Stewart Granger had the best personality on screen and was fun to watch.
IMO, however Mel Ferrer was the best fencer. He had the grace of a dancer during each fight scene.
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Much of the fencing was actually "doubled" as neither actor was particularly adept at fencing.
"Stone-cold sober I find myself absolutely fascinating!"---Katharine Hepburn
That seems difficult to accept. It's one of my favorite films, and I've seen it many times. Most of the fencing engagements are lengthy (not many cuts), with the leads' faces plainly visible. Also, on the DVD extras, Mel Ferrer says they spent days fencing to the point of exhaustion and not without a few minor injuries. He points out he was helped by much practice and by the fact he was a trained dancer. I think he, also, mentions that Stewart Granger had done quite a bit of fencing on the English stage and was, therefore, his superior at the sport.
shareAnd to further emphasize the point, take a look at another movie Granger made some 13 years later, SWORDSMAN OF SIENNA. He was great. I would have loved to have seen him in a Swashbuckler complete with duel against Errol Flynn. Ye Gods that would have been worth the price of admission.
shareIt would have been more fun to see Granger in a movie duel with Basil Rathbone, who by all accounts was the most skilled fencer among movie actors. Flynn really wasn't all that skilled himself, but he often had Rathbone to make him look good. Besides, with Granger and Flynn, who would play the villain? They were both always the leading man; Rathbone, on the other hand, was a great villian (when he wasn't playing Sherlock Holmes).
shareI didnt see much "Doubling" in Scaramouche.
The best swordsman in Hollywood wass actually George Sanders (See "The Black Swan")
I'd always heard that Rathbone, Tyrone Power and Flynn were considered the top film swordsmen. You can clearly see that most of the time Flynn and Power do their own swordwork. The only thing the did was speed up their fights.
"You may very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment."
Rathbone and Power yes, Flynn no.
"The value of an idea has nothing to do with the honesty of the man expressing it."--Oscar Wilde
The best fencer was probably Cornel Wilde, one of Olympic caliber who was chosen for the 1936 games but bowed out to pursue acting.
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I fenced for a few years and the difference is chalk and cheese. In the first scene Mel Ferrer's fencing is that of a raw novice; slashing and swiping away. He improves as the film goes on but it is impossible for me to believe at any time during the film that he is the most formidable swordsman in France.
The final scene is still very good and Ferrer gets it over the line because of his dance training but Stewart Granger was definitely a better fencer.
The problem with stage fencing is that they always tend to use a foil or epeé as you would use a sabre. It's kind of instinctive I suppose but it's the way to a dusty death. The trick, especially with stabbing swords, is to always keep the point of the weapon trained on your opponent, even when parrying.
Granger was sort of bad... during the final scene I thought the awful way he still parried was meant to show how the Marquis remained his superior in fencing, but then the tables started turning...
shareMel Ferrar has an interview on the DVD, and he calls it the greatest fencing film ever made. He stated that he and Stewart Grainger actually did most of the stunts, such as when Mel is on a balcony and he jumps gracefully from one rail to another...or when Stuart is on stage and he grabs a rope and swings into one of the box seats.
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