The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)

The Prisoner of Zenda
Directed by John Cromwell
Written by John Balderston, Edward E. Rose et al based on the novel by Anthony Hope
1937/USA
Selznick International Pictures
First viewing

[box] Rudolph Rassendyll: But I’ve reformed.

Princess Flavia: Almost beyond recognition. You seem to be an entirely different person.[/box]

Before I get started, I have to confess that my viewing conditions for this film were far from ideal.  My rental DVD became unplayable about three-quarters of the way in.  I then resorted to watching the remainder of the film on YouTube in parts.  After I was about 10 minutes from the end I discovered that one or more scenes were missing from the YouTube footage, including the climactic sword fight!  Since I am not going to watch this again for purposes of this exercise, I will go ahead and review it.  What I saw was an entertaining adventure with an accomplished cast, though it does break down into soppy romantic melodrama at the very end.

Major Rudolf Rassendyll (Ronald Colman) is an Englishman taking a fishing holiday in a Ruritanian Eastern European country.  There he meets up with his distant relation and double Prince Rudolf (also Colman) on the eve of the latter’s coronation.  The Prince is accompanied by his stalwarts Colonel Zapt (C. Aubrey Smith) and Fritz von Tarlenheim (David Niven).  Prince Rudolf is drugged by his evil illegitimate brother Michael (Raymond Massey) who wants to seize the throne.  His friends convince Rassendyll to be crowned in the Prince’s place.

In the meantime, Michael has been plotting with his cohort in crime Rupert of Hentzau (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.)  Michael plans to rule as Regent and then marry the Prince’s fiancée Princess Flavia (Madeleine Carroll), who is next in line for the throne.  This makes Michael’s girlfriend (Mary Astor) extremely jealous.  Rassendyll is crowned.  He and Flavia fall madly in love at the coronation.

The rest of the story traces the twists and turns of the intrigue as Michael continues to pursue the throne after the coronation.

With a cast like this, the movie has to be fun, right?  I thoroughly enjoyed it despite my many trials.  Madeleine Carroll plays a very different sort of character than her usual and has never been more meltingly lovely.  The men, despite looking very similar with their dark mustaches, are all at the top of their game.  I could have lived without so many love scenes.  Recommended.

The Prisoner of Zenda was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Art Direction (Lyle R. Newman) and Best Score (Alfred Newman – the first of his 44 nominations).  It was listed in the National Film Registry in 1991.    This was the fourth adaptation of the novel and the first sound version. The story was remade in 1952 with Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr and as a spoof in 1979 starring Peter Sellers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eJK5XXxLQU

Re-release trailer