This is probably Ronald Coleman's best film, though he does have other terrific films to his credit. Why is it so good? Well, the pacing is brisk, the story engaging, acting superb and the supporting cast is dynamite--how can you fail when you are supported by the likes of the David Niven, Dougals Fairbanks, Jr. and C. Aubrey Smith?! PLUS, Rayond Massey is great as the menacing villain leader--part Jonathan Brewster (from Arsenic and Old Lace) and part Snidley Whiplash (from Bullwinkle). Plus Madeleine Carroll is so beautiful and captivating I could see how Coleman would have a terrible time letting go of her! The story starts in a small mythical kingdom. It seems on the eve of his coronation, the king-to-be is drugged by the evil villain. It just so happens that the good guys have stumbled on an exact double of the indisposed king and they ask this very surprised chap to sit in for the king. He reluctantly agrees but it is for a lot more than he expects after the king-to-be is kidnapped and he must remain king for the foreseeable future! This is rousing adventure in the grandest tradition! If you love films such as Captain Blood and the Adventures of Robinhood, you will be in for a real treat if you watch this film.
NOTE: The entire movie was re-filmed nearly scene for scene in the 1950s with Stewart Granger in the lead. It, too, is an excellent film but offers nothing significantly better than the original. My advice is to try the original first--as overall it's a little bit better. ALSO, Peter Sellars did an unbelievably terrible version of this film in 1979. Avoid it unless you are into masochism.
NEWER NOTE: I reviewed this wonderful movie a couple years back and tonight I was surprised to see Ronald Coleman is a very, very, very similar film called THE MASQUERADER (1933) in which he once again plays two roles of people who are supposed to be identical but not twins. Considering that this is a bit of a silly cliché and that he did THE MASQUERADER several years earlier, this makes THE PRISONER OF ZENDA a bit less original than I'd earlier thought, so I am now scoring the movie with a 9 instead of a 10. It's still a lovely film--just not quite so original.
NOTE: The entire movie was re-filmed nearly scene for scene in the 1950s with Stewart Granger in the lead. It, too, is an excellent film but offers nothing significantly better than the original. My advice is to try the original first--as overall it's a little bit better. ALSO, Peter Sellars did an unbelievably terrible version of this film in 1979. Avoid it unless you are into masochism.
NEWER NOTE: I reviewed this wonderful movie a couple years back and tonight I was surprised to see Ronald Coleman is a very, very, very similar film called THE MASQUERADER (1933) in which he once again plays two roles of people who are supposed to be identical but not twins. Considering that this is a bit of a silly cliché and that he did THE MASQUERADER several years earlier, this makes THE PRISONER OF ZENDA a bit less original than I'd earlier thought, so I am now scoring the movie with a 9 instead of a 10. It's still a lovely film--just not quite so original.