The Beast is the main character in the 1946 French fantasy film "Beauty and the Beast".
In the film the Beast was once a human prince called Ardent who somehow lost his reason and was transformed into a hideous beast and lived in a castle by himself. One day, the Beast finds an old man who wandered in to his castle and picked a rose from the garden. The Beast at first wants to kill him for theft but changes his mind and decides that the old man should give him his daughter instead. The old man's daughter Belle decides she should go visit the Beast while her father and sisters stay at home. Belle at first faints when she sees the Beast but later grows fond of him. The Beast also looks fondly on Belle and asks her each day to marry him but she refuses.
After learning that Belle's father is ill he gives her permission to return home for a while. He gives her two magical gifts a glove which can take her anywhere she wants to and a golden key. Unfortunatly back home Belle's sisters are jealous and steal the gifts and go to the Beast's castle with their friend called Avenant to kill the beast. Luckily Belle returns and stops the attack but is too late to save the beast who dies from a broken heart but her love brings him back to life where he transforms into a human in Avenant's form and they are soon married.