Beauty and the Beast (1946 film) appealing and problematic", saying "Full of baroque interiors, elegant costumes, and overwrought jewelry (even tears turn to diamonds), the film is all surface, and undermines its own don't-trust-a-pretty-face and anti-greed themes at every turn." In 2010, the film was ranked #26 in "Empire" magazine's "100 Best Films of World Cinema". Beauty and the Beast (1946 film) Beauty and the Beast ( - 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 and jewels the Beast gave her with her sisters, but they turn into rags at her sisters' touch, and are restored to their splendour when returned to Beauty, as the Beast meant them only for her. Her sisters are envious when they hear of her happy life at the castle, and, overhearing that she must return to the Beast on a certain day, inform her to steer clear of the Beast, even her father threatens to disown Beauty if she refuses to marry his younger and wealthier cousin instead of the Beast, snatching the ring away to prevent her from