The Prisoner of Zenda

1979

Adventure / Comedy

6
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 38% · 2 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 38% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 5.2/10 10 1433 1.4K

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Plot summary

Anthony Hope's classic tale gets a decidedly 'un-classic' treatment at the hands of Peter Sellers. Following the story somewhat, friends of the new King Rudolph of Ruritania fear for his life, and switch him with a look-a-like London cabby. Throw in two(!) lovely blondes, treachery, and a battle for life and honour, and enjoy life at its zaniest.

Director

Top cast

Peter Sellers as Rudolf IV / Rudolf V / Syd Frewin
Jeremy Kemp as Duke Michael
Catherine Schell as Antoinette
Elke Sommer as The Countess
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
995.01 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 48 min
Seeds 5
1.8 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 48 min
Seeds 15

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ma-cortes 5 / 10

First comedic version of Anthony Hope's swashbuckling story of two identical men who swich places

An amusing parody about the commoner forced to impersonate a beleaguered and weak king . This The prisoner of Zenda¨ (1979) by Richard Quine boasts a good cast with Peter Sellers , Lionel Jeffries , Elke Sommer , Lynn Frederick , among others . This is a story of royal romance , humor with tongue-in-cheek , as well as breathless and flashing sword play . This is a fun swashbuckler concerning an innocent cabbie , Rudolf V's identical double , in a small European country , as he results to be the exact doppleganger of its king and gets involved in a murder plot . In order to save King Rudolph of Ruritania from assassins and murderous usurpers , the kingdom aristocrats hire a look-a-like London man to impersonate the Monarch . Sellers stars in the double role of Prince Rudolph of Ruritania and a cockney cab driver named Syd (Peter Sellers) when the Prince is jailed by his nasty brother (Jeremy Kemp) to take the throne .Is the cabbie the King or is the King the cabbie ? Confusion reigns in Ruritania.His is a slight and budgeted enough retelling about the durable Anthony Hope's novel with all-star-cast . Stars Sellers who plays the nobleman forced to impersonate a king in a mythical European country , as he's asked to risk his life and impersonate the would-be king when his relative is kidnapped before his impending coronation , a situation that rises to some moments from which filmmaker Richard Quine manages to extract intrigue , humor and tension enough . A warm and comical movie despite the lack of critical acclaim , it is packed with derring-do , suspense , a sensitive love story , action , drama and thrilling as well as dazzling swordplay . And , of course, lots of gags and sketches , some of them funny but in the movie lacks a real freshness , including grotesque situations and above all , it especially contains catching touches of humor and irony . Resulting to be an entertaining and zany swashbuckling with lavish production financed by Walter Mirish , glamorous gowns , lively musical score by Henry Mancini , brilliant photography by Arthur Ibbetson and luxurious settings . Sellers is not too fun as the foppish king , but nice as the London cabby who steps into his shoes . In spite of it , Sellers gives a hilarious acting , but inferior than other previous classic roles by playing a look-alike communer who stands in for the endagered king of Ruritania . The fifth of six movie versions of Anthony Hope's famous adventure that failed at box office at its day . This is a flashy Technicolor remake of the notorious and better 1937 Ronald Colman and 1952 Stewart Granger retellings . As the tale carries its excitement with thrills , noisy action , swashbuckling , hilarious scenes , an attractive romance and anything else . Cast and support cast are frankly excellent , such as Jeremy Kemp who's stylishly over-the-top as the main villain, the jealous brother , Stuart Wilson whose Rupert of Hentzau is a well-modulated spoof of Douglas Fairbanks Jr , as well as Lionel Jeffries ; furthermore , three gorgeous actresses as Elke Sommer , Catherine Schell and the early deceased Lynne Frederick who in real-life married Peter Sellers .There are several versions about this classy story , these are the following ones : ¨The prisoner of Zenda¨(1922) by Rex Ingram with Lewis Stone , Alice Terry , Robert Edeson , Stuart Holmes , Ramon Novarro . ¨The Prisoner of Zenda¨ (1937) by John Cromwell with Ronald Colman as Major Rudolf Rassendyll / The Prisoner of Zenda , Madeleine Carroll as Princess Flavia , C. Aubrey Smith , Raymond Massey . ¨Prisoner of Zenda ¨(1952) with Stewart Granger , James Mason, Louis Calhern, Robert Coote , Janet Leigh.
Reviewed by barnabyrudge 4 / 10

Ineffective spoof treatment of a classic novel.

Reviewed by egleg_loombucket 6 / 10

Not as bad as some people say - but should have been tons better!

This is a very lavish looking, picturesque romp that should have been a sure fire hit. "Porridge" scriptwriters Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais were the men responsible for turning the classic Anthony Hope into a comedy, which shouldn't have been too difficult bearing in mind the ridiculous scenario linked to the main story. However, this scenario is all they went for, and any characterisation or satirical touches are abandoned and a lot of cartoonish setups such as Gregory Sierra's role and also other segments such as the explosive bowls game and the early scene in the restaurant replace any serious comedy. Therefore, in his dwindling health and sorrowful state, Sellers looks a bit out of place amongst the diving into the water routines and the jumping of a tall castle stints. It is very similar to his Fu Manchu experience two years later (when he also played two roles) in that he's still putting the work in but to little effect. The film is a reminder of his earlier years and really backfires as a poor man's Pink Panther. However, he still proves that he can act (which is a lot more than most actors these days) despite the poor material and backed by a host of regular artists such as Catherine Schell, Elke Sommer (both stars of Pink Pantherfs), Graham Stark, John Laurie, Jeremy Kemp (who had starred in Sellers' The Blockhouse in 1972) - it should have been better considering the quality of Sellers' other films at the time, but it does fall very flat.
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