Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Not part of a collection.
The Prisoner of Zenda
A Swashbuckling Adventure In The Grand Style!
A kingdom's ascending heir, marked for assassination, switches identities with a lookalike, who takes his place at the coronation. When the real king is kidnapped, his followers try to find him, while the stand-in falls in love with the king's intended bride, the beautiful Princess Flavia.
- Original title
- The Prisoner of Zenda
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $1,700,000
- Revenue
- $5,600,000
CinemaSerf
Sep 9, 2022 · via TMDB
From Alfred Newman's opening music through the first ten minutes of this, it's pretty much a carbon copy of the 1937 version of Sir Anthony Hope's story. The only difference is that it's Stewart Granger playing the dashing "Rassendyll" who arrives in the European kingdom of Ruritania just as it's king is to be crowned. He's puzzled by his welcome but a walk in the forest soon makes the reasons for that clear when he meets "Col. Zapt" (Louis Calhern) and his boss - the King - who looks like his identical twin. Back to his hunting lodge they go for a glass of wine and next thing he wakes up in the morning with the king sound asleep and the colonel with the headache. He'll never make his coronation now - unless... Despite plenty of nerves their alternative day goes off smoothly enough but their return to the lodge presents them with a much better problem. The king has been kidnapped by "Rupert" (James Mason) and their plan to put his step-brother "Michael" (Robert Douglas) on the throne via the "Princess Flavia" (Deborah Kerr) is starting to look like it will work. Only by staying on in his role whilst they figure out a way to rescue the eponymous gent from the dungeons can they hope to restore proper monarchy. With the battle lines now drawn, this becomes a colourful and quickly paced cat and mouse game with Granger on charismatic form as he must resist falling in love with the princess whilst he saves the king. Kerr does enough here. She brings a glittering presence just by turning up in a tiara with her softly spoken voice, but it's really Mason who steals the show as his character has that mischievous touch of malevolence that he was good at exuding. It does take a while to get up to speed, but it's my kind of film and well worth an hour and an half.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Fandango At Home
Stewart Granger
Rudolf Rassendyll / King Rudolf V
Deborah Kerr
Princess Flavia
James Mason
Rupert of Hentzau
Louis Calhern
Col. Zapt
Jane Greer
Antoinette de Mauban
Lewis Stone
The Cardinal
Robert Douglas
Michael, Duke of Strelsau
Robert Coote
Fritz von Tarlenheim
Peter Brocco
Johann
Francis Pierlot
Josef
Jay Adler
—
Kathleen Freeman
—
Thomas Browne Henry
—
Doris Lloyd
—
Stanley Logan
—
Cedric Gibbons
Art Direction
Edwin B. Willis
Set Decoration
Joseph Ruttenberg
Director of Photography
Walter Plunkett
Costume Design
Sydney Guilaroff
Hairstylist
William Tuttle
Makeup Artist
Donald Ogden Stewart
Additional Dialogue
Richard Thorpe
Director
Pandro S. Berman
Producer
Alfred Newman
Original Music Composer
Anthony Hope
Novel
John L. Balderston
Screenplay
Noel Langley
Screenplay
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