The read
Critics rate it 15 points higher than audiences do. Scores higher than 80% of the 198 1930s romance movies in this catalog.
Synopsis
A kingdom's ascending heir, marked for assassination, switches identities with a lookalike, who takes his place at the coronation. When the real king is kidnapped, his followers try to find him, while the stand-in falls in love with the king's intended bride, the beautiful Princess Flavia.
Ratings
IMDb7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes91%
Critics rate it 15 points higher than audiences do.
62 audience votes
Key crew
- John CromwellDirector
- John L. BalderstonScreenplay
- Edward E. RoseWriter
- Sidney HowardWriter
- Alfred NewmanOriginal Music Composer
- Ben HechtWriter
Cast
- Ronald ColmanMajor Rudolf Rassendyll / The Prisoner of Zenda
- Madeleine CarrollPrincess Flavia
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr.Rupert of Hentzau
- Mary AstorAntoinette de Mauban
- C. Aubrey SmithColonel Zapt
- David NivenCaptain Fritz von Tarlenheim
- Raymond MasseyBlack Michael
- Montagu LoveDetchard
- Philip SleemanAlbert von Lauengram
- Eleanor WesselhoeftFrau Holf the Cook
- Torben MeyerMax the Butler
- Wilhelm von BrinckenKrafstein (uncredited)
Movies like The Prisoner of Zenda
Themes
based on novel or bookkingdomkidnappingcoronationcastlevillainorient expressheir to the thronemistaken identitytreasonroyaltyunrequited love