Origins The movie was originally known as
Cagliostro. Producer
Edward Small went through a number of directors and stars in trying to get this film off the ground, starting in 1943.
Charles Boyer was to star with Akim Tamiroff, and
Irving Pichel directing, then in early 1944
J. Carrol Naish was reported to play Alexandre Dumas, Sr. Later that year,
George Sanders was announced as the star with
Douglas Sirk directing.
Louis Hayward was also at one stage announced to star. In 1943,
Hedda Hopper suggested Orson Welles should play the lead role. Writer Charles Bennett mentioned that
José Ferrer was also approached play the lead, but he demanded a three-picture contract from Small who refused.
European project and merger Shortly after World War II, another
Cagliostro surfaced in Europe. French producer Henry de Saint-Girons announced his version in April 1946, to be directed in color by
Robert Péguy from a script by Pierre Maury. But the modest production, to be filmed at the small Château de Vieux Moulin in
Nièvre, was quickly abandoned due to logistical problems (see
The Marriage of Ramuntcho).
André Paulvé of the better-heeled
DisCina relaunched the idea a few months later, based on a new script by André-Paul Antoine. Mid-April 1947, he announced from
New York that he had secured an agreement to proceed with the film, to be directed by
Francesco De Robertis in partnership with his usual Italian partners
Scalera. Filming was due to start in the summer of that year, and a French lead was deemed a possibility but not a sure bet. In the same month, Greg Ratoff revealed that he had signed on to helm Small's version, also slated to film in the summer. At the time, some location work in Balsamo's former French dwellings was considered. Ratoff also said that he hoped to hire
Paul Henreid or
James Mason, although Mason apparently did not wish to return to Europe at that time. By June, Small had set his sights on filming in Mexico, however the country proved more expensive than expected. The American producer thus announced the relocation of his production to Scalera Studios, effectively taking over the concurrent project planned there. Ratoff flew straight from Mexico to Rome mid-July to oversee the relocation. Small estimated he could save as much as 40 percent on the $3 million the film would have cost in Hollywood. While he could use American assets that had been frozen by the Italians during World War II, the bulk of his savings came from the cheaper workforce. Each of the thousand wigs ordered by production cost 20 percent of their American equivalent, while dresses that would run between $3000 and $5000 there were procured for $700 each. Local extras received $3 to $4 per day, whereas their Los Angeles counterparts would command $11 to $16. The star said that Small approached him "very cleverly with the role of Cagliostro. He waited 'til I had reread the Dumas novels and become so 'hypnotized' by the scoundrel that I felt I had to play him. Then Small announced casually, '
Gregory Ratoff is going to direct'. That cinched it. Gregory is a great friend, and more fun to work with than anybody I know." Like director Ratoff, supporting actors
Frank Latimore and Nancy Guild were on loan from
Twentieth Century-Fox. Principal photography mainly took place at Scalera's Rome studios from early October 1947 to late January 1948. According to Bennett, Ratoff and Welles took advantage of this to alter his script. Welles allegedly also directed several scenes in the film. When the footage came back from Italy, it was deemed unreleasable and Bennett was summoned to write new scenes, which he directed himself at
United Artists over four nights. When he approached Welles for the reshoots, the latter proved surprisingly cooperative, promising: "Charles, I'm a very good soldier. I will do what I'm told!". ==Release==