Beauty and the Beast (1946 film)
Beauty and the Beast (French: La Belle et la Bête – also the UK title) is a 1946 French romantic fantasy film directed by French poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau. Starring Josette Day as Belle and Jean Marais as the Beast, it is an adaptation of the 1757 story Beauty and the Beast, written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and published as part of a fairy tale anthology.
| Beauty and the Beast | |
|---|---|
Film poster | |
| Directed by | Jean Cocteau |
| Screenplay by | Jean Cocteau |
| Based on | Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont |
| Produced by | André Paulvé |
| Starring | Jean Marais Josette Day Mila Parély Nane Germon Michel Auclair Marcel André |
| Cinematography | Henri Alekan |
| Edited by | Claude Iberia |
| Music by | Georges Auric |
| Distributed by | DisCina |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | 4,202,951 admissions (France) |
The plot of Cocteau's film revolves around Belle's father, who is sentenced to death for picking a rose from the Beast's garden. Belle offers to go back to the Beast in her father's place. The Beast falls in love with her and proposes marriage on a nightly basis, which she refuses. Belle eventually becomes more drawn to the Beast, who tests her by letting her return home to her family, and telling her that if she does not return to him within a week, he will die of grief.
Beauty and the Beast is now recognized as a classic of French cinema.