The Prisoner of Zenda

"A Swashbuckling Adventure In The Grand Style!"

1952 1h 40m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 60

Adventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“A Swashbuckling Adventure In The Grand Style!”

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Cast

Stewart Granger
Rudolf Rassendyll / King Rudolf V
Deborah Kerr
Princess Flavia
James Mason
Rupert of Hentzau
Louis Calhern
Col. Zapt
Jane Greer
Antoinette de Mauban
Lewis Stone
The Cardinal
Robert Douglas
Michael, Duke of Strelsau
Robert Coote
Fritz von Tarlenheim

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Thorpe
Writers: John L. Balderston, Noel Langley, Edward E. Rose
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

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

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

74 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Thorpe, shot by Joseph Ruttenberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr and James Mason carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Swashbuckling Adventure In The Grand Style!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Thorpe directs. Joseph Ruttenberg behind the camera. Alfred Newman scores. George Boemler cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.
374 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Richard Thorpe, shot by Joseph Ruttenberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alfred Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor George Boemler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr and James Mason carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A Swashbuckling Adventure In The Grand Style!".
9IMDB entry: tt0045053 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 60 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 8 themes, including "based on novel or book", "kingdom", "heir to the throne", "mistaken identity".

The technical file

Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg
Original score: Alfred Newman
Editing: George Boemler
Costume design: Walter Plunkett
Makeup / hair: Sydney Guilaroff
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,700,000
Box office: $5,600,000
Return: 329% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Prisoner of Zenda (1952)

Also by

Richard Thorpe

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-09-09
★ 7/10
From Alfred Newman's opening music through the first ten minutes of this, it's pretty much a carbon copy of the 1937 version of Sir Anthony Hope's story. The only difference is that it's Stewart Granger playing the dashing "Rassendyll" who arrives in the European kingdom of Ruritania just as it's king is to be crowned. He's puzzled by his welcome but a walk in the forest soon makes the reasons for that clear when he meets "Col. Zapt" (Louis Calhern) and his boss - the King - who looks like his identical twin. Back to his hunting lodge they go for a glass of wine and next thing he wakes up in the morning with the king sound asleep and the colonel with the headache. He'll never make his coronation now - unless... Despite plenty of nerves their alternative day goes off smoothly enough but their return to the lodge presents them with a much better problem. The king has been kidnapped by "Rupert" (James Mason) and their plan to put his step-brother "Michael" (Robert Douglas) on the throne via the "Princess Flavia" (Deborah Kerr) is starting to look like it will work. Only by staying on in his role whilst they figure out a way to rescue the eponymous gent from the dungeons can they hope to restore proper monarchy. With the battle lines now drawn, this becomes a colourful and quickly paced cat and mouse game with Granger on charismatic form as he must resist falling in love with the princess whilst he saves the king. Kerr does enough here. She brings a glittering presence just by turning up in a tiara with her softly spoken voice, but it's really Mason who steals the show as his character has that mischievous touch of malevolence that he was good at exuding. It does take a while to get up to speed, but it's my kind of film and well worth an hour and an half.

Production companies