| Major Cast | |
|---|---|
| Stewart Granger | as Rudolf Rassendyll / King Rudolf V |
| Deborah Kerr | as Princess Flavia |
| Louis Calhern | as Colonel Zapt |
| Jane Greer | as Antoinette de Mauban |
| Lewis Stone | as The Cardinal |
| Robert Douglas | as Michael, Duke of Strelsau |
| Robert Coote | as Fritz von Tarlenheim |
| Peter Brocco | as Johann |
| Francis Pierlot | as Josef |
| James Mason | as Rupert of Hentzau |
| MPAA Rating: | A |
| Distributor: | Metro Goldwyn Mayer |
| Release Date (US): | November 1952 |
| Domestic Box Office: | $? |
| Foreign Box Office: | $? |
| Production Budget: | $? (Est.) |
An Englishman named Rudolph Rassendyll visits Ruritania for some fishing and relaxation. At the border, people begin staring at him strangely. In the interior, he meets a pair of royal courtiers who remark on his close resemblance to the king. They are soon joined by the king himself, who also notes the resemblance and, finding Rudolph to be a jolly fellow, invites him to dine at the palace.
Shortly it develops that the king is due to be coronated on the morrow. Alas, as is his wont, he drinks too much wine at dinner — especially that last vintage, the 1868; it is drugged, and he falls into a stupor from which he will not awaken for 12 hours or so. The coronation cannot be postponed, and this leaves the court in a dilemma. You will have guessed the solution: Rudolph will impersonate the king, accept the crown, and then disappear.
Unfortunately, the king is kidnapped during the night following the coronation. This is another play in the long-running game started by his older brother Michael, who covets the throne for the power it will give him. Rudolph, reluctantly, agrees to continue his impersonation. Adding a new incentive, he falls in love with Princess Flavia, the prospective queen. Ultimately, he saves the king but loses Flavia, who like him is constrained by her sense of duty — another prisoner of Zenda.
This film has all you could expect from a swashbuckler of its era: opulent sets, witty dialogue, courtly dances, a love interest, and plenty of swordplay. The swashbuckling may not be quite up to that provided by Errol Flynn, say; but Stewart Granger delivers plenty of heroics, the villains are appropriately dastardly, and the ladies properly noble. It won't make the American Film Institute's top 100 list, but The Prisoner of Zenda is fine entertainment.
My Rating:
8 out of 10
Capsule review: Here's all the energetic swordplay, the courtly pomp and intrigue, and the noble sacrifice you could expect from a swashbuckler of Hollywood's golden era.
| IMDB Rating: 7.0 | Raters: 2,836 |
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