"The Prisoner of Zenda" with Ronald Coleman and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (1937)

Ronald Coleman is one of my favorite actors of the classical film genre. And this is one of my favorites of the scores of films in which he starred. In this film he plays Rudolf Rassendyll, a British subject, who has arrived in the Kingdom of Zenda by train for a vacation of fishing in the countryside. Almost immediately he finds himself the subject of much attention, which no one is willing to explain. He is a typical Englishman of the 1930’s, complete with tweed suit and pipe.  He is a man at peace with himself; but not for long.

Rudolf does finally find out that he has arrived in the country just in time for the coronation of the new King; who is a drunken playboy with no real eagerness to ascend the throne. In addition, it is feared by many that when he does it will be the ruination of the kingdom. To cap it all off, Rudolf is the spitting image of the King.

When the two meet for the first time it is reminiscent of the “Prince and the Pauper” as they carefully take measure one another. Much to their astonishment they discover that they are actually distant cousins; and set off to drink to the occasion. The Colonel and Fritz; the King’s two bodyguards; played by C. Aubrey Smith and David Niven respectively; are less than pleased by this turn of events. The Coronation is to take place the following morning, and if the King isn’t there the Crown falls to the evil Prince Michael; played perfectly by Raymond Massey.

As the evening waxes late the two cousins are still drinking. They are even toasting the health of the two persons whose one time dalliance centuries ago made them the distant cousins they are today; the king’s great-great-great-grandfather Rudolf and Rudolf’s great-great-great-grandmother Amelia. To ensure that the King will not be able to make it to the Coronation Prince Michael has a bottle of wine laced with a sedative. Thinking that the trap is set, he retires.

When the morning comes and the sun has risen, the Colonel and Fritz find the King and Rudolf unconscious. The King has drunk from the bottle which was laced; but Rudolf has not. Thinking quickly they decide to hide the King in the wine cellar with a trusted servant, while prepping Rudolf in a ll the customs necessary to take the throne in a few hours.

At first Rudolf refuses; he fears his fate should the ruse be discovered. But then he meets the King’s intended bride, the lovely Princess Flavia; played by Madeleine Carroll. The true King has been less than attentive to his would be bride in the days leading up to these events, and she is surprised at the difference in his new attitude towards her. Rudolf; of course; cannot tell her anything of the truth, but he is clearly smitten with her. Accordingly he decides to go for it.

The trio boards the train for the capital, where the coronation will take place; while Prince Michael readies himself to announce the disappearance of his brother and usurp the throne. When the King and his bodyguards arrive at the cathedral, Michael is shocked. Worse still, he cannot say a word without giving himself away.

The Cardinal crowns the King amid pomp and ceremony and Rudolf makes his speech. The Colonel and Fritz are greatly relieved that the plan has worked. Now if you want to know what happens to the real King, who you will recall has been left in the wine cellar; or what happens when/if the Princess learns that she is now in love with a different man; or even if the King and Rudolf simply change lives; then you’ll have to see this remarkable film to find out.

I will tell you this; there is a marvelous swashbuckling swordfight which surpasses any other ever filmed. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr; one of the screen’s original swashbucklers; is fantastic as he battles with David Niven through the cathedral up and down the steps. The only special effects in a classic film like this are the tights the two are wearing.  I can’t figure out how they got in them.

You simply can’t go wrong with this film, which is taken from the Anthony Hope novel of the same name.  John Balderston does a bang up job with the screenplay, and John Cromwell directed with assistance from the celebrated W.S. Van Dyke.

"The Four Feathers" with John Clements and C. Aubrey Smith (1939)

Have you ever wondered how an old favorite film would hold up after several years? Can it still measure up to the thrill of your memory? This one does all that and then surpasses itself. The sheer scope and message of this film rings even louder than it did in 1939 when it was first released. They did a remake of it in 2002 with Heath Ledger. I got through about 15 minutes of it before hitting the eject/reject button.

This is the story of a young man who has been through military school and is the youngest member of a family of soldiers going back centuries. It has always been his presumed destiny to follow in their steps. He and his 4 friends are chomping at the bit waiting for a war to break out so they can go off on their big adventure.

But when war does break out in Khartoum one of them begins to question the whole sanity of fighting. He has fallen in love and spoken of this feeling with his fiancée many times; and she agrees with him. At least until the flag waving and parades begin as the soldiers head off to Africa for the fight. Then she becomes ashamed of him.

As if losing the love of the woman he loves is not enough he also loses the friendship of his 3 best friends who are doing their duty and going off to fight as planned. His former comrades; as well as his fiancée; each send him a white feather, a symbol of cowardice. He can only redeem himself by returning the feathers after doing a courageous deed. It seems as if all is lost.

Now heroes come in all shapes and sizes; and heroics do not always follow a set form. What this young man does o redeem his honor and respect will astound you. Going off to war as a group; under the color of a flag; is fairly easy. The artificial camaraderie of group action can have a calming effect, and things you formerly thought impossible become almost second nature.

But when you have to face your own demons; rather than a common enemy, all alone; a different form of courage becomes necessary. The question then becomes not when, but how you will acquit yourself and recover the honor which others perceived to be lost. The answer may be that your honor was never lost to begin with; it just took a different form.

This is a truly classic film produced and directed by the Korda Brothers; Zoltan and Alexander. Remarkable character roles filled by the likes of C. Aubrey Smith; and a screenplay by R. D. Sherriff combine to prove that they just don’t make films like this anymore.

"And Then There Were None" with Barry Fitzgerald, Roland Young, and Walter Huston (1945)

Sit down in your favorite armchair and enjoy this classic British whodunit by Agatha Christie, with a screenplay by Dudley Nichols. The basic plot is just as it sounds, ten unrelated people are invited to an island for the weekend, by someone whom they do not know. Once there, they are made privy to the details of one another's indiscretions and short comings. And then, one by one, they are killed in retribution. But by whom?

It may sound trite and simple, but this is a fun movie to watch. The cast of characters includes the wonderfully wry Barry Fitzgerald, the majestic C. Aubrey Smith, a remarkable Walter Huston, the ever bumbling Roland Young, a cold and aloof Judith Anderson and the perfectly inept Mischa Auer, to name just 6 of the 10. Directed skillfully by René Clair, this is one of those rainy day movies that made growing up fun.