This is a story of royal romance and of adventure , as breathless and flashing as a sword play . This is a classic swashbuckler concerning an innocent traveler , Rudolph Rassendyll (Stewart Granger) , Rudolf V's identical distant relative , in a small European country , as he results to be the exact double of its king and gets involved in a murder plot . In order to save King Rudolph of Ruritania (Stewart Granger as well) from assassins and murderous usurpers , the kingdom aristocrats (Louis Calhern, Robert Coote) hire a look-a-like London man, a distant cousin , to impersonate the Monarch . Upon the death of his father the King, Rudolph V is set to assume the throne of Ruritania and the honest Britishman as his stand-in . Both become involved in troubles , along with his half-brother , Grand Duke Michael (Robert Douglas) , his orphaned cousin who lives in a wing of the palace located in the Ruritanian capital of Strelsau and the lovely Princess Flavia (Debora Kerr) . When the rightful monarch is drugged and kidnapped , the adventurous knight goes into action . If Rudolf V isn't present at the ceremony, he will forfeit the crown to his older half-brother. Complications ensue when Princess Flavia, the king's cousin and betrothed, begins to notice a "personality change" in her fiancé . The Grand Duke of Strelsau , with his longtime faithful companions and Rupert of Hentzau (James Mason) , plan to detain the King at the Grand Duke's hunting lodge on the grounds of his castle at Zenda on the day of the coronation so that Michael can assume the throne in Strelsau in his place . A reckless love that fought to live ¡ . They fought for the right to rule she fought for the right to love ¡ . The most thrilling swordfight ever filmed... Romance and adventure to thrill you! Confusion reigns in Ruritania ¡ . They dared not kill him; They dared not let him live In this dilemma were conspirators against the King of Ruritania. This is but one of the amazingly dramatic situations in The Metro Golwyn Mayer Production of The Prisoner of Zenda ¡.
This is a slight and hugely budgeted retelling about the durable Anthony Hope's novel with all-star-cast . It is packed with derring-do , suspense , a sensitive love story , action , drama and thrilling as well as dazzling swordplay between Stewart Granger and James Mason . Entertaining swashbuckling with lavish production , glamorous gowns and luxurious settings . The fifth of six movie versions of Anthony Hope's famous adventure , a blockbuster of its day . This is a flashy Technicolor remake of the notorious and better 1937 Ronald Colman rendition . Stewart Granger plays the nobleman forced to impersonate a king in a mythical European country , as he's asked to risk his life and impersonate the would-be king when his relative is kidnapped before his impending coronation , a situation that rises to some moments from which filmmaker Richard Thorpe manages to extract the maximum of intrigue and tension . As the tale carries its excitement with thrills , noisy action, swashbuckling , an attractive romance and anything else . Cast and support cast are frankly excellent , such as the gorgeous Deborah Kerr , the mysterious Jane Greer , the tall Louis Calhern and the sympathetic Robert Coote . And Lewis Stone who performed the dual leading character in a silent version made in 1922 , has a small cameo here as a Cardinal . In this The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) stands out James Mason as the ominous villain with a Rommel haircut as well as a penchant for irony and heel-clicking . The rest of the casting is exemplary and with good reason the movie has never lost its reputation of being one of the most enjoyable aventure-romance ever produced . Adding an impressive final duel between Stewart Granger and James Mason was almost as good as the one Ronald Colman and Douglas Fairbanks in the past retelling . The motion pictue was professionally directed by Richard Thorpe .
There are several versions about this classy story , these are the following ones : ¨The prisoner of Zenda¨(1922) by Rex Ingram with Lewis Stone , Alice Terry , Robert Edeson , Stuart Holmes , Ramon Novarro . ¨The Prisoner of Zenda¨ (1937) by John Cromwell with Ronald Colman as Major Rudolf Rassendyll / The Prisoner of Zenda , Madeleine Carroll as Princess Flavia , C. Aubrey Smith , Raymond Massey . ¨The prisoner of Zenda¨ (1979) by Richard Quine with Peter Sellers , Lionel Jeffries , Elke Sommer , Lynn Frederick , among others.
This is a slight and hugely budgeted retelling about the durable Anthony Hope's novel with all-star-cast . It is packed with derring-do , suspense , a sensitive love story , action , drama and thrilling as well as dazzling swordplay between Stewart Granger and James Mason . Entertaining swashbuckling with lavish production , glamorous gowns and luxurious settings . The fifth of six movie versions of Anthony Hope's famous adventure , a blockbuster of its day . This is a flashy Technicolor remake of the notorious and better 1937 Ronald Colman rendition . Stewart Granger plays the nobleman forced to impersonate a king in a mythical European country , as he's asked to risk his life and impersonate the would-be king when his relative is kidnapped before his impending coronation , a situation that rises to some moments from which filmmaker Richard Thorpe manages to extract the maximum of intrigue and tension . As the tale carries its excitement with thrills , noisy action, swashbuckling , an attractive romance and anything else . Cast and support cast are frankly excellent , such as the gorgeous Deborah Kerr , the mysterious Jane Greer , the tall Louis Calhern and the sympathetic Robert Coote . And Lewis Stone who performed the dual leading character in a silent version made in 1922 , has a small cameo here as a Cardinal . In this The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) stands out James Mason as the ominous villain with a Rommel haircut as well as a penchant for irony and heel-clicking . The rest of the casting is exemplary and with good reason the movie has never lost its reputation of being one of the most enjoyable aventure-romance ever produced . Adding an impressive final duel between Stewart Granger and James Mason was almost as good as the one Ronald Colman and Douglas Fairbanks in the past retelling . The motion pictue was professionally directed by Richard Thorpe .
There are several versions about this classy story , these are the following ones : ¨The prisoner of Zenda¨(1922) by Rex Ingram with Lewis Stone , Alice Terry , Robert Edeson , Stuart Holmes , Ramon Novarro . ¨The Prisoner of Zenda¨ (1937) by John Cromwell with Ronald Colman as Major Rudolf Rassendyll / The Prisoner of Zenda , Madeleine Carroll as Princess Flavia , C. Aubrey Smith , Raymond Massey . ¨The prisoner of Zenda¨ (1979) by Richard Quine with Peter Sellers , Lionel Jeffries , Elke Sommer , Lynn Frederick , among others.