of Andre Moreau, a carefree nobleman whose life takes a sudden turn when his political activist best friend is baited into an unwinnable duel by an expert swordsman. His friend’s death sends Andre on a mission of revenge, setting up what I view as an unforgettable action sequence.

Scaramouche Has One Of The Best Movie Sword Fights Ever

Nothing Tops Stewart Granger vs. Mel Ferrer In Scaramouche

At the beginning of the movie, Andre wants to defeat his friend’s killer, Marquis de Mayne (Mel Ferrer), but quickly realizes he too is incapable of winning. To rectify that, Andre looks for help to improve his sword skills. In the meantime, he becomes the masked star of a popular theater production. To create an intense atmosphere for the final showdown between Andre and de Mayne, Scaramouche spends much of the movie building up to it, with Andre’s two love interests going to great lengths to ensure that he and his rival don’t cross paths – until de Mayne incidentally attends one of Andre’s stage shows.

Aided by the long and well-crafted buildup, the fight – begun by a challenge from Andre – sees the two square off in the theater, engaging in a strikingly well-choreographed sword battle. Surprisingly, it lasts nearly seven minutes. However, it never feels tiresome, as the amount setup for the battle made such a long fight feel like the appropriate finish for Scaramouche. Of couse, a seven-minute fight came with the risk of it losing its intensity, yet the final showdown easily held my interest for every second.

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Another element that helped Scaramouche maintain the excitement throughout the fight was its decision not to keep the fight on the ground. Rather than just have Andre and the marquis fight it out in a standard duel on the floor of the theater, Scaramouche took the battle all over the building, up the stairs, onto the balcony, on top of the seats, and also outside the theater.

Stunts come into play as well, as the actors’ athleticism was used by Scaramouche to enhance the swordplay. For instance, at one point in the film, Andre swings on a chandelier. I also recall being amazed watching Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer continue to exchange sword slashes as they maneuvered fearlessly across the balcony of the theater, with Andre at one point nearly falling to his death. The jumping, tumbling, and acrobatics displayed by the actors (and their stuntmen) contributed to what was an already-thrilling sword-fighting sequence.

A Major Casting Change Saved Scaramouche’s Ending

Scaramouche Almost Didn’t Include Mel Ferrer As Granger’s Opponent

No sword fight I’ve seen since has managed to top what happened at the end of Scaramouche. Interestingly, though, the fight nearly played out quite differently, in a way that would have fallen short of its potential. Prior to production, the plan was for Stewart Granger to play the dual roles of Marquis de Mayne and Andre Moreau. Obviously, having Granger play the hero and the villain would have posed a massive fillmmaking challenge for a 1950s movie. Most likely, it would have resulted in Andre and de Mayne not fighting until the ending, where the former has his “Scaramouche” mask.

With Andre’s disguise as a masked performer, it would have been feasible for both Stewart Granger characters since one could be played exclusively by a stuntman. That could come with its own issues, though, as it would detract from Granger’s spectacular performance as Andre. Andre took his mask off during the fight, allowing Granger to make great use of his acting abilities, displaying anger, fright in certain moments, and a calculated and stoic demeanor as he outperforms the marquis in swordsmanship. Had the movie gone with its original plan, Granger’s acting would have been a non-factor.

What’s more, it would have watered down the setup for the fight, as it’s hard to imagine a 1950s film succeeding in making the earlier fights between Andre and de Mayne look realistic with the actor taking on both roles. For that reason, these fights probably wouldn’t have happened, which would have kept Scaramouche from adequately demonstrating Andre’s gradual progression from someone who is nowhere near the marquis’ level to a fighter of vastly superior skill.

Stewart Granger Starred In Several Enjoyable Swashbuckling Movies

Stewart Granger Is One Of The Best Sword-Fighting Actors

Scaramouche isn’t the only sword-fighting film of Stewart Granger’s worth recommending. Rather, it’s a solid example of what he brings to the table, making his filmography a great source of fun action flicks, both with swords and without. Easily one of the biggest action heroes of the 1950s, Stewart Granger starred in a number of memorable action movies, with most of them being period pieces. Quite a few were 1950s Westerns movies, whereas others – like Scaramouche – were great swashbuckler films that took advantage of Granger’s dashing onscreen persona and fencing background.

Made between the late 1940s and the 1960s, these include Moonfleet, Swordsman of Siena, and The Magic Bow. Perhaps the one that comes the closest to matching the entertainment value of Scaramouche is Prisoner of Zenda, which released in the same year. It was a medieval adventure film where Granger did indeed wind up playing dual characters. It wraps up with an exciting sword battle that pits him against James Mason, another versatile Hollywood star from the same era. It’s similar to Scaramouche in that respect, but it’s the latter film that remains my favorite swashbuckling film.