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Angélique, Marquise des Anges
Angélique, Marquise des Anges
	Angélique Marquise des Anges
Directed by	Bernard Borderie
Written by	Claude Brulé ; Bernard Borderie ; Francis Cosne ; Daniel Boulanger
Based on	Angélique, the Marquise of the Angels ; by Anne Golon and Serge Golon
Produced by	Francis Cosne; Raymond Borderie
Starring	Michèle Mercier ; Robert Hossein; Jean Rochefort ; Claude Giraud
Cinematography	Henri Persin
Edited by	Christian Gaudin
Music by	Michel Magne
Production; companies	Compagnie Industrielle et Commerciale Cinématographique ; Franco London Films ; Gloria Film
Distributed by	S.N. Prodi ; Gloria Film ; Butcher's Film Distributors
Release date	8 December 1964;
Running time	106 minutes
Countries	France ; Italy ; West Germany
Language	French
Box office	$22 million (est.)

Angélique, Marquise des Anges is a 1964 historical romance film directed by Bernard Borderie and starring Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein and Jean Rochefort. It is based on the 1956 novel of the same name by Anne and Serge Golon.^[1] It was made as a co-production between France, Italy and West Germany

It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome and the Billancourt Studios in Paris and on location at the Château de Tanlay and Fontenay Abbey. The film's sets were designed by the art director René Moulaert.

The film was a major hit across Continental Europe, and in 1967 was distributed in Britain. It was followed by four sequels starting with Marvelous Angelique.^[2]

Synopsis

In mid-17th century France, young Louis XIV is struggling for his throne, beggars and thieves haunt Paris and brigands roam the countryside. Fifth child of an impoverished country nobleman, Angélique de Sancé de Monteloup grows up in the Poitou marshlands. Her logical destiny would be to marry a poor country nobleman, have children and spend her life fighting for a meagre subsistence. Destiny has other plans in store for her. At 17, on returning from her education in a convent, she finds herself betrothed to the rich count Jeoffrey de Peyrac (Jeoffrey Comte de Peyrac de Morens, Lord of Toulouse), 12 years her senior, lame, scarred and reputed to be a wizard. For the sake of her family, Angélique reluctantly agrees to the match but refuses the advances of her husband. Peyrac respects her decision and does not pursue his claim to conjugal rights, wishing rather to seduce than use force.

With the passing of months, Angélique discovers the talents and virtues of her remarkable husband: scientist, musician, philosopher; and to her surprise falls passionately in love with him. But Jeoffrey's unusual way of life is threatened by the ambitions of the Archbishop of Toulouse, and soon arouses the jealousy of the young king himself, Louis XIV. Jeoffrey is arrested and charged with sorcery. Angélique will single-handedly take on the might of the royal court and, survive murder and poison attempts on herself in a supreme effort to save Jeoffrey from the stake, to no avail. Instinctively, her whole being intent on revenge and her determination to survive, Angélique, alone and desperate, plunges into the darkness of the Paris underworld.

Cast

Michèle Mercier as Angélique Sancé de Monteloup
Robert Hossein as Jeoffrey de Peyrac
Jean Rochefort as François Desgrez, solicitor
Claude Giraud as Philippe de Plessis-Bellières
Giuliano Gemma as Nicolas Merlot, the childhood friend of Angélique aka Calembredaine
Jacques Toja as King Louis XIV
Jacques Castelot as Archbishop of Toulouse
Charles Regnier as Conan Bécher
Bernard Woringer as Bernard d'Andijos
Robert Porte as Monsieur brother of the king
Madeleine Lebeau as la Grande Demoiselle
Philippe Lemaire as De Vardes
François Maistre as Prince de Condé
Geneviève Fontanel as Carmencita, a former mistress of Jeoffrey
Jean Topart as Mr Bourié, the prosecutor
Etchika Choureau as Hortense de Sancé, a sister of Angélique
Jacques Mignot as Frère Raymond de Monteloup, a brother of Angélique
Yves Barsacq as Le procureur Fallot
Bernard Lajarrige as Baron Sancé de Monteloup, Angélique's father
Jean Ozenne as Marquis de Plessis-Bellières
Alexandre Rignault as Guillaume Lützen
Renate Ewert as Margot
Pierre Hatet as Chevalier de Germontaz
Robert Hoffmann as Chevalier de Lorraine
Roberto as Barcarole
Denise Provence as Barbe
Jacques Hilling as Mr Molines, notary
André Rouyer as Clément Tonnelle
Black Salem as Kouassiba, loyal servant of Jeoffrey
Claude Vernier as President of the tribunal
Rosalba Neri as La Polak
Henri Cogan as Cul-de-Bois
Serge Marquand as Jactance
Monique Mélinand as Marquise de Plessis-Bellières
Sylvie Coste as friend of Carmencita
Albert Dagnant as The Swiss fugitive
Michaël Munzer as Beau Garçon
Paula Dehelly as Angélique's governess
Le chien Karlo as Sorbonne, Desgrez's dog.
Claire Athana as Queen Marie-Thérèse of Spain
Georges Guéret as Fritz Auer, alchemist
Elisabeth Ercy as Rosine
Patrick Lemaître as Flipot
Guido Alberti as Le grand Mathieu
Jean-Pierre Castaldi as A courtier

Voice dubbing

Jacques Thébault as French voice of Giuliano Gemma
Rosy Varte as French voice of Rosalba Neri
Michèle Montel as French voice of Renate Ewert

Production

Michèle Mercier recalled she had a clause added to her contract not to appear frontally naked on camera. "For the bath scene of the wedding night, I had put plaster on the point of my breasts and a plastic triangle at the bottom. Once in the water, panic, everything came off! I redid the scene. Me, a pharmacist's daughter, I know all about plasters!"-Mercier said.^[3]

Box office

In France, the film sold 2,958,684 tickets, making it one of the top ten highest-grossing films of 1964 in the country.^[4] This was equivalent to an estimated $1.83 million in gross revenue.^[a] It was also the second top-grossing film of the year in West Germany,^[5] where it sold 6,471,800 tickets and grossed €7,577,500^[6] ($7.94 million). It was also the year's fifth top-grossing film in Italy with 5.442 million ticket sales.^[5] In Spain, the film sold 211,941 tickets upon release in 1964.^[7]

In the Soviet Union, the film sold 44.1 million tickets upon release in 1969,^[7] equivalent to estimated $12.3 million in gross revenue.^[a] It was the year's second highest-grossing foreign film in the Soviet Union (after the Indian Bollywood film Mamta), and the 31st highest-grossing foreign film ever in the country.^[8] In Poland, it did very well, selling millions of tickets, making it one of thirteen high-grossing foreign films in the country in 1968.^[9]

In total, the film sold more than 60,184,425 tickets worldwide, grossing an estimated $22.1 million in France, Germany and the Soviet Union.

Angélique films

1964: Angélique, Marquise des Anges, director Bernard Borderie, starring Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein, Jean Rochefort
1965: Marvelous Angelique, director Bernard Borderie, starring Michèle Mercier, Claude Giraud, Jean Rochefort
1966: Angelique and the King, director Bernard Borderie, starring Michèle Mercier, Jean Rochefort
1967: Untamable Angelique, director Bernard Borderie, starring Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein
1968: Angelique and the Sultan, director Bernard Borderie, starring Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein