Day 6: Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Oh, the magnificence of a fairy tale. Brought to us by the brillant French filmmaker and poet Jean Cocteau, this retelling of the classic “Beauty and the Beast” is a wonder to behold. Though we have all heard the tale, most likely thanks to Disney’s animated version, this film was the first notable adaptation and one that, in some ways, added very distinct elements to the story we tell now.
Once upon a time, as they say, there was a beautiful and hardworking French maiden named Belle, who lived with her elderly father, brother, and two spoiled sisters. Though the family was once well off, they have hit hard times and only Belle is dutiful enough to take care of her poor father. But tragedy strikes once again as Belle’s father becomes lost in the woods and stumbles upon the castle of the Beast, a terribly hideous individual, who accuses the old man of stealing a rose from his garden- an action which sentence is death. Belle’s father pleads for mercy and the Beast speaks of one alternative- the man can allow one of his daughters to take his place and live with the Beast forever.
Burdened by this choice, the old man returns home on one of the Beast’s horses and confides the tale in his family. Belle, ever the honorable daughter, volunteers for the task, shocking both her loved ones and a handsome suitor named Avenant. Wasting no time, Belle rides the horse back to the castle and encounters the Beast, who she at first holds an aversion but later warms to. As Belle and the Beast’s relationship grows, she is soon allowed to return home and visit her ill father, under the stipulation that she returns to the castle in one week’s time, as the Beast’s heart will break and he will die of grief if she does not. Though Belle fully intends to return to the Beast, her conniving sisters and jealous suitor have other ideas in mind and plot to steal the Beast’s riches and slay him once and for all.
What is amazing about this film version of “Beauty and the Beast” is how wondrously grand everything appears to be. From the film’s photography, which Cocteau wanted to be reminiscent of the “soft gleam of hand-polished old silver,” to the costumes and makeup, both elegant on Belle and horrifying on the Beast, every detail of the story seems to be almost gently painted to the screen- like a storybook on celluloid.
But what is even more fantastical then the fairy tale itself is how the film was ever made in the first place. Emerging from the horrors of World War Two, France was crippled, a former shell of its once great self, and everything necessary for living, much less creating an epic fantasy film, was in short supply. Cocteau himself was receiving care packages from friends abroad and once, when he fell ill, was treated with American penicillin to be brought back to health. But it is in these times of crisis that people need entertained the most, something Cocteau was well aware of, and so, defying all reason, the film was produced and made with anything the crew could get their hands on. As they filmed, old cameras jammed up, lenses began to flaw, and no two batches of film shot were alike, which is one of the reasons the film’s texture seems to subtly change from scene to scene. Even the glorious costumes, made by designer Christian Bérard, were crafted with very little choice in fabrics.
This was film at its most improvised but, it was because of this that the cast and crew put their whole heart into the project. It’s said that the mood on set was always one of teamwork. Whether it be grips concocting solutions to the most complex of problems or actors traveling from a full day of theatre to perform a single scene, they all knew that, in the still lingering shadow of war, their simple tale of fantasy would shine a bright light back on the faces of the still grieving French people and give them a reason to smile.
And so it did. “Beauty and the Beast” was a hit, both with its audience and critics. Bosley Crowther of the New York Times called it a ”fanciful poem given full articulation on the screen” and, to this day, it is regarded as one of the most beautiful and well told fairy tale films of all time. In the very least you could say it lived happily ever after.
To learn more about “Beauty and the Beast,” check out its Criterion page here.
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