The oft-filmed Hope novel receives what is generally considered its best screen treatment. Colman is fine if a bit long in the tooth in the dual roles of a king and a look-alike commoner. Carroll makes a lovely princess. Massey looks ill-at-ease as the king's evil brother while Fairbanks seems to be having a ball playing Massey's rascally henchman. Astor, Smith, and Niven lend able support. Given the romantic buildup between Colman and Carroll, the denouement feels false and anti-climactic. Cromwell's direction tends to be stagy and melodramatic, but he is helped by Howe's fine cinematography and Newman's rousing score. What makes the Hope novel so worthy of being filmed so often?
Review of The Prisoner of Zenda
