Almost never shown these days, "Cyrano de Bergerac", one of the best films of 1950, turned up the other night unexpectedly on a cable channel. It was a pleasure to see it again after so many years since we first saw it. Michael Gordon directed the screen version that became a favorite of people who were delighted to make concessions to a man that was far from being endowed with any physical attributes.

The enjoyment of the picture is due to the amazing tour de force by that wonderful actor, Jose Ferrer, a man whose friendship we cherished because he enriched our life with his honesty, frankness and charisma. Mr. Ferrer's contribution to the stage and screen can be best sampled as we watch him become Cyrano, a man in love with his cousin Roxanne, whose great fear is the possible rejection of the beautiful young woman in favor of the handsome, and younger, Christian.

This beloved theater play by Edmond Rostand had been translated by Brian Hooker, in what became the most familiar way American audiences met the illustrious French author. The screen play by Carl Foreman clarifies the text in ways that the movie going public of that era could relate to this man whose wit and charm outweighed his appearance, which was dominated by a big nose that rendered him an unattractive man. The poetry of the play is preserved even though it is not done in verse like the original manuscript. Dimitri Tiomkin's score lent itself to the action.

Mala Powers was a disappointment though. Yes, she was a beauty, but her Roxanne doesn't quite come across; she is at a disadvantage playing opposite an icon of the theater like Mr. Ferrer, who certainly had more experience. William Prince does a fair job as Christian. Morris Carnovsky, another great stage actor, appears as Le Bret and Ralph Clanton makes his contribution with his take of Guiche.

"Cyrano de Bergerac" is recommended to movie fans of all ages to watch the magnificent Jose Ferrer at his best.

Being a big fan of the Gerard Depardieu version, I was all for seeing this film from 1950 with Jose Ferrer. And I found it excellent. I have seen more beautiful-looking films elsewhere, but the film is well shot and the costumes and sets do have a certain charm to them. Dmitri Tiomkin's music score is suitably rousing, the sword play is clever and never clumsy and the script is witty and poetic, while the story never fails to thrill or move me in the way it should do. It is well directed by Michael Gordon also. Of the acting, faring weakest was Mala Powers, she is beautiful but not much is done for me to make her beyond that. William Prince is more than adequate and Ralph Clanton sneers effectively as De Guiche. But the film, same goes with the story itself too, really belongs to Jose Ferrer. As much as I loved his performance in Moulin Rouge, it is in Cyrano De Bergerac where he is at his finest, really resonating with me by how dignified and moving he was. Overall, excellent and worth seeing for especially Ferrer. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Back years ago in high school studying Cyrano de Bergerac, with a textbook having pictures from this film, one of the other students asked simply why didn't he just get a nose job? It got a lot of amusement when the teacher told her that that procedure just wasn't available in Cardinal Richelieu's France.

I'm afraid that that might be the feeling of a lot of readers of the play and viewers of the film. Rostand, who wrote the play in the 19th century about the 17th century might as well have been writing about people on Mars.

If they take that tack then folks will be losing out on appreciating a great play and role essayed by a man who possessed one of the great speaking voices of the century. Jose Ferrer puts everyone else in the cast to shame with his performance of Cyrano.

To be sure Cyrano de Bergerac is a one man play. All the other characters Rostand gave absolutely no depth to. Roxanne is a sweet young girl looking for romance, Christian is a handsome dunce, Comte de Guiche is a Snidely Whiplash villain. But Cyrano, you have to be a real actor to play that one.

Cyrano is a soldier, writer, swordsman even a gourmet of sorts. But that proboscis fills him with doubt when the opposite sex is concerned. He's a tortured soul and Ferrer gives THE interpretation of Cyrano. It will be so a hundred years from now. He's a swashbuckler to be sure, but you certainly couldn't cast any of the normal movie swashbucklers in that part.

I don't know if the MTV generation will feel like my classmate of years ago, but if they turn away from music videos and watch this, they will be treated to a once in a lifetime acting performance.