#662) The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)

#662) The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)

OR “The Heir Apparent Trap”

Directed by John Cromwell

Written by John L. Balderston. Adaptation by Wells Root. Additional dialogue by Donald Ogden Stewart. Based on the novel by Anthony Hope and the stage adaptation by Edward Rose.

Class of 1991

Wow, no trailer to be found for this version of “Zenda”, so here’s an introduction to the film by one of those new TCM hosts.

The Plot: Englishman Rudolf Rassendyll (Ronald Colman) takes a vacation in the fictional European country Ruritania in the summer of 1897. He soon discovers that he looks nearly identical to Ruritania’s King Rudolf the V (also Ronald Colman), soon to be coronated and wed to Princess Flavia (Madeleine Carroll). Amused by their resemblance, King Rudolf invites Rudolf to dine with him on the eve of his coronation, where the king drinks a bottle of wine from his half-brother Michael (Raymond Massey) and is drugged. Worried that Michael will try to overtake the throne while Rudolph V is incapacitated, Colonel Zapt and Captain von Tarlenheim (C. Aubrey Smith and David Niven) convince Rudolf to fill in for the king for the coronation. Shortly afterwards, the real king is kidnapped by Michael’s henchman Rupert of Hentzau (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and held prisoner in the nearby village of Zenda. There’s action, romance, and some impressive optical effects in the kind of historical adventure that could only come from 1930s Hollywood.

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up is mostly a rundown of the film’s plot and production, with the only superlative going to the movie’s “escapist charm”.

But Does It Really?: This is another one of those movies that I think made the NFR a little sooner than it should have. I enjoyed “Zenda” quite a bit as an entertaining example of a Classic Hollywood studio adventure, but this should not be part of the same NFR class as “2001” and “Lawrence of Arabia“. While “Zenda” succeeds at being a charming historical romp, there are just so many other movies of the era that do it better (the Errol Flynn “Robin Hood” came out the next year). Also not helping things is the fact that no one reads or remembers the original novel of “Prisoner of Zenda”, so its cultural footprint isn’t what it was when this film was made. “Zelda” is fun if you’re willing to track it down, but I’d hardly call it a film essential, and I give its NFR designation a hearty “I guess?”

Everybody Gets One: John Cromwell started off as a stage actor, pivoting to directing before heading out to Hollywood as a dialogue director for this new thing called talking pictures. Cromwell pivoted to film director quickly, earning a reputation as an actor’s director. Fun Fact: John Cromwell is the father of the actor James Cromwell. This is also the only NFR appearance for leading lady Madeleine Carroll, whose most iconic film appearance is ineligible for this list: Hitchcock’s original 1935 version of “The 39 Steps”. Carroll retired from acting shortly after the war to focus on humanitarian efforts, and considered “Zenda” her favorite of her own film work.

Seriously, Oscars?: A hit upon release, “The Prisoner of Zenda” received two Oscar nominations. The film lost Art Direction to fellow NFR entry/Ronald Colman vehicle “Lost Horizon“, and Original Score to something called “One Hundred Men and a Girl”.

Other notes

“The Prisoner of Zenda” was written by Anthony Hope in 1894 and was immediately successful, spawning a sequel novel and a popular stage adaptation. Prior to the 1937 film, there had been three silent film adaptations, most notably a 1922 version starring Lewis Stone and Ramón Navarro. In the early 1930s, the film rights to the “Zenda” were owned by MGM (its predecessor Metro Pictures made the 1922 version), and there were plans to make a musical adaptation starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. A non-musical film to be produced by David O. Selznick was in production turnaround when Selznick left MGM to form his own studio, but his interest in the property was reignited when King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne in December 1936 to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. Recognizing the parallel story themes, Selznick quickly bought the film rights to “Zenda” from MGM, with production starting in March 1937 and the final film premiering that September.
I love me some creative writing in the credits. This ain’t no film adaptation, it’s a “picturization of the celebrated novel”. There’s also a disclaimer that any resemblance to a “Great Royal Scandal” from the last century is purely coincidental. Anyone know what they’re alluding to?
As expected, Ronald Colman is quite dashing in this, and is clearly having fun playing scenes with himself. In previous posts, I’ve referenced David Niven succeeding Ronald Colman as Hollywood’s “Charming British Guy”, but I didn’t realize they were in a movie together. I imagine Niven took a lot of notes during filming.
C. Aubrey Smith is a bit of stunt casting: He had played the lead dual roles in a stage production of “Zenda” 40 years earlier, appearing in other productions through the years and joking that he “played every part except Princess Flavia.”
I was hoping for some old-school split screen effects when the two Rudolphs meet, and this film does not disappoint. And then this movie goes the extra mile and includes a wide shot of Colman shaking hands with himself! How did they do that?
We don’t see a lot of Raymond Massey in this blog. Most of his NFR representation comes from his later work squaring off with James Dean and briefly reprising his work as Lincoln. It’s fun watching him play a heavy, and I’m still holding out for his best villainous performance to make the NFR: Jonathan Brewster in “Arsenic and Old Lace”.
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. looks remarkably like his dad, yet differently enough that every time he turns up in one of these movies I think “Who’s that guy? He looks familiar.” Fairbanks wanted to play Rudolf, and was initially disappointed when offered the role of Rupert, until Fairbanks Sr. reminded him it’s one of the best written villains in all of literature.

Poor Mary Astor: always the third wheel, always the other woman. That being said, I like her character Antoinette; Michael’s mistress who helps Rudolf so that she can marry Michael. Sort of an “Everybody loves somebody” deal.
Well there’s a lot of spectacle going on, especially with this coronation. Makes sense, there was no live news coverage in 1937. If you wanted to see a coronation, you had to go to one.
I love when Rudolph really leans into the king stuff, especially in his early scenes with Flavia where he berates Fritz for the fun of it. I actually laughed out loud at these scenes. Not bad for an 86 year old movie.
The conductor at the ball who gets increasingly frustrated at having to stop and start is played by Al Shean, uncle of the Marx brothers!
I questioned this movie’s reference to Florence Nightingale as anachronistic, but by 1897 Nightingale was already famous for her nursing achievements during the Crimean War. Side note: Despite having the Florence Nightingale Effect named after her, there is no evidence that she ever fell in love with one of her patients.
What is Rupert wearing in the last few scenes? He looks like one of the aliens from “Plan 9 from Outer Space”.
The presence of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and the sword fight depicted on the poster led me to believe that there would be a lot more swashbuckling in this movie. Aside from the climactic sword fight between Rudolf and Rupert, my swash was hardly buckled at all. The weird thing about the sword fight is how much quippy dialogue there is throughout. Shouldn’t they save their energy for the actual fighting? Apparently I was not the only one disappointed by this fight scene; Selznick hated the original version and had the whole thing re-shot by an uncredited W. S. Van Dyke after production wrapped.

With the exception of some streamlining in the third act, this film of “Zenda” is very faithful to the book, including the downer ending in which Rudolf and Flavia don’t get together because of her obligation to marry the king. Oh come on! This all being said, that’s a great final shot of Rudolph literally riding off into the sunset. James Wong Howe, you’ve done it again!

Legacy

“The Prisoner of Zenda” was a box office hit upon release, encouraging Selznick International Pictures to go big with one of their upcoming projects in pre-production at the time: an adaptation of the novel “Gone with the Wind“.

Selznick had plans to film the book’s sequel “Rupert of Hentzau” in the late 1940s with Joseph Cotten taking over the dual Rudolph roles, but the film never made it to production.
John Cromwell reunited with Raymond Massey for the 1940 biopic “Abe Lincoln in Illinois”. Cromwell spent the next decade making a number of historical pictures before being blacklisted in the early 1950s. He returned to New York and the theater, making only a handful of movies after the blacklist.

Always happy to crank out remakes of public domain IP, “Prisoner of Zenda” got two more major film adaptations after 1937. 1952’s version starred Stewart Granger and was virtually a shot-for-shot remake of the 1937 version (even using the same screenplay). The 1979 remake starred Peter Sellers and was a more broadly comedic version of the tale. As with many a later Sellers project, Peter’s on-set tyranny led to a forgettable, unfunny final product. All was forgiven, however, with the release of Sellers’ next film: “Being There“.

While no one remembers “The Prisoner of Zenda” either in novel or film form, the “commoner switches places with royalty” trope has echoed throughout pop culture; from “History of the World Part I” to “Dave”.

Oh, and apparently the crew outfits in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” were inspired by the uniforms in this film. I…got nothing, I’m not a Trekkie. But this is the best excuse I’ve had to play that clip of Shatner shouting “Khaaaaan!”