The Great Flamarion, expert marksman, is entertaining people in a show which features Connie, beautiful woman and her husband Al. Flamarion and Connie fall in love and decide to get rid of the alcoholic husband.
The Great Flamarion (1945) starring Erich von Stroheim, Mary Beth Hughes, Dan Duryea
In short, The Great Flamarion is a truly great film. It’s not a happy film, by any measure. But it’s a good story, with great acting by everyone involved. The basic story deals with a vaudeville sharpshooter, Flamarion. He’s wildly successful in his profession — but he’s aloof, and friendless. His two assistants on stage are Al and Connie. Al’s an alcoholic — and the audience initially dislikes him strongly. But as the film progresses, the audience begins to see why he drinks, and their attitude to him softens somewhat. Likewise, as we begin to know more about Connie, she becomes less and less likable. Especially as the unfaithful Connie plans to use Flamarion to murder her husband onstage …. And then abandon the love-struck sharpshooter.
Product Description
Audiences are raving about the greatest trick-shooting act of all time! The Great Flamarion (Erich Von Stroheim) can light a match held by his beautiful assistant Connie from across the stage with a perfectly placed shot. He can even sever the shoulder strap of her evening gown with a bullet from his prized pistol. But offstage, Flamarion’s famed steadiness and control are no match for Connie’s feminine wiles. She’s fed-up with Al, her hard-drinking husband who also stars in Flamarion’s show. She seduces the hesitant Flamarion, whose aloof manner masks his emotional naivete, and compels him to “accidentally” shoot her drunken spouse during the performance. Though Flamarion is acquitted of the death, it marks the beginning of a painful descent into betrayal, revenge and murder.
Film-noir auteur Anthony Mann found Erich Von Stroheim’s stone face and aristocratic demeanor perfect for the role of the tragic shootist in this dark tale of obsession and loss. With a long career reaching back to cinema’s earliest days, Von Stroheim appears in both of D.W. Grifith’s silent masterpieces – Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916). In 1924, Von Stroheim filmed his own masterwork, Greed. With a running time of over 10 hours, the film was unmarketable. The studio slashed the epic tale to 100 minutes. Von Stroheim’s arrogance, disregard for budgets and his maniacal obsession with minute detail soured the studios on him as a director. His compelling nature as an actor, however, allowed him to work steadily up through the 1950s. He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Norma Desmond’s faithful servant in Sunset Boulevard.
Cast of characters
- Erich von Stroheim (Sunset Boulevard) … The Great Flamarion
- Mary Beth Hughes (Orchestra Wives) … Connie Wallace
- Dan Duryea (Scarlet Street) … Al Wallace
- Steve Barclay (The Three Musketeers 1953) … Eddie Wheeler (as Stephen Barclay)
- Lester Allen (The Pirate) … Tony
- Esther Howard (The Big Noise) … Cleo
- Michael Mark (Frankenstein 1931) … Nightwatchman
Additional cast
- William A. Boardway … Audience Member (uncredited)
- Jack Chefe … Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
- Kay Deslys … Sally Hampton (uncredited)
- Alphonso DuBois … Stagehand (uncredited)
- John Elliott (The Mad Monster) … Theatrical Agent (uncredited)
- Jack Evans (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) … Vagrant on Park Bench (uncredited)
- Franklyn Farnum … Stage Manager (uncredited)
- Tony Ferrell … Mexican Singer (uncredited)
- Charles Fogel … Audience Member (uncredited)
- Joseph Granby … Detective Ramirez (uncredited)
- Bobbie Hale (The Invisible Man’s Revenge) … Pawn Shop Clerk (uncredited)
- John Hamilton (McLintock!) … Coroner (uncredited)
- Sam Harris (D.O.A.) … Man at Coroner’s Inquest (uncredited)
- Thelma Hart … Bit (uncredited)
- Ethelreda Leopold (Goofs and Saddles) … Coroner’s Inquest Spectator (uncredited)
- Robert Locke Lorraine … Audience Member (uncredited)
- Carmen López … Mexican Dancer (uncredited)
- Alex Melesh … Actor Playing Bellhop in Stage Sketch (uncredited)
- Leo Mostovoy … French Entertainer (uncredited)
- Jack O’Shea … Stagehand (uncredited)
- Tony Roux … Vaudevillian (uncredited)
- Charles Soldani … Audience Member (uncredited)
- Fred Velasco … Mexican Dancer (uncredited)
- Florence Wix … Audience Member (uncredited)
