NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

evanston_dad Ronald Colman displays oodles of charm and carries this rousing swashbuckler about a man who must impersonate a king when the real king is kidnapped by a bunch of nefarious ne'er do wells. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. is also quite good as Colman's chief rival, and uses his own good looks and charm to effect. Raymond Massey is the villain in this one, while David Niven shows why he went on to become a major star. Madeline Carroll and Mary Astor are the damsels in distress."The Prisoner of Zenda" received two Oscar nominations in 1937, one for Lyle Wheeler's art direction and the other for Alfred Newman's score.Grade: A-

krocheav Time has not been kind to this cliché ridden matinée style tale. It has an OK look, some good names in the cast but director Cromwell had not yet developed his best form (he was much better as years went by)If you grew up enjoying this film, you probably still will, others might need to beware. Selznick was known for quality works but not a great deal has survived in this production. Lighting and general photography is good (though the TCM Australian print is very poor). The early Alfred Newman score is colorful, Coleman is as grand as always (but even he looks uncomfortable within this silly situation). Fairbanks makes a formidably evil villain but editing is sloppy and screenplay somewhat stale. May have been good in its day, but.....

LeonLouisRicci Ah the Hollywood studio system...Ah the Costume Epic...Ah the Swashbuckler.There are many films that fans of romantic escapism can enjoy and this is one of them. This type of thing set the Women's hearts on fire and this is what passed as rousing adventure for the pre-media generation of young and virile men.It was a time when movies were making the popular culture transition from ink to celluloid as the preferred mass communication. Literature and the projected light would co exist as the masterful dual dynamos of popular entertainment until post War civilization was awakened to a new form of radiated consciousness.To call this kind of stuff dated is accurate if meant in a respectful manner, because it is, but it is also wonderful, and artful and a beautiful time piece of a more innocent time. This has all the ingredients of that period and place when expectations were of virtuous, larger than life, handsome, and beautiful people beyond the realm. These actors would never mumble and these characters would never fail to inspire and Good won out over Evil.This is a spot on delivery of such glorious fantasy. A reminder that we were not always as cynical as popular culture devotees, but for better or worse, we were more naive.

blanche-2 John Cromwell directed, David O. Selznick produced, and Ronald Colman, Madeline Carroll, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and David Niven star in the 1937 film "The Prisoner of Zenda." That's really all any viewer needs to know.Rudolph Rassendyll (Colman), King Rudolf V's identical cousin, is asked to impersonate the kidnapped future king (Colman) at the coronation. Otherwise, the crown goes to his younger brother.This is a top-notch film with a great performance by Ronald Colman in a dual role, something he was called upon to do during his career several times. Colman was an smooth actor of great charm. One of the comments (from a man, of course) asked if he was supposed to be handsome because if he was, the commenter couldn't see it. Just an opinion: Colman was good-looking in the style of actors in the early to mid-thirties, but it was his gentle quality, beautiful speaking voice, and fine acting that put him over with female audiences. Here his fiancé is the gorgeous Madeleine Carroll, and they make a wonderful couple.Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is one of my favorite actors, and he performs the villainous Rupert with panache, creating an excellent character. Raymond Massey is another villain, Michael, and he's very good. David Niven is in a small role - he's on his way up as a younger Colman - in fact, he was supposed to play Colman's brother in Lost Horizon.The end of the film is total action with a magnificent swordfight. Don't miss this version of Prisoner of Zenda.