Evening star., 1952-12-18

Anthony Hopes old tapestry tount
effect is not precisely one of rejuN
but it may indeed be somethingl
better. 1t has at long last theI
splendor in which Hope might
have seen it in his minds eye and
it echoes gaudy literary past
that is somehow completely cap
tivating. /
In making this Prisoner OF
Zenda" there was no way Tor
MGM to feel but bountiful, as a
princeling should toward doWagersI
in a great line. The studio OF
Dore Schary meets the test nobly,
in a mood of drenching extrava-
gance. This time Ruritanian llteI
gets the works. If posterity ever
digs the finn out of the dusts OF
time. it will be surprised that any
thing could have eXtinguished a
people who could produce Rudolf
Rassendyll. Even as a fiction.
+
AS played by Stewart Granger
Deborah Kerr, Louis Calhern,
James Mason, the Palaces MIN Is
a robust, romantic. nostalgia de-
light
In the story of Rudolph Rassen-
dvll who went to Ruritanla to
fish and ended up the hero OF a
coronation, it suggests that the
disappearance of Kings IS not an
unmitigated blessing. Beyond
doubt. they were colorful char
acters with their drinking PM
laundering, and the trick they had
of worrying the daylights out OF
faithful old Prime Ministers.
perhaps a little misrule, or a
lot went with their royal rascal
titles but they made dramatlc
figures in fact and fiction;
Metros glittering cast, oper,
ating in Neronian settings anu
costumes, plays them to the mus
of their heroic or vlllalnouS
natures.
The size and lavishness OF this
"prisoner of Zenda" have notI
,nterfered with Richard Thorpe s.
Man to give it a spirited tempo.
His direction wastes no time geC-
ting the story rolling ana QUE
wider way. it is never allowed 10
+oner off even in it's most stately
passages. ,,ov-
busiest of the many figures NOV
ing through Ruritania's throne
room. boudoirs. dungeons Wlne
cellars and it's serene scenery
naturally is Granger.
Either of the Rudolfs Is cnar-
.cter enough to keep an actol
more than busy. Granger taxes
an the two of them with positive
relish Being a man OF taste, MS
preference is for the adventurous
Rassendyll, the commoner VINO Is
far more kingly than Rudolf V
could ever hope to be. 1t Is as
the former. of course. that he gets
a chance to court Miss Kerr, IN
sult the royal half-brotner
Michael, and ultimately bring 10
heel the scoundrelly Rupert OF
Hentzau.
These three duties represent an
enormous drain on a mans talent
for heroism, but Granger makes
the end of the picture with plenty
in reserve-enough perhaps Tor
the next remake.
One of the most engaging quail
tiles of this Prisoner" is that all
of it's top performers are OF
matching enthusiasm for their
tasks. It is obvious to the naked
eve, of course, that no girl IN
HOLLYWOOD is better qualified than
Miss Kerr to represent the definite
charm Of the Princess Flavla.
Clearly, too, a Hollywood-w1de
draft act could not have found a
more capable fellow than James
Mason to represent the sinister.
soulless Rupert.
Among the others, Louis CAL
hern is impeccable as the morally
towering Col. Zapt: Robert Doug
las is fine as the fanatically am
bilious and treacherous Michael
of Strelsau; Jane Greer makes an
enticing Antoinette de Mauban
and Lewis Stone "a Rudolf him
self in former days. is ideal as the
Cardinal.
y \ y
Any empire faced with staging
q coronation could find inspira-
ton in the one at the Palace.
True, Ruritania is a small coun-
try but when Director Thrope
crowns King there, it is a crisply
classic job.
The same impressive touch is
evident when he stages corona
MUZAK
For Your