Story of movie The Prisoner Of Zenda 1937 Film : The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1937 American black-and-white adventure film based on Anthony Hope's 1894 novel of the same name and the 1896 play.
| The Prisoner of Zenda | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Cromwell W. S. Van Dyke (uncredited) |
| Produced by | David O. Selznick |
| Written by | Wells Root (adaptation) Donald Ogden Stewart (additional dialogue) Ben Hecht (uncredited) Sidney Howard (uncredited) |
| Screenplay by | John L. Balderston from the novel (and Edward Rose's dramatization) |
| Based on | novel by Anthony Hope |
| Starring | Ronald Colman Madeleine Carroll Douglas Fairbanks Jr. |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | James Wong Howe Bert Glennon (uncredited) |
| Edited by | James E. Newcom Hal C. Kern (supervising film editor) |
Production company | Selznick International Pictures |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,250,000 |
The film starred Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., with a supporting cast including C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, Mary Astor and David Niven. It was directed by John Cromwell, produced by David O. Selznick for Selznick International Pictures, and distributed by United Artists. The screenplay was written by John L. Balderston, adapted by Wells Root from the novel, with dramatisation by Edward Rose; Donald Ogden Stewart was responsible for additional dialogue, and Ben Hecht and Sidney Howard made uncredited contributions.
Alfred Newman received the first of his 43 Academy Award nominations, for Original Music Score, while Lyle R. Wheeler was nominated for Best Art Direction. In 1991, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in its National Film Registry.
Screenplay
In June 1897, English gentleman Rudolf Rassendyll (Ronald Colman) takes a fishing vacation in a small country in the Balkans (unnamed in the film; Ruritania in the novel). While there, he is puzzled by the odd reactions of the natives to him. Rassendyll discovers why when he meets Colonel Zapt (C. Aubrey Smith) and Captain Fritz von Tarlenheim (David Niven). Zapt introduces him to the soon-to-be-crowned king, Rudolf V (Colman again), a distant relative who looks just like him (except for the Englishman's beard). The king, astounded at first by the close resemblance, takes a great liking to the Englishman.
They celebrate their acquaintance by drinking late into the night. Rudolf is particularly delighted with the bottle of wine sent to him by his half-brother, Duke Michael (Raymond Massey), so much so that he drinks it all himself. The next morning brings a disastrous discovery: the wine was drugged. Rudolf cannot be awakened, and if he cannot attend his coronation that day, Michael will try to usurp the throne. It is revealed that Michael is bitter that, because his mother was not of royal blood, the younger Rudolf is the heir to the kingdom. Zapt convinces a reluctant Rassendyll to impersonate Rudolf for the ceremony.
Rassendyll meets Rudolf's betrothed, Princess Flavia (Madeleine Carroll). She had always detested her cousin Rudolf, but now finds him greatly changed – very much for the better, in her opinion. As they spend time together, they fall in love.
With the coronation accomplished, Rassendyll returns to resume his real identity, only to find the king has been kidnapped by Rupert of Hentzau (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), Michael's charmingly amoral henchman. Rassendyll is forced to continue the impersonation while Zapt searches for Rudolf. However, Michael cannot denounce the masquerade without incriminating himself.
Help comes from an unexpected quarter. To be king, Michael must marry his cousin Flavia. Antoinette de Mauban (Mary Astor), Michael's jealous French mistress, reveals that the king is being held in Michael's castle near Zenda and promises to help rescue him. Since Rudolf would be executed at the first sign of a rescue attempt, she proposes that one man swim the moat and hold off his would-be assassins while loyal troops storm the castle. Rassendyll decides that he is that man, over Zapt's strenuous objections.
Their carefully laid plans go awry when Michael finds Rupert trying to seduce his mistress. After Rupert kills him, a heartbroken Antoinette blurts out enough to alert Rupert to his danger. Rassendyll kills the two guards, but must fight a prolonged duel with Rupert while at the same time trying to lower the drawbridge to let Zapt and his men in. When he finally succeeds, Rupert flees.
Rudolf is restored to his throne. Rassendyll tries to persuade Flavia to leave with him, but her devotion to duty is too great, and their parting is bittersweet.
- Ronald Colman as Major Rudolf Rassendyll and the "prisoner of Zenda" (King Rudolf V)
- Madeleine Carroll as Princess Flavia
- C. Aubrey Smith as Colonel Zapt
- Raymond Massey as Duke Michael
- Mary Astor as Antoinette de Mauban
- David Niven as Captain Fritz von Tarlenheim
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Rupert of Hentzau
Unbilled:
- Montagu Love as Detchard, one of Michael's henchmen
- William von Brincken as Kraftstein
- Florence Roberts as Duenna
- Torben Meyer as Max, the butler
- Lawrence Grant as Marshal Strakencz
- Ralph Faulkner as Bersonin
- Byron Foulger as Master Johann
- Howard Lang as Josef, the murdered servant
- Alexander D'Arcy as De Gautet
- Boyd Irwin as Master of ceremonies
- Emmett King as Lord High Chamberlain
- Al Shean as Orchestra leader
- Charles Halton as Customs official who checks Rassendyll's passport
- Spencer Charters as Porter
- Henry Roquemore as Station master
- Lillian Harmer as Station attendant
Notes
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. initially wanted to play Rudolf, but when the role went to Colman, his father, Douglas Fairbanks, told him "not only is The Prisoner of Zenda one of the best romances written in a hundred years and always a success, but Rupert of Hentzau is probably one of the best villains ever written".
When the play opened in London in January 1896, C. Aubrey Smith played the dual lead roles. Massey asked Smith for advice and was told, "My dear Ray, in my time I have played every part in The Prisoner of Zenda except Princess Flavia. And I always had trouble with Black Michael!"
The orchestra conductor who is forced to cease and resume conducting the Künstlerleben Walzer by Strauss every time the royal couple stop and start waltzing was played by Al Shean, uncle of the Marx Brothers.
Former Prince of Sweden Sigvard Bernadotte was working in Hollywood at the time and was credited as a technical advisor.
This production was "one of the last great gatherings of the Hollywood English" before World War II. Selznick was partly inspired to take on the project because of the abdication of Edward VIII, and exploited this angle in his marketing of the film.
It was considered a difficult shoot. Director John Cromwell was unhappy with his male leads, as he suspected that Colman did not know his lines, and was concerned with Fairbanks' and Niven's late nights on the town. George Cukor directed a few scenes of the film when Cromwell grew frustrated with his actors, especially Madeline Carroll over the scene dealing with the renunciation. Woody Van Dyke was brought in to re-shoot some of the fencing scenes, along with the costume design.
A prologue and an epilogue were shot, but never used. The prologue has an elderly Rassendyll recounting his adventures in his club. In the epilogue, he receives a letter from von Tarlenheim and a rose, informing him that Flavia has died.
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Leslie Halliwell ranks it at #590 on his list of best films, saying that the "splendid schoolboy adventure story" of the late Victorian novel is "perfectly transferred to the screen", and quotes a 1971 comment by John Cutts that the film becomes more "fascinating and beguiling" as time goes by. Halliwell's Film Guide 2008 calls it "one of the most entertaining films to come out of Hollywood". Twelve residents of Zenda, Ontario, were flown to New York for the premiere.
The film earned a profit of $182,000.
In 1947, Selznick announced he would make a sequel based on a play adaptation of Rupert of Hentzau, starring Joseph Cotten as King Rudolph/Rudolph, Louis Jourdan and Alida Valli. The film was never made.
Colman, Smith and Fairbanks reprised their roles for a 1949 episode of Screen Director's Playhouse, with Colman's wife Benita Hume playing Princess Flavia.
The 1952 film of the same name is virtually a shot-by-shot remake, reusing the same shooting script, dialogue, and film score. A comparison of the two films reveals that settings and camera angles, in most cases, are the same. Halliwell judged it "no match for the happy inspiration of the original".
Two episodes of the spoof spy television series Get Smart, "The King Lives?" and "To Sire With Love, Parts 1 and 2", parodied the 1937 movie version, with Don Adams imitating Colman's distinctive voice.
In the season 4 episode "Sleeping With the Enemy" of the television series Northern Exposure, Ed Chigliak dubs the film into Tlingit (a Native American language).
"The Prisoner of Benda" is the ninety-eighth episode of the animated television series Futurama.
During pre-production of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, director Nicholas Meyer asked costume designer Robert Fletcher to design new Starfleet uniforms inspired by the uniforms worn in The Prisoner of Zenda. The resulting uniform costumes appeared in six Star Trek films in total, from The Wrath of Khan through Star Trek Generations.
The entire Potsdorf sequence in Blake Edwards' The Great Race (1965) is an homage to (or parody of) The Prisoner Of Zenda. Jack Lemmon plays the roles of the doubles (Professor Fate and Prince Hapnik); Tony Curtis is the swashbuckler (Leslie Gallant lll, a/k/a The Great Leslie), crossing swords with Baron Rolfe von Stuppe, Ross Martin's answer to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.'s Rupert of Hentzau.
- List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website
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