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The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
In director John Cromwell's and David O. Selznick's
escapist, historical costume drama - a classic production and adaptation
of Anthony Hope's 1894 swashbuckling adventure novel and a masquerade-type
story (with a dual role) -- with superb production values, a fantastic
supporting cast, a richly-textured script, and lavish budget:
- the film's scrolling prologue: "Toward the
close of the last century, when History still wore a Rose, and
Politics had not yet outgrown the Waltz, a Great Royal Scandal
was whispered about in the Anterooms of Europe. However true it
was, any resemblance in 'The Prisoner of Zenda' to Heroes, Villains,
Heroines, living or dead, is a coincidence not intended..."
- in mid 1897, British commoner Major
Rudolf Rassendyll (Ronald Colman) was on holiday in
the Central European Balkan country of Ruritania (mythical); he happened
to meet his exact double - there was a remarkable resemblance
between Rudolf and his distant half-brother, look-alike King Rudolph
V (also Ronald Colman) who was about to be coronated;
Rudolf arrived by the Orient Express in Strelsau to fish - not to
attend the coronation: ("And
that's what I came for, fishing, not coronations. I don't like coronations
and I do like fishing")
- when the King's entourage happened to come upon Rudolf
while he was fishing in the Province of Zenda, it was recognized
by the King's loyal advisors: Capt. Fritz von Tarlenheim (David Niven)
and Colonel Zapt (C. Aubrey Smith), that Rudolf closely resembled
the monarch: (Zapt: "Shave him, and he'd be the king");
the King and Rudolf met and realized that they were related distant
cousins - "I would say that the blame might lie equally between
your great-great-great-grandfather Rudolph and my great-great-great-grandmother
Amelia"; the King remarked: "One doesn't expect to see
doubles so early in the day"
- the dissolute King invited Rudolf to his hunting lodge
for drinks and toasts - where it was revealed that there was enmity
between the King and his half-brother Duke Michael (Raymond Massey),
known as "Black Michael," and a band of rebels: "Michael
thinks the world's all wrong. He thinks he ought to be me, and I
ought to be he";
toasts were made to the King's soon-to-be-bride cousin Princess Flavia
(Madeleine Carroll): "Let's drink a toast to cousin Flavia.
Soon to be my bride and queen....They say she's much too good for
me. She probably is. You know what they say about me, don't you?
I drink too much"; while everyone else was already passed out,
the King took sips from the last bottle of wine sent by Michael and
delivered personally to him - and he collapsed to the floor
- by morning, the King was found to have been drugged
and was incapable of being coronated: ("He won't move for seven
or eight hours yet"); it was feared by von Tarlenheim that Michael
was plotting to usurp the throne in
a revolutionary assassination plot: "He wants the throne to
be offered to him by the people. He wants to pose as their savior
from the excesses of an incompetent king"; Zapt added: "If
he's not crowned today, he'll never be crowned"
- it was proposed
by the King's loyal aides that Rudolf would impersonate the King
for the day's coronation - a King for a day, while the real King
would be hidden away: "Fate sent you here. Fate sends you now
to Strelsau....Sounds mad, doesn't it, but without your beard, I'll
wager you could deceive your own brother"
- Michael was plotting behind-the-scenes - bitter because
his mother was not of royal blood and the younger Rudolph was the
heir to the kingdom; he complained to his French mistress Antoinette
de Mauban (Mary Astor): "All
my life, I've played second fiddle to that weakling and why? Because
his mother was a princess and mine was not. I'm the eldest son, but
he was the crown prince. He lived in the royal palace. He dined with
kings. Well, today the table is set for Rudolph. But it's Michael
who's going to the feast"
- there was a very surprised look on Michael's face
when he heard bugles heralding the arrival of the King (Rudolf in
disguise) at the cathedral for the coronation: ("His Majesty
has arrived, Your Highness") - he was planning on hearing an
announcement that the King would not be coming and had abdicated
in his favor; he worried that his plan of usurpation had failed and
sent his dashing and villainous chief henchman Rupert of Hentzau
(Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) to discover the cause: "Something
went wrong...Find out what went wrong!"
Unexpected Arrival of the 'King" for the
Coronation
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Incensed Michael
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The Coronation March Into the Cathedral
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- during the impressive coronation ceremony (to the
stirring chorus of George Frideric Handel's 'See the Conquering
Hero Comes' from Judas Maccabaeus' Oratorio), as the 'King' marched
into the cathedral, Michael sternly glowered at him, but then led
him to the altar where the Bishop conducted the crowning
- afterwards, Rudolf/'King' made the acquaintance with
his intended betrothed - his cousin Princess Flavia, as they rode
along in a private carriage; he told her: "Well, I think it
all went off very well, don't you, for a coronation? Of course, I
mean, that is, a coronation should go well, if the king puts in an
appearance properly dressed and looks his part" - she was mostly
impressed that the King was actually sober
- later that evening, he unexpectedly complimented
her on her beauty: "I'm crowned king, I meet the loveliest,
most beautiful woman" - she was shocked after so many years
of disrespect, and was amazed when he said he had "reformed" -
she responded: "You seem an entirely different person";
but she did recall how he had treated her on her 14th birthday when
he called her a "beastly infant" and "gawky" -
even shortly later, von Tarlenheim realized that Rudolf was a much
better person than the real King: "I only hope that His Majesty
will not disappoint her after you"
- although there were plans to return Rudolf to his
former position (he mused:
"I'll be just plain Rudolf Rassendyll again"), complications
arose when the real King was kidnapped by Michael's henchman Rupert
of Hentzau; however, the evil plotters could not divulge what they
had done: (Zapt: "Yes,
they know everything, but they can't speak. They can't denounce us
without denouncing themselves"); Rudolf was forced to carry on
the masquerade, as a search commenced for the abducted King who
was being held in a woodcutter's cabin
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Love in the Garden
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State Ball with Princess Flavia
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- during the state's coronation ball - and dance sequence,
Rudolf and Flavia experienced romance: (Rudolf: "I
was only thinking there may never be another night like this, another
waltz." Flavia: "We shall always waltz together, Rudolph" Rudolf:
"I'll dance with no one but you tonight, Flavia" Flavia:
"And I dance only as my King commands")
- on the terrace and then into the nearby garden, they
professed their love for each other (Rudolf: "I love you more
than truth or life or honor." They kissed. Flavia: "Tell
me, Rudolph, why is it that I love you now when I-I never even liked
you before?...You seem so different...I wanted you to be different
from the Rudolph I knew, the Rudolph I didn't love - and you are.
And yet you aren't"
- Rudolf asked: "Could you still love me if I were not the king?"
and Flavia replied: "In my heart there is no king, no crown. Only
you. Dearest, does a woman who marries without love look on a man as
I look on you?"); he was about to divulge his real identity when
he was interrupted by Col. Zapt; thereafter, Rudolf felt an internal
conflict and told Zapt his concerns late that night: "I'm a man
in love with a woman who loves me....Then why should I ever leave the
throne? Would you expose me?"
- meanwhile, Rupert of Hentzau was scheming - he promised
Michael (in exchange for a handsome fee) to root out the King's imposter:
("How can a King be in two places at the same time?");
Rudolf also met in secret with Michael's jealous mistress Antoinette
(who was betraying Michael by having an affair with Rupert) - she
divulged where the King was being imprisoned; he was in the midst
of moving from a forest cabin to Michael's castle near Zenda ("The
Prisoner of Zenda"), but she warned: "If the castle is
attacked, the king will be killed and no trace of his body will be
found"
- there was a prolonged goodbye scene between Rudolf
and Flavia before he left - purportedly on a boar hunting trip in
Zenda: (Rudolf: "If I see your eyes, I might forget to be a
king"
Flavia: "Rudolph, come back to me soon" Rudolf: "Shan't
a man come back to the loveliest lady in all the wide world? A thousand
Michaels couldn't keep me from you....If I shouldn't, you'll never
forgive me...You'll be a brave queen, and do your part?" Flavia:
"Though my life be empty and my heart dead" Rudolf: "You
would do your part")
- Rudolf selflessly volunteered ("Leave that to
me") to single-handedly rescue the imprisoned King in the castle's
lower dungeon; at night, he swam across the moat and entered the
castle (with help from Antoinette), he watched as Michael found Rupert
seducing his own French mistress Antoinette, but was lethally stabbed
in the abdomen by Rupert
Rupert Caught by Michael Seducing Antoinette
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Michael's Stabbing Death
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- an exciting classic fencing duel was fought between
the villainous Rupert and Rudolf (with cross-cut bantering and
dialogue); before the fight began, Rupert bragged: "I left
my knife in Michael"; Rudolf was continually taunted during
the skirmish: "Your
golden-haired goddess will look well in black, Rassendyll. I'll
console her for you, kiss away her tears" - Rudolf was ultimately
victorious when he cut the drawbridge rope, allowing Colonel Zapt's
forces to cross over the moat; Rupert rapidly fled: "This
is getting too hot for me. Au revoir, play-actor!"
- he dove through a castle window into the moat to escape
- in the aftermath - the real King was rescued, recovered
and was restored to the throne, and he praised Rudolf for making
him sober and clear-headed: ("You could never serve me better,
cousin. You've taught me how to be a king")
- the lengthy bittersweet departure scene between Flavia
and Rudolf - he apologized and then invited her to leave the kingdom
with him for love's sake: (Flavia: "I sent for you to thank
you, for the service you've done this kingdom and its king. No one
can know better than I how conscientiously you've played your role..." Rudolf: "My
only hurt is the thought of the pain I've caused you. I love you.
With my whole heart and soul, I love you. In all else, I've been
an impostor, but not in that. From the first moment I saw you in
the cathedral, you've been the only woman in the world for me. As
I stand here now, I know there never can be any other" Flavia: "It
would have made no difference if I'd known. It was always you and
never the king..." Rudolf: "Come with me. I won't give
you up. I won't let them stand in the way of our happiness!... There's
a world outside. Our world. And a throne for you, a woman's throne
in my heart" Flavia: "I want that. (They kissed) And you
will always love me? Always, even as now?" Rudolf: "Always,
always. Oh, my love, think. You'll be free. Free of all these cares
and duties to live your own life, as freely and joyously as..."
Concluding Farewell Scene
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Rudolf: "Come with me, I won't give you up"
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Flavia: "I want that"
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Rudolf: "You'll be free"
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Flavia: "Help me to do what I was born to
do"
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Flavia: "I know that I must stay"
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Flavia: "Your heart will always be in my
heart"
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- after some thought about Rudolf's offer to leave
with him, Flavia forfeited her love for Rudolf when she declined
to leave the King's side: ("I was born for those cares and
duties, Rudolf. Help me to do what I was born to do. Help me to
do what I must... But is love the only thing? If love were all,
I could follow you in rags to the end of the world. But if love
were all, you would have left the king to die in his cell. Honor
binds a woman too, Rudolf. My honor lies in keeping faith with
my country and my house. I don't know why God has let me love you.
But I know that I must stay"); Rudolf was heartbroken, but
ultimately pledged his love: "Never to see you again? Never
to hold you? Never - my darling" (he knelt down before her)
Flavia:
"Your heart will always be in my heart and the touch of your
lips on mine"
- Rudolf bid goodbye to Zapt and von Tarlenheim, as
Zapt delivered the film's final line of dialogue before Rudolf rode
off: "Goodbye, Englishman. You are the finest Elphberg of them
all!"
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Scrolling Prologue
"Shave him, and he'd be the king"
Ronald Colman's Dual Role: (l to r) King Rudolph V and
Rudolf Rassendyll
The King's Many Drinking Toasts
The King - Drugged and Passed Out
Zapt to Rudolf: "Fate sent you here"
Rudolf To Impersonate the King
The King's Plotting and Jealous Half-Brother Michael
with His French Mistress
The 'King's' First View of Princess Flavia
Flavia: "You seem an entirely different person"
Antoinette Secretly Informing Rudolf Where the
King Was Being Held
First Farewell Scene: "If I see your eyes,
I might forget to be a king"
Fencing Duel: Rudolf vs. Rupert
Rupert's Escape: "Au revoir, play actor!"
Rudolf's Confession of Love to Flavia in Concluding
Farewell Scene: "With my whole heart and soul, I love you"
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