Scaramouche

There’s a heapin’-helpin’ of palace intrigue in this 1952 swashbuckler starring underrated action hero Stewart Granger (the role was a gift from MGM for his bang-up job in King Solomon’s Mines made two years earlier). Though it lacks the Boy’s Life adventurism of King Solomon, the movie is still brightly colored fun, shot by Charles Rosher (The Yearling, Show Boat). The lucky Granger is supported by two beauties who took full advantage of Rosher’s Technicolor mastery, flaming-haired Eleanor Parker and a radiant Janet Leigh.