Magic Fire

Film still of cast members (from left) Valentina Cortese, Carlos Thompson, Yvonne De Carlo, Alan Badel, and Rita Gam.

Magic Fire is a 1955 biographical film about the life of composer Richard Wagner, released by Republic Pictures.

Overview

Directed by William Dieterle, the film made extensive use of Wagner's actual music, which was arranged by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Dieterle worked with Korngold on several Warner Bros. films, including A Midsummer Night's Dream and Juarez. It was one of the final films Republic made in the two-strip color process known as Trucolor.

Although many details about Wagner's life were accurately portrayed, the film often distorted some facts, apparently for dramatic purposes. One high point was the accurate depiction of the riot at the Paris Opera House for the premiere of the revised version of Tannhäuser. The film depicted King Ludwig II's patronage of Wagner, without going into much detail about the king's controversial personality.

The film used a very large cast, opulent sets, and lavish costumes. Since Republic was known primarily for westerns and adventure serials, Magic Fire was one of the rare "prestige" films to be produced by studio chief Herbert Yates. Nevertheless, critical response was mixed and box office receipts in the U.S. were disappointing.

Cast

• Alan Badel ... Richard Wagner
• Yvonne De Carlo ... Minna Planer
• Carlos Thompson ... Franz Liszt
• Rita Gam... Cosima Liszt
• Valentina Cortese ... Mathilde Wesendonck
• Peter Cushing ... Otto Wesendonck
• Frederick Valk ... Minister von Moll
• Gerhard Riedmann ... King Ludwig II
• Erik Schumann ... Hans von Bülow
• 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
• Jan Hendriks ... Mikhail Bakunin
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold ... Hans Richter (uncredited)

Crew

• Directed by William Dieterle
• Writing credits: David T. Chantler, screenplay; Ewald André Dupont, screenplay (as E. A. Dupont);
• Bertita Harding, screenplay; based on the novel Magic Fire: The Story of Wagner's Life and Music (1954)
• Produced by William Dieterle
• Original Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
• Cinematography by Ernest Haller
• Art Direction by Robert Herlth
• Costume Design by Ursula Maes
• Virgil Hart .... assistant director
• Frank T. Dyke .... sound
• Walter Rühland .... sound (as Walter Ruehland)
• Léo L. Fuchs .... still photographer (uncredited)
• Stanley E. Johnson .... supervising editor (as Stanley Johnson)
• Tatjana Gsovsky .... choreographer
• Rudolf Hartmann .... opera stager (as Professor Rudolf Hartmann)
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold .... music supervisor

Release dates

It was released in the United Kingdom on July 15, 1955, and in the United States on March 29, 1956. Other European releases were in Denmark on November 21, 1956, and in Finland on October 18, 1957.

External links

• Magic Fire at IMDb