"Pimpernel" Smith

"The man the Gestapo hates!"

1941 2h 0m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 32★7.2IMDB · 2,009

AdventureDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Eccentric Cambridge archaeologist Horatio Smith takes a group of British and American archaeology students to pre-war Nazi Germany to help in his excavations. His research is supported by the Nazis, since he professes to be looking for evidence of the Aryan origins of German civilisation. However, he has a secret agenda: to free inmates of the concentration camps.

“The man the Gestapo hates!”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Leslie Howard
Professor Horatio Smith
Francis L. Sullivan
General von Graum
Mary Morris
Ludmilla Koslowski
Hugh McDermott
David Maxwell
Raymond Huntley
Marx
Manning Whiley
Bertie Gregson
Peter Gawthorne
Sidimir Koslowski
Allan Jeayes
Dr Benckendorf

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Leslie Howard
Writers: Anatole de Grunwald, Wolfgang Wilhelm, Roland Pertwee
Languages: English, Italian
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

85 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Leslie Howard, shot by Mutz Greenbaum. 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 John Greenwood. 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 Douglas Myers 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 Francis L. Sullivan and Mary Morris carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The man the Gestapo hates!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0034027 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Leslie Howard directs. Mutz Greenbaum behind the camera. John Greenwood scores. Douglas Myers cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

185 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
3Directed by Leslie Howard, shot by Mutz Greenbaum. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by John Greenwood. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Douglas Myers shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Leslie Howard and Francis L. Sullivan and Mary Morris carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The man the Gestapo hates!".
8IMDB entry: tt0034027 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 32 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Mutz Greenbaum
Original score: John Greenwood
Editing: Douglas Myers
Runtime: 120 min · 2h 0m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: "Pimpernel" Smith (1941)
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 2,009 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

4 wins total

Also by

Leslie Howard

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-25
★ 7/10
Leslie Howard is on good form here as the outwardly fastidious academic with a secret to keep. He decides to offer some of his students an holiday trip to Germany (just the boys!) so they can try to establish once and for all whether there was an "Aryan" race there. Quickly we discover he also has an hand in rescuing many creative and scientifically minded for the evil clutch of the Nazis and their chocolate eating boss "General von Graum" (Francis L. Sullivan). As the students get in on the act, it's the American "David" (Hugh McDermott) who is most itching for action and it's also him who falls for the charms of "Ludmilla" (Mary Morris) who is treading a very dangerous path trying to save her imprisoned father whilst not betraying this updated iteration of Howard's "Scarlet Pimpernel". There's some lovely writing here - especially from the swastika wearing propagandists who insist that their nation is the ideal place to live and work. As the story progresses, there becomes something effectively sinister about the denouement and the battle of wills between Howard and a very much on form Sullivan that delivers one of the more memorable wartime thrillers.

Production companies