The Scarlet Pimpernel

"Match courage with courage... meet cunning with cunning!"

1934 1h 37m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 72

DramaAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

18th century English aristocrat Sir Percy Blakeney leads a double life. He appears to be merely the effete aristocrat, but in reality is part of an underground effort to free French nobles from Robespierre's Reign of Terror.

“Match courage with courage... meet cunning with cunning!”

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Cast

Leslie Howard
Sir Percy Blakeney / The Scarlet Pimpernel
Merle Oberon
Lady Marguerite Blakeney
Raymond Massey
Chauvelin
Nigel Bruce
The Prince of Wales
Bramwell Fletcher
The Priest
Anthony Bushell
Sir Andrew Ffoulkes
Joan Gardner
Suzanne de Tournay
Walter Rilla
Armand St. Just

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Harold Young
Writers: Lajos Biró, S. N. Behrman, Robert E. Sherwood
Languages: English, French
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

92 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Harold Young, shot by Harold Rosson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Arthur Benjamin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Hornbeck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon and Raymond Massey carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Match courage with courage... meet cunning with cunning!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0025748 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Harold Young directs. Harold Rosson behind the camera. Arthur Benjamin scores. William Hornbeck cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

192 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
3Directed by Harold Young, shot by Harold Rosson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Arthur Benjamin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor William Hornbeck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon and Raymond Massey carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Match courage with courage... meet cunning with cunning!".
8IMDB entry: tt0025748 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 72 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "husband wife relationship", "double life", "secret identity", "french revolution".

The technical file

Cinematography: Harold Rosson
Original score: Arthur Benjamin
Editing: William Hornbeck
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)

Also by

Harold Young

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-13
★ 7/10
Leslie Howard portrays the ultimate good Samaritan in this enjoyable Alexander Korda adaptation of Baroness Orczy's tale of the murderous aftermath of the French Revolution. Married to the glamorous Merle Oberon, whom he believes selfishly betrayed the "St. Cyr" family to the guillotine, he, and his gang of lieutenants, daringly rescue aristocrats from under the very noses of the evil "Chauvelin" (Raymond Massey). Soon they are all walking a very tight rope between freedom and death after "Chauvelin" is sent to London to track down the "Scarlet Pimpernel" and where he tricks Oberon into betraying our intrepid rescuers. Howard is at times a little too theatrical with his foppish - "sink me" characterisation but Harold Young still creates a wonderfully tense drama with great performances from a particularly menacing Massey, and the supporting cast - Nigel Bruce amongst them - make this, for my money, the best silver screen adaptation of this novel.

Production companies