Many years ago, back when I was 17, (see how the epic story begins *waggles eyebrows*) I came across a film called The Prisoner of Zenda. It's based on a book by the same name and has been remade several times. The first time I saw it was on VHS, borrowed from the Huber Heights Library. They had several different versions of this title and I watched all of them. And all because the first one was silent and had all the swashbuckling, intrigue, action adventure a girl could want.
The story revolves around a young man who travels to a foreign land in which lives a prince about to be crowned king. The two meet and discover their very similar figures, like two long lost twins. Misfortune befalls the prince and his look a like cousin steps in and "plays king." Toss in a lovely princess and a wonderful villain and you've got a fun movie. The best part is the ending - non-traditional Hollywood, unless you compare the end to some of the great westerns where the hero rides off into the sunset, literally in this case.
So this Christmas I bought a 2 disk set from Amazon that contains the 1937 and 1952 versions of this film. To my surprise the script and shots were nearly identical! For a moment it looked like the producers simply colorized the 1937 film. Being a Selznick production, that might not have been a bad thing. The '37 film was directed by John Cromwell and the '52 version by Richard Thorpe. Thorpe must not have had much imagination or the studio was strangling the art considering how similar the films are.
Now, the first time I saw this title I watched the 1922 version and I loved it! This is of course before sound tied the camera down and after the basic grammar had been established. If you go to IMDB and look up Prisoner of Zenda you will note that it has been remade no less than 8 times as a film and twice more as a TV episode and series. The 1996 version includes many references to Start Trek, owing to the presence of several alumni from the franchise. None of these are bad things and definitely inspired me to find the book and read it.
To my surprise the look alike aspects of the King and his cousin is owed primarily to their RED hair! It is why the king's brother Michael is referred to as Black Michael - he lacks the aforementioned red locks. It would be fun to see a pair of twins playing these roles and to go back to the early industrialized time period in which the book is set. Perhaps even including the much earlier introduction of Cousin Rudolf to Antoinette de Mauban, Black Michael's lover, well before he meets King Rudolf.
With today's technology this story could be made new again with all the excitement and intrigue it should contain. Just think a wonderful clash of swords, heros riding to the rescue, the bad guy who is loved by the masses... And that was another surprise I discovered by reading the book. The king is not loved by his people, course he is a drunk and has lived away from the country for several years, carefully nurtured by the king's OLDER brother Michael. Couldn't we bring out that little side element in some way without losing the rest of Cousin Rudolf's challenges in impersonating the king? Like so many other things, perhaps it is time to go back to the original work for inspiration on bringing it back to the screen.
