A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

Director:

Jack Conway
(more)

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel)
W.P. Lipscomb (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 December 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

The most dramatic love story in the history of literature!

Plot:

An elaborate adaptation of Dickens' classic tale of the French Revolution. Dissipated lawyer Sydney...

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Guillotine | French Revolution | 1790s | Self Sacrifice

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Ronald Colman	...	Sydney Carton
Elizabeth Allan	...	Lucie Manette
Edna May Oliver	...	Miss Pross
Reginald Owen	...	Stryver
Basil Rathbone	...	Marquis St. Evremonde
Blanche Yurka	...	Madame De Farge
Henry B. Walthall	...	Dr. Manette
Donald Woods	...	Charles Darnay
Walter Catlett	...	Barsad
Fritz Leiber	...	Gaspard
H.B. Warner	...	Gabelle
Mitchell Lewis	...	Ernest De Farge
Claude Gillingwater	...	Jarvis Lorry
Billy Bevan	...	Jerry Cruncher
Isabel Jewell	...	Seamstress
Lucille La Verne	...	The Vengeance (as Lucille LaVerne)
Tully Marshall	...	Woodcutter
Fay Chaldecott	...	Lucie Manette - the Child
Eily Malyon	...	Mrs. Cruncher
E.E. Clive	...	Judge in 'Old Bailey'
Lawrence Grant	...	Prosecutor
Robert Warwick	...	Judge at Tribunal
Ralf Harolde	...	Prosecutor
John Davidson	...	Morveau
Tom Ricketts	...	Tellson Jr.
Donald Haines	...	Jerry Cruncher Jr.
Barlowe Borland	...	Jacques 116
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Norman Ainsley	...	Tom - Coach Driver on the Dover Road (uncredited)
Richard Alexander	...	Executioner (uncredited)
Jimmy Aubrey	...	Innkeeper (uncredited)
Barbara Barondess	...	Female Aristocrat About to Be Executed (uncredited)
May Beatty	...	Aristocrat (uncredited)
John Bryan	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Elsa Buchanan	...	Candy Clerk (uncredited)
Burr Caruth	...	Guillotine Seller (uncredited)
St. Luke's Episcopal Church Choristers	...	Background Singers (uncredited)
Frank Dawson	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Nigel De Brulier	...	Aristocrat (uncredited)
Chappell Dossett	...	Priest at Wedding (uncredited)
Frank Dunn	...	Official (uncredited)
Harold Entwistle	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Sam Flint	...	Aristocrat (uncredited)
Mary Foy	...	Old Hag (uncredited)
Christian J. Frank	...	Headsman (uncredited)
Sig Frohlich	...	Gentleman (uncredited)
Dale Fuller	...	Old Hag (uncredited)
Winter Hall	...	Aristocrat (uncredited)
Forrester Harvey	...	Joe (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Leader at Bastille (uncredited)
Ramsay Hill	...	Aristocrat (uncredited)
Billy House	...	Border Guard (uncredited)
Brandon Hurst	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Boyd Irwin	...	Aristocrat (uncredited)
Walter Kingsford	...	Victor (uncredited)
Marion Lessing	...	Aristocrat (uncredited)
Clinton Lurie	...	Small Role (uncredited)
James T. Mack	...	Clerk (uncredited)
James A. Marcus	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Frank Mayo	...	Jailer (uncredited)
Shirley McDonald	...	Jacques #2 (uncredited)
Cyril McLaglen	...	Guillotine Operator (uncredited)
Torben Meyer	...	Lackey #1 (uncredited)
John Miltern	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Cartwright (uncredited)
Tempe Pigott	...	Old Hag (uncredited)
Charles Requa	...	Aristocrat (uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan	...	Condemned Dandy (uncredited)
C. Montague Shaw	...	Chief Registrar (uncredited)
Yorke Sherwood	...	Old Crony (uncredited)
Jay Taylor	...	Aristocrat (uncredited)
Joseph R. Tozer	...	Inspector (uncredited)
Laura Treadwell	...	Aristocrat (uncredited)
Judith Vosselli	...	Wife of Count (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Revolutionary (uncredited)
Chester Withey	...	Small Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Conway
Robert Z. Leonard		(fill-in director) (uncredited)

Writing credits
Charles Dickens		(novel "A Tale of Two Cities")
W.P. Lipscomb		(screen play) and
S.N. Behrman		(screen play)
Thomas Carlyle		bibliography "The French Revolution" &
M. Clery		bibliography "Journal of the Temple" &
Mademoiselle des Echerolles		bibliography "The Memoirs" (as Mlle. des Echerolles) &
M. Nicholas		bibliography "The Memoirs"

Produced by
David O. Selznick	....	producer

Original Music by
Herbert Stothart

Cinematography by
Oliver T. Marsh		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Conrad A. Nervig		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jacques Tourneur	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Fredric Hope	....	associate art director
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Visual Effects by
W. Percy Day	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dolly Tree	....	wardrobe
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Herbert Stothart	....	musical adaptation (uncredited)

Other crew
Val Lewton	....	arranger: revolutionary sequences
Jacques Tourneur	....	arranger: revolutionary sequences
Howard Dietz	....	press agent (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• ClassicLine (20??) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Western Costume Company  costumes (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"Charles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities'" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

128 min | USA:121 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #1471) | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:PG | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:Atp | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This was David O. Selznick's last film for MGM. He was able to fund his own studio afterwards largely on the strength of this film's box office receipts.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Sydney Carton attends Christmas Eve services ca. 1780 during which "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" is sung to music by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), and John Francis Wade's Latin hymn, "Adeste fideles," is sung in Frederick Oakley's (1802-1880) translation as "O Come, All Ye Faithful."

Quotes:

Sydney Carton:Yours is a long life to look back on, Mr. Lorry?
Jarvis Lorry Jr.:I'm 78.
Sydney Carton:Long life... useful one.
Jarvis Lorry Jr.:A solitary bachelor - nobody would weep for me.
Sydney Carton:Wouldn't SHE weep for you?
[refers to Lucie]
Jarvis Lorry Jr.:Yes, thank God. I didn't quite mean what I said.
Sydney Carton:It is a thing to thank God for, isn't it. Tell me, if you looked back on that long life and saw that you had gained neither love, gratitude nor respect of any human being... it would be a bitter reflection, wouldn't it?
Jarvis Lorry Jr.:Why yes, surely.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: You Only Move Twice (#8.2)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Egmont Overture, Op. 84

Faithful screen version of the classic Dickens tale...

A TALE OF TWO CITIES contains enough material for a four hour movie but amazingly David O. Selznick's production has managed to tell the epic tale in just a little over two hours. While there are many memorable characters, the ones that stay in the memory longest are Ronald Colman as Sydney Carton and the little seamstress (Isabel Jewell) who gets her courage from him before they go off to the guillotine and he utters those immortal words, "It's a far, far better thing I do..."

Edna May Oliver is just one of the pleasures among the supporting players. Donald Woods makes a handsome, if somewhat subdued, Charles Darnay and Blanche Yurka does an outstanding job as the bitter Madame Defarge. Basil Rathbone is excellent as the aristocratic Marquis St. Evremonde who is annoyed when his horse-driven carriage runs amok and kills a child, setting in motion the bitter Evremonde legacy of hate and mistrust among the French peasants.

The storming of the Bastille is awesome in its detail, as is all of the set decoration for interiors and exteriors which really captures the atmosphere of this turbulent time in history.

Probably Ronald Colman's finest hour--his world weary Sydney Carton becomes a highly sympathetic character by the time he is ready to assume another man's place. A memorable film.