Michel Strogoff (1956)

Set in the 19th century, Imperial Russian forces are battling against Tartar tribes for the city of Irkutsk. Czar Alexander II (Louis Arbessier) dispatches a courier (Curt Jurgens) disguised as a merchant to reach the besieged city with a crucial message. Based on the novel by Jules Verne and directed by Carmine Gallone (CARTHAGE IN FLAMES). A massive hit in France, this epic adventure was made as a co-production between France, Italy, West Germany and Yugoslavia and filmed in Serbia. It's moderately entertaining and looks quite handsome courtesy of the CinemaScope lensing by Robert Lefebvre (CASQUE D'OR). The film is in French but it had the worst subtitling I have ever encountered, as if the person doing the subtitling was not familiar with the English language. Example: When a character says "Move closer" in French, the subtitle reads "Tighten against me". Somehow I was able to decipher most of the subtitles accordingly. With Genevieve Page, Sylva Koscina, Francoise Fabian, Jacques Dacqmine and Sylvie.