The Scarlet Pimpernel [1934] / Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel [1937]

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Editorial reviews

Product Description
Leslie Howard plays Sir Percy Blakeney, an 18th century English aristocrat leading a double life. On one hand, he appears to be merely an effete aristocrat, but he is also the Scarlet Pimpernel and is part of an underground effort to free French nobles from Robespierre's Reign of Terror. Based on the novel by Baroness Orczy.The only element this film lacks is 'star quality', other than that, it's a very worthy sequel to the 1934 'Scarlet Pimpernel'. The story is based upon Orczy's 'The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel', with elements of 'Elusive' (Marguerite's arrest and Percy's escape) and even 'Sir Percy Hits Back' (Chauvelin's fate) added to make the action flow better on film. Barry K. Barnes, despite not being as fair or famous as Howard, makes for a passable fop (sounding like Leslie 'Ding Dong!' Phillips with a speech impediment: "Stap me, Senorita, don't dwag me into it!"), a revered leader of the League, and a truly devoted and romantic husband. In fact, this film is probably more in the spirit of Orczy's books than any other, with the characters portrayed nearly exactly as you would find them written; there is a great deal of heart and natural charm in the sequel, which I always find lacking in the Howard/Oberon version. Barnes does not have the commanding screen presence of his predecessor, and as such is sometimes lost amongst the sea of League faces, but he is far more believable as the 'husband in love with his own wife' and as a friend to nineteen brave men. Sophie Stewart is similarly indistinctive as Marguerite, but I think she brings more to the role than Oberon: at once 'the sweetest woman in France', naive and easily lead into danger, and a brave and noble wife, willing to sacrifice her own life for that of her husband's, when she needs to be strong. Diminutive and bright-eyed, Stewart is endearing as a rather more innocent Lady Blakeney.

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Similar categories

Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Classics
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Television . TV Series . Scarlet Pimpernel
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . DVD
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . U
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Region(feature_browse-bin) . Region 2
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English

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