The Corsican Brothers

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. stars in a dual role as Lucien and Mario Franchi—twins who were separated at birth and raised apart to escape detection by the man who murdered their parents and stole their legacy—in the first sound-film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novella. Handsomely directed by Gregory Ratoff, The Corsican Brothers is very much a spirited swashbuckler and dark romance, with Fairbanks playing the gypsy-raised Lucien as a devil-may-care bandit prince and the society-raised Mario as a gentleman rogue with a gift for swords and romance. The twist is that while the two siblings are physically distinct, they're connected by a bond in which each feels the other's pain and joy. When reunited upon their 21st birthday, the pair join up to take long-awaited revenge against the family nemesis, the evil Baron Colonna (Akim Tamiroff), but brotherly love turns sour when Lucien falls in love with Mario's society sweetheart, Countess Isabelle Gravini (Ruth Warrick). Fairbanks's athletic energy and flamboyance enliven the proceedings, while the excellent photographic effects create a seamless look in scenes where the brothers interact. Apart from a 1985 TV movie, this is the only serious film adaptation of the original in the sound era. Recommended. [Note: James Whale's 1939 film The Man in the Iron Mask—based on Dumas's classic novel—is also newly available.] (S. Axmaker)