Alas, Michael's cocky right-hand man Rupert (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) is far more effective than the king's constant companions, elderly chief of staff C. Aubrey Smith and best buddy David Niven. No matter, Rassendyll is English, and gets the best of Rupert repeatedly, recovering the kidnapped king even though the effort is not only dangerous, but predestined to lose for himself both the crown and the king's platinum blonde fianceé Madeleine Carroll.
How others will see it. The Prisoner of Zenda enjoyed two Oscar nominations, and was produced by the highly regarded David O. Selznick, later of Gone With the Wind fame. The Prisoner of Zenda was added to the prestigious National Film Registry in 1991. Today at imdb.com, the movie has a high user rating of 7.6 out of 10, consistent across all demographics.
How I felt about it. The plot of this movie is reminiscent of A Tale of Two Cities, a film also starring Ronald Colman and made just the year before. Both "The Prisoner of Zenda" and "A Tale of Two Cities" are 19th century novels written by Englishmen, and featuring an Englishman as the lead character. He is in a foreign country, yet greatly resembles a local important figure, leading to a life-risking impersonation undertaken for the greater good.
Ostensibly, the message is that self-sacrifice and personal honor are the epitome of character. The actual message is that the Englishman is all-conquering, wherever he goes in the world. Of course he acts with courage, is motivated by honor, and accomplishes his goal. He is an Englishman, by Jove!
A surprising number of Colman's best-known movies feature him in double characters. We also have Random Harvest, where he plays both a confident world-conquering businessman and a World War veteran stricken with amnesia. Then there's A Double Life (1947), where Colman is a method actor who takes on the personality of whatever character he plays.
One has to admit that Ronald Colman is most agreeable. His voice is upper English eloquence. His manner is flamboyant, yet somehow modest. His charm is irresistible.
He is a younger version of C. Aubrey Smith, the heart-warming curmudgeon of an English father or grandfather we all wish he had instead instead of our sometimes problematic patriarch. This leaves David Niven sidelined as a comic sidekick, though always of little use since his character is not an Englishman.
Although Madeleine Carroll is second-billed, she is minor even as a love interest. Of course she falls in love with our unwittingly adventurous Englishman hero, even though she had no love for the man he impersonates. But her love is as tepid as the remainder of her dutiful royal personality.
Mary Astor is burdened with a completely unbelievable character. She is in love with disagreeable, malevolent Michael (Raymond Massey), but not because he is powerful. Indeed, she wants to betray him, and strip him of all power, so that she can have him to herself!
The central European country that our hero visits seems curiously like England. The coronation ceremony seems identical to our hero's home country, including the oaths, the regalia, the carriage ride from the cathedral, and the balcony appearance. Not to mention that everyone speaks English.
The film violates the Production Code in that duplicitous villain Rupert (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) gets away unblemished, despite stabbing both Michael and the hero, and sexually assaulting Mary Astor. That's how it goes in the book, but to our eyes it is as if they are saving his character for the sequel.
The story is a tall tale indeed, with no one able to distinguish the well-known local king from foreign interloper Colman. Even more surprising, Colman is obligated again and again to risk his neck in preposterous adventures to save the life of his royal lookalike. And he does so willingly and successfully, as he is an Englishman of the upper caste.