C. Aubrey Smith, David Niven, Deborah Kerr

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80% liked it

457 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

8 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: John Cromwell, Richard Thorpe, Ronald Colman

Release Date: September 3, 1937

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DVD Release Date: March 6, 2007

Stats: 47 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (47)


  • December 2, 2008
    "prisoner of zenda" is an original british swashbuckler with aristocraticly dashing ronald colman as the brave knight who defends the secred throne of a nation; madeleine carroll, the british rose, as the divine love interest; dandy douglas fairbanks jr. and raymond massey form a...( read more) league of doublecrossing vallainy. the infatuation over this swashbucking tale has been remade four times in cinematic history.

    colman impersonates dual roles in this piece, the king to be throned and his identifical double who is merely an english man visiting outlandish nation. the king-to-be has been narcotized before the day he's about to be throned in consecration. so the loyal defenders of the king scheme to have the englishman as temporal substitute during his recovery. but the king's grudgy half brother covets the throne while his mischievous accomplice(fairbanks) drools over his mistress (mary astor). to add up the hardship, the englishman falls head over heels in love with the queen-to-be (carroll)...with all the conditions above, the price of honor and chivalric nobility appears precious. wouldn't that be the whole swashbuckler thing about?

    ronald colman has the elegant screen presence as well as his composed charisma in the aristocratic costumes, while madelein carroll luminates the scenes with her striking beauty in the utmost degree, particularly in the cross-staring in the annoitment scene. douglas fairbanks jr. has limited screen time but remain impressive with his naughty mannerism and rascal-alike grinning.

    "the prisoner of zenda" has every quintessential element of swashbuckler gendre except the consummation of romance since the queen-to-be selects her destined course of serving her royal house at the cost of her great one true love. the scene madelein bursts into an abrupt change of mind is sheer excellence of good acting. this is an aloof swashbuckler without the reward of his fair woman. perhaps tragic love emphasizes its gallantry for the ultimate swashbuckler without glorious compensation.
  • December 5, 2008
    In the 1930's and 40's when you see Selznick's name on a film it was always top notch in every way. The acting, cinematography, costumes and set design are all A+. If you have seen Moon Over Parador then you know the plot of this film. The best thing about this film is the perf...( read more)ormance of Fairbanks Jr. There are multiple bad guys in this but he outshines them all , alot like Jeffery Wright in Shaft. A great swashbuckling film that is left open for a sequel that was too depressing of a book for Selznick to make.
  • June 27, 2009
    it was just okay, the fight scene were pretty decent
  • January 20, 2009
    good classic adventure
  • November 1, 2007
    A fabulous adaptation of the classic novel! Ronald Colman is excellent in the dual role of Rudolf and Rudolph, and the duo of Raymond Massey and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as the bad guys is awesome, especially Fairbanks, who exudes charismatic badness. A must-see!
  • July 12, 2007
    Meh... good fun though.

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The Prisoner of Zenda Trivia


  • Which Oscar winning British actor, born in London in 1910, had Peter Ustinov as his batman whilst an officer of the British Army during WW2 and died in Switzerland in 1983 on the same day as Raymond Massey, his co-star in 'The Prisoner of Zenda' and 'A Matter of Life and Death'.  Answer »
  • Who played "The Prisoner of Zenda" in 1979?   Answer »

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