Magic Fire (1955)

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

David T. Chantler (screenplay)
Ewald André Dupont (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 March 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

The life and career of German composer Richard Wagner. |

Plot Keywords:

Trucolor | Beautiful Woman | Based On Novel

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Yvonne De Carlo	...	Minna Planer
Carlos Thompson	...	Franz Liszt
Rita Gam	...	Cosima Liszt
Valentina Cortese	...	Mathilde Wesendonk
Alan Badel	...	Richard Wagner
Peter Cushing	...	Otto Wesendonk
Frederick Valk	...	Minister von Moll
Gerhard Riedmann	...	King Ludwig II
Erik Schumann	...	Hans von Bulow
Robert Freitag	...	August Roeckel
Heinz Klingenberg	...	King of Saxonia
Charles Régnier	...	Giacomo Meyerbeer
Kurt Großkurth	...	Magdeburg Theatre Manager (as Kurt Grosskurth)
Fritz Rasp	...	Pfistermeister
Hans Quest	...	Robert Hubner

Also Known As:

Frauen um Richard Wagner

Runtime:

Germany:120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Trucolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Germany

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who supervised and arranged the music of Wagner for this, his final film assignment, also appears on screen as famous conductor Hans Richter. Korngold had to take the small role when the actor originally cast failed to show up. With over 1000 extras in full costume on set, director William Dieterle pleaded with Korngold to take the non-speaking part, to save the shoot.

Soundtrack:

Overture and Venusberg Ballet

Middle C-

One of the few films made with production care (but alas, not accuracy) at Republic in their final years, this is a very clumsy attempt at classy film making because of the wrong casting and silly storyline. The furniture and photography are good though. Supposed to be the story of Richard Wagner, it looks like a Monty Python version of The Music Lovers. Yvonne de Carlo was soon to be Lily Munster and Alan Badel must have been practising his bad German accent for 1979's Riddle Of The Sands long before it was needed. The problem with films like this is that real music lovers know and knew (in 1956 too) what Wagner was all about and how his music should be presented. This is very much a Liberace idea of European music and life. It's not even funny. It died, too. It actually is as if Republic, so used to making westerns just applied euro music and settings and then went about making a western anyway, it just happened to be the 'life story' of composer Wagner. Equally odd is the fact that the much lampooned wife of studio head Vera Ralston, with her thick euro accent SHOULD have been in this film instead of Yvonne, but wasn't.....