Leslie Howard plays Sir Percy Blakeney, an 18th century English aristocrat who leads a double life. He appears to be merely the effete aristocrat, but in reality is part of an underground ... See full summary »
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Two volunteer firemen rescue a gold prospector from suicide. However, once they discover that the police mistakenly want them for murder, they travel with the prospector to Alaska to help ... See full summary »
Jonesy and Lou are in Algeria looking for a wrestler they are promoting. Sergeant Axmann tricks them into joining the Foreign Legion, after which they discover Axmann's collaboration with ... See full summary »
A pair of bus drivers accidentally steal their own bus. With the company issuing a warrant for their arrest, they tag along with a playboy on a boat trip that finds them on a tropical island, where a jewel thief has sinister plans for them.
A rich woman, Raffaella, and some friends rent a yacht to sail the Mediterranean Sea during summer. The sailor, Gennarino, who is a communist, does not like this woman but has to bear with ... See full summary »
The priceless Blue Water sapphire is coveted by the heirs of Sir Hector Geste - his new wife, Flavia; his daughter, Isabel; and his adopted twin sons, heroic Beau and pathetic Digby. When ... See full summary »
In 1920s Soviet Russia, a fallen aristocrat, a priest and a con artist search for a treasure of jewels hidden inside one of twelve dining chairs, lost during the revolution.
Leslie Howard plays Sir Percy Blakeney, an 18th century English aristocrat who leads a double life. He appears to be merely the effete aristocrat, but in reality is part of an underground effort to free French nobles from Robespierre's Reign of Terror. Based on the novel by Baroness Orczy. Written by
Patrick Dominick <p-dominick@adfa.oz.au>
Percy Blakeney refers to one of the boxers as "Mendoza", a reference to Daniel Mendoza, the 18th-century British Jew who revolutionized boxing. Mendoza was the heavyweight champion of England (1792-5), despite being a middleweight. See more »
Goofs
At Lord Grenville's ball, the final movement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" is played several times. Although the piece was composed in 1787 it was not published until around 1827. See more »
Quotes
Percy Blakeney:
Magnificent fight this afternoon, my dear. Gad! That Mendoza's got quick ears. In the 10th round, when Jackson had him down, I shouted, "Get up, Mendoza!" And damn me, he did and sink me, he won!
See more »
Overall, this is an entertaining and satisfying screen adaptation of the classic story of "The Scarlet Pimpernel". It is well-written, well-acted, and also contains a good balance of action sequences and verbal sparring. Yet it is Leslie Howard's performance that stands out most of all, in a dual role that allows him to use his talent and his distinctive persona to their best advantage.
The story adaptation is nicely done, with some very good dialogue and a good pace as it builds up the tension and gradually reveals all that is going on. It makes it easy for the fine cast to bring their characters to life, and it gives most of the main characters some good opportunities.
Besides Howard, Raymond Massey does very well with a villainous character well-suited to him, Nigel Bruce is entertaining as the prince, and Merle Oberon does well enough in handling her character's dilemmas. Howard himself captures the main character's personality well, and he also helps to pull everything else together. Although he might be better remembered for some of his roles in movies that are even more well-known, this might be his own best performance.
The story itself is one of the well-remembered classics for its very interesting setting as well as the combination of exciting action and memorable characters. This movie version and its cast do well in capturing some of the best material from the novel.
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Overall, this is an entertaining and satisfying screen adaptation of the classic story of "The Scarlet Pimpernel". It is well-written, well-acted, and also contains a good balance of action sequences and verbal sparring. Yet it is Leslie Howard's performance that stands out most of all, in a dual role that allows him to use his talent and his distinctive persona to their best advantage.
The story adaptation is nicely done, with some very good dialogue and a good pace as it builds up the tension and gradually reveals all that is going on. It makes it easy for the fine cast to bring their characters to life, and it gives most of the main characters some good opportunities.
Besides Howard, Raymond Massey does very well with a villainous character well-suited to him, Nigel Bruce is entertaining as the prince, and Merle Oberon does well enough in handling her character's dilemmas. Howard himself captures the main character's personality well, and he also helps to pull everything else together. Although he might be better remembered for some of his roles in movies that are even more well-known, this might be his own best performance.
The story itself is one of the well-remembered classics for its very interesting setting as well as the combination of exciting action and memorable characters. This movie version and its cast do well in capturing some of the best material from the novel.