jsmarr4

I saw this movie as a boy and it lingers after nearly fifty years as a haunting memory. It may be what we now call noir, but the twinkle in Welles' eye also lingers, suggesting a gris texture. That twinkle is the same that Harry Lime (cine verde?) flashed to Holly Martin in the alley scene of The Third Man (which was also made in Europe in 1949).

Cagliostro was a brilliant montebank, alchemist,poseur and rascal of the first order. Welles gave him credibility, perhaps recognizing a kindred spirit down the centuries. I still remember the dark, cobbled streets and slick rainy roof tops of eighteenth century European cities -- scenes also not unlike the ones in The Third Man. The ending, I remember, was also bitter sweet.

I wish that those who produce lesser know classics for DVD restoration might see this "foreign" movie; it is obviously available somewhere since there have been other reviewers. If they chose it I could have my childhood Madeleine experience, and others would have another Welles film to compare with the finite now available.

I happened to see this movie in the latter '60's on TV, while working as a resident in a NYC hospital. I was intrigued by the story, the gritty, noir hospital setting (a decaying [old]Bellevue Hospital), and unusual plot line. Although it depicts an unusual event in the 1950's, the same event had become truly epidemic a decade later. Richard Conte was wonderful, and the chronic atmosphere of the City and Bellue hung over the movie like a moldy, wet wash rag.

Now with old movies being restored on DVD, I would hope that an entrepreneur might read this and decide to add it to the annals of deep noir. Conte,a wonderful actor, needs to be seen more.