The Corsican Brothers
 Painting by Edward Henry Corbould depicting a scene from The Corsican Brothers in an 1852 London adaptation | |
| Author | Alexandre Dumas, père |
|---|---|
Publication date | 1844 |
The Corsican Brothers (French: Les Frères corses) is a novella by Alexandre Dumas, père, first published in 1844. It is the story of two conjoined brothers who, though separated at birth, can still feel each other's pains. It has been adapted many times on the stage and in film.
Plot
The story starts in March 1841, when the narrator travels to Corsica and stays at the home of the widow Savilia de Franchi who lives near Olmeto and Sullacaro. She is the mother of former conjoined twins Louis and Lucien. Louis is a lawyer in Paris, while Lucien clings to his Corsican roots and stays at his mother's home.
The brothers were separated at birth by a doctor with his scalpel. Despite being separated, Louis and Lucien can still feel each other's emotions, even at a distance. Lucien explains he has a mission to undertake, with reluctance. He has to mediate in a vendetta between the Orlandi and Colona families and invites the narrator to accompany him and meet the head of the Orlandi family.
Adaptations
Theatre
The story was adapted into a play as early as 1852.[1]
Film
- The Corsican Brothers (1898), directed by film pioneer and inventor George Albert Smith
- The Corsican Brothers (1902), directed by Dicky Winslow
- The Corsican Brothers (1912), featuring George Lessey
- The Corsican Brothers (1915), starring King Baggot in the dual title roles, directed by George Lessey
- The Corsican Brothers Up To Date (1915), directed by Charles Hutchison
- The Corsican Brothers (1917), directed by André Antoine
- The Corsican Brothers (1920), directed by Louis J. Gasnier
- The Corsican Brothers (1941), starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
- Apoorva Sagodharargal (1949, Tamil film), starring M. K. Radha and P. Bhanumathi, directed by Acharya, produced by Gemini Studios.
- The Bandits of Corsica (1953), starring Richard Greene in the dual title roles, directed by Ray Nazarro
- The Corsican Brothers (1961 film), a French-Italian production starring Geoffrey Horne
- Aggi Pidugu (1964), a Telugu film directed by B. Vittalacharya, starring N. T. Rama Rao, Krishna Kumari and Rajasri
- Start the Revolution Without Me (1970), a parody starring Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland as two sets of identical twins
- Neerum Neruppum, starring M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa
- Cheech and Chong's The Corsican Brothers (1984), a parody
- The Corsican Brothers (1985), a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie featuring Trevor Eve
In popular culture
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero characters Tomax and Xamot are twin brothers described as having "Corsican Syndrome" in that they share a psychic link and can feel each other's pain.
- In the U.S. television science fiction series Warehouse 13, "The Corsican Brothers' Vest" is an artefact which causes who ever hurts the wearer to feel the pain (and get wounded) instead of him. In episode 24 of season 2 H.G.Wells' character wears the vest and, when being shot, the shooter gets the bullet instead.
- In Dear Bill, the parody of British political life during the Thatcher era, Denis Thatcher routinely refers to the government's PR consultants Saatchi and Saatchi as "The Corsican Brothers".
External links
- The Corsican Brothers by Alexandre Dumas (English) Henry Frith's translation on Project Gutenberg
-
The Corsican Brothers public domain audiobook at LibriVox - The Corsican Brothers (1898) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Corsican Brothers (1902) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Corsican Brothers (1912) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Corsican Brothers (1915) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Corsican Brothers Up To Date (1915) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Corsican Brothers (1917) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Corsican Brothers (1920) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Bandits of Corsica (1953) at the Internet Movie Database
- Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of The Corsican Brothers