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Black Magic (1949)

5 Votes: 1

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11:15-13:10 Wed 4th Feb 2009 115m
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Synopsis

Orson Welles's hobby was conjuring, but no sleight of hand can disguise the ramshackle nature of this swashbuckler, one of those low-grade acting jobs he took to raise funds to make his Shakespearian films, Macbeth and Othello. It's based on the novel Joseph Balsamo by Alexandre Dumas about a notorious court magician around the time of the French Revolution, who becomes part of a plot to switch Marie Antoinette for a servant girl (both played by Nancy Guild). Welles seems to be toying with the role, but director Gregory Ratoff is deadly serious. The result is ponderous rubbish, though Welles manages to be a compelling ham.