The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
- General info
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- Synopsis:
- This adventure-filled drama finds Englishman Rudolf Rassendyll on vacation in a small European country, where he discovers his resemblance to the nation's royal heir-apparent, Rudolf V. When the king-to-be is drugged and incapacitated, Rassendyll must impersonate him, so that the scheming Duke Michael can't assume the throne. To further complicate matters, Rassendyll starts to fall for Rudolf V's intended bride Flavia.
- Actors:
- Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, Mary Astor, David Niven, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Montagu Love, Philip Sleeman, Eleanor Wesselhoeft, Florence Roberts, Torben Meyer, Arthur Byron, Francis Ford, Margaret Tallichet, Wilhelm von Brincken, Evelyn Beresford, Ricardo Lord Cezon, Spencer Charters, Sally Conlin
- Directors:
- John Cromwell, W.S. Van Dyke
- Writers:
- Anthony Hope, John L. Balderston
- Others:
- Alfred Newman, Lyle Wheeler
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Romance
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Reviews (1) of The Prisoner of Zenda
Classic Swashbuckler. - The Prisoner of Zenda review by Steve
The best of the '30s Hollywood adventures. It's an improbable fantasy but so romantic that this hardly matters. Ronald Colman plays dual roles: the king in-waiting of a small middle European state who is kidnapped on the day of his coronation; and his distant, but identical relative, Major Rudolph Rassendyll, formerly of the British army, who steps into the royal shoes on the big day.
The Major is soon up to his neck in courtly intrigue, and dallying with the king's beautiful betrothed (Madeleine Carroll). The support cast is superb, particularly Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as a sort of wicked mirror image of the Englishman. Alfred Newman's score is alternatively rousing and tender. The solo violin motif that accompanies the love scenes is a wonderful tearjerker.
The film is so irresistible mainly thanks to Ronald Colman. He is phenomenal; so gallant and polished. Naturally... as an English gentleman, he possesses an instinctive regard for virtue, which he defends with an insouciant gift for adventure. Colman tosses off his self deprecating daring with an arch of the brow. It's an endearing performance of limitless charm.
In the end, everyone left alive does their duty. The elegant princess gives up her love for the imposter. Maybe this was meant to invoke the recent British abdication crisis... Sure, this film is superficial and sentimental, but it is a fantasy of huge appeal, with a definitive action hero performance from its star.