The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) User Reviews

One of Howard's Best

[suessis · 8/10 · 18 September 2000]

I loved this movie largely for the fabulous performances that both Oberon and Howard give. Nothing beats Howard dressed up as an old woman and fooling the silly French soldiers!

Howard's performance is beautifully understated. His performance is based mostly in his facial expressions, which gives the performance its power. There is a tendency by later actors who have played the Pimpernel to really over do the fop business, but he gives it just the right intensity.

Oberon is perfect as Lady Blakeney, and she has wonderful chemistry with Howard. She also does a lot with facial expressions and closeups

The other good thing is that not all the French people in this movie sounded like they were English!

"Slap me, I'm bubbling over with good humor this morning!"

[mjneu59 · 7/10 · 31 December 2010]

"They seek him here, they seek him there, those Frenchies seek him everywhere..." He's the cunning English spy code-named Pimpernel: master of disguises, savior to guillotine-bound aristocrats during the French Revolution, and most likely to be found in London making as big an ass of himself as credulity will allow. No one (not even his wife) would ever suspect the idiotic Sir Percy Blakeney of being the leader of an underground network of anti-Republic rebels, and it's still a joy to watch Leslie Howard, in the title role, successfully negotiating the ruse under the disdainful noses of his enemies. Without the unexpected element of farce the whole thing would be just another dated exercise in derring-do and low adventure, but the Pimpernel's foppish alter ego makes him one of the more unique (and hilarious) heroes ever to grace the silver screen. The poetry is, by the way, Sir Percy's own: "Is he in heaven, or is he in hell, that damned elusive Pimpernel?" ("It has a certain something..." he tells a giggling audience of landed gentry, "which gives it a certain...something.")

Well worth seeking

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 23 December 2018]

Have said many times about being a huge fan of classic film, of all genres. The cast consists of immensely talented actors, hard to go wrong with Leslie Howard and Raymond Massey. Have always had a lot of fondness for period adventures, many classics around, and Baroness Emma Orczy's 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' is deservedly highly regarded. So this 1934 version of 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' had a lot going for it.

Fortunately, this version of 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' does the source material justice, one of the better adaptations of 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' and one of the better available adaptations of Orczy's work. In terms of how often Orczy's work has been adapted, she is hardly obscure but she is not as prolific as other authors (which won't be named for fairness sake but one gets the idea), she does in my opinion deserve to be adapted more. 1934's 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' is evidence of that.

There is hardly anything to complain about. Maybe there is a little too much talk in places.

Also thought there was some occasional moments where it was a little static and staginess occasionally came through.

On the other hand, there is so much to recommend. 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' goes at a lively and crisp pace, to me it did not creak at all. The script was literate and also very witty and deliciously ironic as it should have been. The story on the most part was immensely absorbing and entertaining with well staged and exciting action. The odd static moment aside, Harold Young's direction was more than capable.

Where 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' most excels is in the lavish production and costume design, beautifully complemented by the photography, and the pitch perfect casting of Leslie Howard, bringing boundless dashing charisma and haughtiness to the title role. The rest of the cast are on the money, with Raymond Massey's ruthlessness and Merle Oberon's (nice chemistry with Howard too) charm standing out. Nigel Bruce doesn't overdo his character thankfully and it suits him well.

In conclusion, very good, often great actually, and well worth seeking. 8/10 Bethany Cox

"We Seek Him Here..."

[theowinthrop · 4 November 2004]

And those "Frenchies" sought him everywhere.

Leslie Howard probably was the first British stage star who became a genuine Hollywood star as well. We tend to think of Ronald Colman, his elegant contemporary, but Colman never had the great stage career Howard did, and never made films in England - he worked (for Samuel Goldwyn mostly) in Hollywood. Howard conquered English cinema, most notably in PYGMALION (which he co-directed) and this film. His ability to play a romantic figure like Percy Blakeney and a Shavian master character like Henry Higgins shows his amazing talent. By 1935 he had been in several films opposite Frederic March and Norma Shearer (SMILIN' THROUGH), Mary Pickford (SECRETS), Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart (THE PETRIFIED FOREST), Davis and Olivia de Haviland (IT'S LOVE I'M AFTER), and Bogart and Joan Blondell (STAND-BY). He continued in this manner, eventually being in Ingrid Bergman's first American movie (INTERMEZZO), and in GONE WITH THE WIND as Ashley. For an actor who died tragically prematurely in World War II, Howard left an impressive film record.

Sir Percy Blakeney must have become a favorite role to Howard. He was to make it the basis for a final spy comedy-thriller (his last role) PIMPERNELL SMITH, bringing the character up-to-date (taking on the Nazis led by Francis Sullivan as a "Goering" clone). But the original is the better film, as there is a real attempt to capture the spirit of the 1790s, the stirrings of Regency England. The scenery looks a little forced, but it is done consciously to capture the London of 1793.

There are slightly jarring effects (inevitable in any historical movie). Nigel Bruce captures the triviality of the Prince of Wales (the future George IV), although he does strike the proper note in explaining the difficulties of attempting to rescue French political prisoners and aristocrats. But his Scottish burr is noticeable. Merle Oberon does well as the heroine, cruelly twisted into helping the French (via the detestable Chauvin, played by Raymond Massey) into betraying aristocrats to the guilloutine. Her willingness to spy for the Frenchman based on his threatening to execute her brother for treason. Only later does she accidentally realize that her noodle-headed husband is the man she is ultimately forced into betraying.

Massey played mostly villains at this point in his career, except in THINGS TO COME. However, he was to soon make a "favorable" transition, by starring on stage and in the film of ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS. His turn as the psychotic John Brown in SANTE FE TRAIL also changed his movie personae - as he shows that his psychosis is based on a genuine desire to end slavery, as opposed to the opportunistic greed of his betrayer Van Heflin. Here his Chauvin is pompous and deadly. Not a nice character at all. But he has moments to shine: When he hears Blakeney's idiotic verses about the Pimpernell, he is doing a quiet slow burn and says, "I particularly like that use of the term "Frenchies"!". When he hears Oberon bemoaning the deaths her testimony (which he forced her to give) caused in the French courts, he suddenly makes a comment too often forgotten in movies about the French Revolution: "Why is it that everyone is always bemoaning the fate of the poor aristocrats? Don't people ever recall what they did to us?!" Even Chauvin and Robespierre had some points to bring up.

Howard's gleeful performance is the anchor for it all. As clever and watchful a spy as one imagines, instantly dropping the seriousness to play the fool. Look at how he keeps bringing up the proper tying of cravats, or his miscalling the apoplectic Colonel Winterbottom "Ramsbottom". Wonderful stuff Sir Percy. Wonderful movie still.

Script and star make a close-to-perfect 'Pimpernel'

[Igenlode Wordsmith · 9/10 · 14 February 2005]

To date, I've seen three "Scarlet Pimpernels" from three different eras, but the more I see this one, the more I appreciate it for the economical little masterpiece that it is. Three years ago, when I reviewed Powell & Pressburger's "Elusive Pimpernel", I dismissed its predecessor as a 'dated period piece' remarkable only for Leslie Howard's performance; watching it again now I'd hedge no bets in saying that it excels above its successor in almost every way.

From the very beginning, long before the hero appears, it's evident that we are in for a treat. The reason? Above all, the script.

Necessary establishing information -- the Pimpernel's name and fame, the Revolution, the state of the Blakeneys' marriage -- is conveyed quickly and naturally in a few pertinent phrases here and there, without any need for static exposition. A vein of wry humour runs through almost every scene, from the Prince's opening conviction that all the excesses of the Terror can be explained away by Johnny Foreigner's lack of sporting spirit -- "why, if it weren't for fox-hunting and pheasant-shooting, we might be cruel too!" -- to Sir Percy's sleepy quip when his wife implores him to rise above trivialities for once ("Can't rise above anything longer than three syllables, m'dear -- never could") and the cheerful double meaning of his disguised assurances to a Frenchman reviling 'perfidious Albion': ''It won't take *us* long to cross the Channel, eh boys?'' But wordplay is also used to poignant effect, as when he tells Marguerite, estranged from her husband but bedazzled by the romantic image of the unknown Scarlet Pimpernel, "For all you know, he's a married man deeply in love with his wife..."

If the script is witty, humane and on occasion impassioned, it owes a great deal also to the nuanced delivery of the cast. Nigel Bruce far outshines his bumbling Watson of later years in the pat of the pompous and preening but not entirely stupid Prince-Regent-to-be; Raymond Massey's Chauvelin is intelligent as well as menacing, despite an accent that strays periodically and disconcertingly across the Atlantic from France, plus the necessary abridgement of the plot for cinematic purposes; Merle Oberon, no raving beauty to today's taste, provides all the resourcefulness and heartbreak one could ask for, playing proud, neglected Marguerite -- one can easily credit her as Orczy's 'cleverest woman in Europe'.

But casting Leslie Howard in the dual title role was a simple stroke of genius. His tall figure and bony beak of a face serve perfectly both as the languid Sir Percy, setting off a series of immaculately-fitting 'unmentionables', and as the commanding, quick-thinking Pimpernel; and the scene in which he drops from one persona to the other almost in mid-sentence upon the entry of the irate Colonel Winterbottom is a joy to watch. He is absolutely convincing as the "spineless, brainless and useless" fop, and yet he can shade intelligence and feeling back into his features at the drop of a hat in unconcealed moments that never let the audience forget the man behind the mask. His scenes with Merle Oberon as Marguerite are joint masterpieces of brittle drawing-room comedy with an undertow of unhappiness that convinces us of the former passion between them, alluded to but never shown.

Blakeney, of course, gets all the best lines, and Leslie Howard makes the most of them, mocking with exquisite insolence in his guise as licensed fool. But perhaps the third factor that really makes this film is the richness of those background moments when the starring characters are not there. The secure pomp of England epitomised in the opening shots of the changing of the guard; the revolutionary barber stropping his blade with eagerness at the thought of aristocrats' throats; the 'tricoteuses' beneath the guillotine, counting off heads with busily-clicking needles; and the instants of screen time that establish each of the 'aristos' awaiting execution -- tiny, non-speaking parts -- as individuals in their own right.

The script is intelligent, succinct and sparkling with understatement. The actors' faces speak as eloquently in the pauses as in any silent drama. The black-and-white photography is sumptuous, from the lavish ballroom scenes to the grimy "Lion D'Or" in Boulogne. And Leslie Howard is endlessly watchable in an ever-changing portrayal of leashed strength in masquerade. The only caveats I'd make are concerning the soundtrack quality -- I suspect the prints I've heard have been damaged -- and the final brief epilogue scene, which despite the gentle wordplay falls, to me, a little flat. In all other respects this would be the "Scarlet Pimpernel" I'd recommend: every time.

Leslie Howard shines in title role...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 6 November 2006]

LESLIE HOWARD and MERLE OBERON both shine in this thoroughly entertaining film classic about the man who was an effete British gentleman by day (Sir Percy) and a noble avenger who saved many of his countrymen from the guillotine. As the dandy, Leslie is an unmitigated delight, delivering some ripely amusing lines with great flair. And Merle Oberon is a vision of loveliness as his wife who almost gives his identity away before she realizes who he actually is.

It's photographed in crisp B&W splendor with elegant costumes and settings and given a rich supporting cast of players including RAYMOND MASSEY as the Frenchman anxious to trap The Scarlet Pimpernell, NIGEL BRUCE, MELVILLE COOPER and many others.

The brilliant script has many memorable lines, most of them given to Leslie Howard's character when he's playing the dandy seemingly oblivious to the hunt for the disguised Pimpernell. Especially riveting are the opening scenes depicting the ugly public executions during the French Revolution and the crowds that delighted in them.

There's never a dull moment. Well worth watching and should give fans a new impression of just how great an actor LESLIE HOWARD actually was.

Stalking The Elusive Pimpernel

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 7 May 2005]

Hidden behind the nom de guerre of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, an English lord attempts to snatch a few victims away from Robespierre's insatiable guillotine.

The Scarlet Pimpernel, the French Revolution's greatest enemy, first came to life in a 1903 play by the Baroness Orczy and in her subsequent, and almost unreadable, 1905 novel. He was an immediate favorite with both the British & American public and found his finest translation to screen in this lavish movie from Sir Alexander Korda's London Films.

It's interesting that the film actually became so popular, because there is very little action in it. It begins with an exciting rescue & escape from dangerous Paris, but then it settles in for lengthy dialogues in English parlors and ballrooms. Even the conclusion, with its confrontation between hero and villain, is civilized and bloodless. The bulk of the story is actually a melodrama enacted principally by a trio of characters: an English husband who believes his Parisian wife has betrayed the Gallic nobility he so loves, she frets that he has lost every scintilla of masculinity, and the French serpent in their midst plots to destroy their entire Eden.

The reason the film clicks is because it is so very well written (celebrated American playwright Robert Sherwood worked on the script) and acted. Sensitive Leslie Howard is perfectly cast as courageous Sir Percy Blakeney, who must wear a double disguise, that of the Pimpernel to fool the French, and as a complete aristocratic ass to dupe his wife, Marguerite. She is played by the exotic Merle Oberon; the script allows her to do little more than look frightened or confused, but she does both very nicely. Raymond Massey is properly wicked as the sneering Chauvelin, Revolutionary ambassador and master spy, who desperately desires to capture the Pimpernel.

In the large cast it's often a mite difficult to sort out who's who, but a few fine character actors particularly stand out: Nigel Bruce as a stout & pompous Prince of Wales, Bramwell Fletcher as a French priest aiding the Pimpernel, and Melville Cooper as George Romney, the celebrated portraitist, who has to endure a silly critique from Sir Percy.

The Baroness Emmuska Magdalena Rosalia Marie Josepha Barbara Orczy (1865-1947) was a most prolific author with a list of books almost as lengthy as her name. Those wishing to follow the further clashes between Sir Percy and Chauvelin may do so in the many sequels, now mostly quite obscure, which she penned over the next several decades: I Will Repay (1906), The Elusive Pimpernel (1908), El Dorado (1913), Lord Tony's Wife (1917), The League Of The Scarlet Pimpernel (1919), The Triumph Of The Scarlet Pimpernel (1922), Sir Percy Hits Back (1927), Adventures Of The Scarlet Pimpernel (1929), The Way Of The Scarlet Pimpernel (1933), The Scarlet Pimpernel Looks At The World (1933), Child Of The Revolution (1933), Sir Percy Leads The Band (1936) and Mam'zelle Guillotine (1940).

The scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) is a low spreading herb with a 5-peteled blossom that grows as a weed throughout Northern Europe. The flower closes at rain's approach and opens again with returning sunshine, hence giving rise to its being called 'the poor-man's weatherglass' or 'the shepherd's barometer.'

Don't lose your head!

[brogmiller · 7/10 · 22 November 2020]

Baroness Orczy was what one would now term 'a right-wing reactionary'. It is probably best to draw a discreet veil over her involvement with 'The Women of England's Active Service League'. When reading her 'Scarlet Pimpernel' it is glaringly obvious that she does not exactly sympathise with the Republicans! That aside, she has created a character that is of timeless and universal appeal, with his dual existence, his disguises and his distinctive calling card.

Physically Leslie Howard is a far cry from the 'tall, broad-shouldered, massively built' Sir Percy Blakeney of Orczy's imagining but his superlative portrayal sets the template by which all actors in the role must be judged. His performance is one of immense grace and subtlety.

In this screenplay, unlike the novel, the Lady Blakeney of Merle Oberon is introduced to us whilst posing for renowned portrait painter George Romney. Whatever Miss Oberon's limitations as an actress she is loved by the camera and oozes class. As Blakeney's most dangerous enemy Citizen Chauvelin, the marvellous Raymond Massey is villainy incarnate. This actor's notoriously wicked sense of humour is evident here.

Granted, the film is somewhat creaky at times as are the performances from some of the supporting actors but it is streets ahead of Powell and Pressburger's catastrophic version of 1950. The less said about Clive Donner's execrable version of 1982 the better.

Baroness Orczy was an avowed Anglophile and happily married to an Englishman so the final scene of this film would I'm sure have appealed to her immensely.

Towards the end of the film Blakeney recites a few lines of 'the sceptered isle' speech from Shakespeare's 'Richard II'. There are two lines in that speech that are not quoted. Although they were not relevant in 1792 or indeed in 1934 they are chillingly relevant now: "That England, that was wont to conquer others, hath made a shameful conquest of itself."

Much intrigue, tension, and drama

[lora64 · 10/10 · 10 February 2002]

I've seen this fine movie so often yet never tire of tuning in to it. To me it's a fascinating drama that holds no hint of being dated as some films tend to be. Thanks to such an excellent cast and intense story, one is swept along from scene to scene rather expecting the worse but thankful it isn't.

I consider this role to be one of Leslie Howard's best performances. As Sir Percy Blakeney, he's regarded as a frivolous socialite, but in truth he skilfully wends his way through every dangerous situation he encounters during those troubled times. There's a nonchalant, flippant air about him that masks a deep, genuine concern he harbours for saving innocent lives from the dreaded guillotine of revolutionary France.

Merle Oberon, as the beautiful wife of Sir Percy, is continually in distress over the disillusioned position she finds herself in, of having lost all respect for her husband's apparent shallow character, until she learns otherwise. There is also the danger for her brother's life that she tries to avert. All this leads to the villainous presence of Chauvelin, played by Raymond Massey, who is up to his evil ways to say the least.

Nigel Bruce, as the Prince of Wales, has quite the knack of presenting real foppish royalty of the times; it's one of his better roles, being true to type you might say.

It would have been nice to see a stage rendition if possible since it has all the right ingredients for a great play. A true classic!

An Englishman Abroad

[richardchatten · 6/10 · 21 November 2020]

Yet another British film of the thirties made by Hungarians (including Sir Percy himself, Leslie Howard), with a director and cameraman imported from Hollywood and the French villain played by a Canadian.

Like much history, the film is viewed through what came afterwards; and most viewers when they come to this movie now, do so via the much livelier 1941 update, 'Pimpernel Smith'. This 'straight' version, which had a difficult gestation (the original director - also American - was fired) emerges as handsome but rather cold and talky; rather like Sir Percy himself. But with actors of the calibre of Howard and Raymond Massey as the two central antagonists, whose complaining? The ending has been much criticised, but I personally thought it was pretty cool.

Batman of the French Revolution

[krorie · 9/10 · 21 December 2005]

Though he will always be remembered for his Ashley Wilkes role in "Gone With The Wind," the Scarlet Pimpernel is Leslie Howard's finest hour on the big screen. His tragic death as a casualty in Hitler's war on England makes his soliloquy from William Shakespeare's Richard II even more relevant today.

Based on a popular novel and play by Baroness Orczy, "The Scarlet Pimpernel" concerns a secret organization led by Sir Percy Blakeney during the Reign of Terror to aide victims to escape the guillotine in France to find sanctuary in England. He pretends to be an effete arrogant aristocrat, callous to humanity's suffering, neglectful of his beautiful wife, who wanders around reciting bad poetry that he has composed and making snide remarks about the clothing of fellow gentry men. In reality he is the magnificent man of steel, the Scarlet Pimpernel, fighting for true liberty, equality, and fraternity, not the perverted forms espoused by Robespierre and his ilk. Sounds like Bruce Wayne and Batman. There's even a Robin, a fellow aristocrat who assists with messages and at times as a go-between. He also dons a cool costume and often travels incognito. There's no Batmobile, but, hey, it's not a perfect world.

Other talented Thespians shine in a stellar cast. There's the nefarious Citizen Chauvelin, played to perfection by the underrated Raymond Massey, whose life depends on finding the wild weed that's choking the Revolution. He has old connections with Sir Percy's lovely wife played magnificently by the charming Merle Oberon who would receive critical raves for "Wuthering Heights" just five years later. There's Nigel Bruce, the future Watson, as the Prince of Wales whose minute intellect cannot fathom the depth and dangers to England of the French Revolution. The rest of the cast down to the most infinitesimal role show no blemishes.

There's plenty of action and romance mixed with suspense and pageantry, never a dull moment. Don't miss it.

During the French Revolution, a mysterious English nobleman snatches French aristocrats from the jaws of the guillotine

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 6 August 2012]

This is the first and the best swashbuckling vintage (1939) produced by London Films and directed by Harold Young with Leslie Howard and Leslie Caron . Adventures based on Baroness Orczy's famous novels with screenplay by the usual Lajos Biró about wealthy Chamaleon man , an 18th century English aristocrat who leads a double life , Leslie Howard plays perfectly Sir Percy Blakeney , as he is not the fool he seems and confounds the French revolutionaries ; indeed , he masquerades as the daring adventurer , the soldier of fortune and rescuer of those persecuted by the French Revolution and the guillotines and only one man who is seemingly able to save them . Exciting exploits set on the Reign of Terror with Sir Percy Blackeney , a humble wayside flower , who married the lovely stage actress Marguerite , Leslie Caron , and appears to be merely the effete aristocrat against a sinister Chauvelin , Raymond Massey , while the French Republicans seek him , there and everywhere . This is one of the innumerable versions of the much-filmed adventure classic with the immortal hero named Scarlet pimpernel whose true identity is known only to a very few, and again the English aristocrat engaged in the underground effort to snatch out from under the blade of the guillotine Frenchmen caught in the Reign of Terror (1792) . This time the terrible Committee of Public Safety assigns to Chauvelin the mission to track down Pimpernel in England . As Chauvelin (ideal baddie cast Massey) travels towards England where resides Percy and his wife who was once involved with Chauvelin . The astute Chauvelin attempts to discover the rogue's identity and involve Percy's French wife in his scheme , and will use any means, including threats to Marguerite , furthermore is plotting to win back his previous love . Pimpernel returns to Paris and then Sir Percy hides his activities under various guises . Pimpernel heads to France to save aristos from the clutches of guillotine . Then Marguerite gets trapped , so she needs to be freed . His ruse may throw off the French authorities but the elusive Pimpernel is also attempting to free his wife , though he is suddenly caught by Chauvelin.

Leslie Howard plays it to perfection , fitting the role like elegant glove , he does a dashing hero leading several characters and posing as an officer , pauper old woman or revolutionary . Leslie match up efficiently to the popular conception of the Pimpernel who remains the archetypal acting , catching exactly the false foppishness as well as the mythical qualities which make the personage seem so invincible . It packs luxurious scenarios , beautiful gowns , and good acting from main and secondary cast . In the film appears historical characters as Prince of Wales , Saint Just , and Robespierre and is developed an exciting intrigue . This big-budgeted production results to be a good adaptation with spectacular production design , 18th Century costumes , intrigue , damsels in disgrace , nice scenarios and the impressive sets , too , are superb . Stellar cast plenty of prestigious actors as Raymond Massey , Merle Oberon , Anthony Bushell , Walter Rilla and the sympathetic Nigel Bruce , immortal Watson . Atmospheric musical compositions by the classic Arthur Benjamin and evocative cinematography in dated black and white by Harold Rosson . Spectacular Set Decoration and settings by Vincent Korda , Alexander's brother . This one being stunningly directed by Harold Young and lavishly produced by Alexander Korda and his London Film Productions .

Other versions about the supposed dandy of the English court who assumes the identity of foppish Sir Percy in order to outwit the French republicans and aid innocent aristocrats and based on classic novels by Baroness Orczy are the following : First silent version (1923) titled I Will Repay by Henry Kolker ; The Elusive Pimpernel (1950) by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger with David Niven , Cryl Cusack and Margaret Leighton and TV series (1999) by Patrick Lau with Richard E Grant and Elizabeth McGovern and another series (1955) starred by Marius Goring as Sir Percy , and Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) (TV) is almost as good as the classic rendition , being made by Clive Donner with Anthony Andrews , Jane Seymour and Ian McKellen as his nemesis Chauvelin, the head of state security.

Loses after a very good first part

[scheckmichael · 5/10 · 27 May 2022]

Historical drama from the production of Alexander Korda's.

A mysterious Englishman rescues noblemen from the rages of the maniacs of the French Revolution - namely from the guillotine - and brings them to safety in England. He operates under the pseudonym of "Scarlet Pimpernel" and has a whole squad of assistants and spies working for him. Nobody suspects that he is hiding behind the deliberately silly facade of aristocratic Sir Percy Blakeney (Leslie Howard) - not even Blakeney's wife (Merle Oberon), who is blackmailed by the French ambassador (Raymond Massey) to find out the true identity of the mysterious avenger.

The film begins on a promising note, highly atmospheric and exciting - the legendary studio buildings by Vincent Korda create a gorgeous and picturesque Paris. The French Revolution serves only as a pretext for the narrative and is not discussed in more detail. The good/evil split is clearly defined: English aristocrats are good, French revolutionaries evil.

For about half of its runtime, the film is interesting, a feast for the eyes and, above all, very funny. But then its narrative suddenly starts to stumble; unimportant sequences are dragged out excessively, more and more dialogue takes over the narration and the locations look increasingly poor. Finally, the showdown feels cheap and rushed.

To me, "The Scarlet Pimpernel" loses quite a portion of the good impression it made in the first half.

Leslie Howard's finest hour?

[didi-5 · 20 February 2004]

This aged take on the popular novel of a foppish English hero saving aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution is an absorbing British movie; benefiting in particular from the excellent performance of Leslie Howard (one of England's greatest screen actors, despite his Hungarian ancestry), who gives the character of Percy Blakeney a humour and charm lacking from other actors who have attempted the part.

Merle Oberon also does well as his French expat wife - perhaps her best acting, even surpassing her later work opposite Olivier in 'Wuthering Heights'. Given that Howard and Oberon had a real-life love affair which started during this movie, it is interesting to note there are definite sparks between the pair on screen. Other actors in the cast are good value; Raymond Massey as the arrogant French ambassador who never thinks he can be outwitted; and Nigel Bruce, beloved later in the decade as Dr Watson, as the dullard Prince of Wales.

It's the one without Sid James

[1930s_Time_Machine · 6/10 · 11 December 2022]

Films made in 1934 which are set in 1934 have the advantage of authenticity so they can effortlessly transport you back to 1934. The trouble with historical films is they reflect the time, the style and the technology of when they were made so can't have the luxury of being able to stand alone on their own merits or immerse you into the time and place where they were filmed. To appeal to a modern audience they have to have that something extra to make them special. A Night To Remember is less appealing to our generation than Titanic for example.

Why is this 1934 film still so entertaining now? For a start it's really well made, Alexander Korda splashed the cash on this, he has a clever, witty script, imaginative cinematography, genuine excitement and a whole cast of actors at the very top of their game. Above all however what makes this stand the test of time is the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Despite what you might think, this film is not primarily the story of the dashing adventurer rescuing aristocrats from Robespierre's France, it's mainly about how the extra-curricular activities of Sir Percy affect his relationship and the trust with his French aristocratic wife. Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon are perfectly cast in these roles with the sexual chemistry between them peppered by their real off-screen relationship.

Although some people consider his acting style a little old fashioned, Leslie Howard is as convincing as the dashing and ingenious hero as he is as his irritating, foppish alter-ego. Raymond Massey is suitably menacing as the over-the-top pantomime villain and Merle Oberon is perfect as neglected wife/damsel in distress/heroine. One might wonder how someone as absolutely gorgeous as Merle Oberon could possibly be a neglected wife but the story is strong enough to actually make that seem believable.

Although Hungarian (as was Baroness Orczy, the novel's author), Alexander Korda had acquired a very English sense of humour. This drip feeds through the entirety of this picture. Even in the most sincere, dramatic or romantic scenes there is still that subtle tongue-in-cheek humour. When Merle Oberon is tearfully pleading for love or Raymond Massey is sending victims to their deaths you can see that they're having so much fun. It's that sense of fun which keeps this film alive today.

"Those Frenchies Seek Him Everywhere."

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 25 November 2006]

There are some including previous reviewers here who would argue that The Scarlet Pimpernel afforded Leslie Howard his finest screen role. I wouldn't argue the point.

This Pimpernel guy, a sort of English Zorro/Lone Ranger is one tricky fellow. He's declared his own private war on the French Revolution and while not prancing about Regency society, he's over in France rescuing as many aristocrats as he can from Madame Guillotine.

Like Zorro in order to throw off suspicion, Sir Percy Blakeney affects the guise of a fop so that no one will think him capable of anything bold. Unlike Don Diego De La Vega, Blakeney's a married man, married to a French woman played by Merle Oberon who has her own dirty little secrets she's keeping.

Come to think of Don Diego and Sir Percy were operating in roughly the same period.

There's a guy named Chauvelin who's got a mission from the head guy at the Revolution, Robespierre himself. Bring back the Scarlet Pimpernel to face Revolutionary justice or you will. That's one great incentive.

Raymond Massey is a ruthless hunter as Chauvelin. And he believes in his mission. As another reviewer quite plainly put it Massey well remembers all the excesses that the aristocrats indulged in for centuries. He's pretty good too, but Leslie Howard is a tad better.

Leslie Howard is one of those players you can listen to and never be bored. He had that marvelous ability to make some of the most trite dialog sound like Shakespeare. As did his fellow British players Ronald Colman and Robert Donat. No one ever played the jaded world weary soul quite the way Howard did, whether it was Alan Squire, Ashley Wilkes or Percy Blakeney.

The Scarlet Pimpernel after over 70 years holds up well as classic entertainment. No one, but a jaded regency fop could not like this film.

Good But Dated Adaptation

[Space_Mafune · 7/10 · 4 March 2008]

Sir Percy Blakeney is leading a secret double life. Pretending to everyone in the public eye, including his own wife, that he is a silly British fop, he is in reality the dashing Scarlet Pimpernel, a man devoted, despite the threat to his own head, to helping free the innocence condemned to the guillotine during the French Terror!

Overall this is very well done and features a very capable cast particularly lead Leslie Howard in the challenging dual role and Raymond Massey, who has a great turn as lead villain/spy for the French Republic Citizen Chauvelin for which he seems perfectly cast. Merle Oberon too does quite well and looks quite fetching as Blakeney's befuddled wife.

The problem with this is it feels a bit too static, a bit too talky as was often the case with many early sound pictures. There's just a bit more exposition at times than really seems necessary. This slows the action down a bit to the point things actually get a little dull on occasion. That said, there's enough fun to be found in this one that makes it well worth watching especially those scenes featuring Howard's Blakeney, particularly when he uses some means of disguise or another to fool those pursuing him or uses his foppish charm to throw Chauvelin off his trail.

The Pimpernel is a one of a kind role for Leslie Howard

[becks22 · 10/10 · 27 January 2010]

Leslie Howard is the movie. His take on the role is one of a kind. And to be honest I laughed the entire movie. His role as Percy is hysterical. Line after line is memorable. "Go and introduce him to everybody, if everybody is anybody." And his ability to change character instantaneously is done with remarkable precision. Watch as he approaches his wife, the stern man that stands for life, then changes to the laughable Percy only an inch from her face. He is fun to watch in this one. You must appreciate the energy that he must have put into this role. He should have won an academy award. This must be the best acting of his career if not for his role in "Gone with the Wind". The entire story line is perfect and there aren't many dead scenes. It's great entertainment from start to finish, with a classic ending on top of it all.

historical drama

[willrams · 7/10 · 21 September 2002]

Never saw this 1934 film either until 9/21/02. Really impressed with the fine acting, story, tension mounts and disguies abound. Raymond Massey does a marvelous role. His role is better than Leslie Howard, and Merle Oberon is the love interest. Musical score is great also.

They seek him here, they seek him there, Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.

[lastliberal · 8/10 · 14 July 2010]

Most Americans know Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes in Gone With the Wind, but he was an accomplished actor long before that. A stage actor, and a British film actor, before coming to America.

Here he plays a foppish dandy, much like Zorro, as he tries to spirit away French Aristocrats before they are guillotined.

While he is doing that, he has trouble at home with his wife, the lovely Merle Oberon, who testified and sent a family to that same guillotine.

You won't find a great amount of action here, unlike the familiar Zorro films with a similar theme. It is a play more than anything, and an excellently written one at that. We can thank Oscar winner Robert E. Sherwood (The Best Years of Our Lives, Rebecca) for that.

Seeing Raymond Massey (Dr. Leonard Gillespie in "Dr. Kildare"), and Nigel Bruce (Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes films with Basil Rathbone), only added to the pleasure.

Excellent film.

I simply love this movie

[Cos-5 · 10/10 · 26 January 1999]

I've watched it again and again and never tire of it. Leslie Howard's facial expressions and the quickness with which he changes them (from fop to sensible man to passionate heroe) is amazing! And the things he does to his voice and the way he drawls! He is the perfect Pimpernel

Intrigue and drama

[no-skyline · 7/10 · 6 March 2007]

I caught this movie the other day on Film Four and was pleasantly surprised I was expecting a rather dated swashbuckler but it comes across as more of a character piece. In fact there's not a great deal of action through out the movie apart from a chase at the beginning and a small burst of action at the end. The film chooses to focus instead on the intrigue aspect of the Scarlet Pimpernel, his relationship with his friends, the masquerade he must maintain and how he deals with the possibility his wife may be a traitor.

Both Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon are superb as is Nigel Bruce (who you may remember as Watson from the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Solmes B-movies of the 40's). The badies fare equally as well Raymon Massey's Citizen Chauvlin comes across as a despicable and unscrupulous adversary for Sir Percy Blakney to match wits with. The period settings are well realised, costumes and backgrounds are sumptuous. Although it has to be said depending on your point of view the politics of the film could be viewed as morally dubious (after all should we be siding with the aristocracy who were living in luxury while the common people starved?). There is also a little overacting in places for my liking but this was the style of the time and the plot does drag in places in the middle section of the film.

Overall I enjoyed the film and would recommend it to most people not adverse to the older style of film making. 7/10

That damned insufferable Pimpernel

[cutter-12 · 4/10 · 24 December 2005]

Revolutionary France: the poor put upon French Aristocracy is being terrorized and executed by evil Robespierre (probably for hundreds of years of tyranny against the French peasants, but don't let that sway your opinion of these virtuous nobles). It's up to King George loyalist and staunch protector of the European ruling class, The Scarlet Pimpernel, to snatch the poor innocent wretches from the guillotine and spirit them away to England where they can eat cake and arrogate in courtly exile with the King for the rest of their precious days.

I'm not making any claims here that the reign of terror following the French revolution was justified or a good thing. It was probably as horrific and ruthless any any blood letting. But this story, written by the Baroness Orczy, just sickens how it paints the French nobility of the time as goodly victims and the French peasantry who rebelled against them as rabid filthy animals.

A quite unique piece of ruling class propaganda put out by London Films in 1934. The production value rings of quality, but it's just royalist bilge and a laughable reversal of the Robin Hood tale. It's also a nauseating vanity piece for an exceedingly pompous and smug leading man. And a boring talk fest to boot.

Raymond Massey doesn't help to save it, playing a character who should have had at least some shade of gray but is completely a blackhearted scoundrel. And Merle Oberon surely was the Jennifer Lopez of her day. Why she is remembered as one of the great stars lord only knows.

A rollicking bit of tripe at best.

A Stirring Movie, very fresh and cheeky.

[munson-2 · 4 November 1998]

One might want to pre-judge this movie on the basis of its release date (1934), but it would be a mistake to consider this movie as creeky and old. On the contrary, it remains so brilliantly focused and sharply contrasted, that the viewer can get lost within the film-strip of this fine Korda film. The sets are realistic and evocative. Some, such as parlors and ballrooms glitter like the jewels of their occupants, while others, like public taverns and "clubs", can be grimy with pipe smoke, ale, and mutton.

The story is one of hidden identity, of unsung heroism, illusion, and danger......risk and reward, of good men doing what's necessary to save doomed people. It's also a moving love story.

Central in all of this is Sir Percy Blakeney (Leslie Howard in his finest screen role). He is a Fop in the extreme. He poses, he prances, and he eternally fusses with his attire. Are his cuffs properly ruffled, so that when he takes snuff, "it's a swallows flight"? Neckwear is another preoccupation of Sir Percy's.... he even uses this obsession in one of the film's wittiest lines, "A man who can't tie his own cravat isn't likely to put a noose around the Pimpernel's neck, is he?" But, the paradox of course is that Sir Percy, his wife not even knowing, is the bane of the French Revolutionists, the Scarlet Pimpernel. He and his followers make repeated and risky trips across the English Channel to rescue those they can from the fate of the guillotine. This charade of Sir Percy's is the core of much of the film's hilarious moments. But it's easy for this movie to take quick turns from humor to grim seriousness.

The love interest is the International beauty Merle Oberon, who is showcased exquisitly. She has developed a contempt for her foppish husband and his silliness, as she desperately tries to save her brother's life by trying to discover the true identity of the Pimpernel for villain Raymond Massey. She idealizes the Pimpernel who she often contrasts to her nit-wit husband, but as he tells her (and with some moment), "It's dangerous to fall in love with a phantom, m'dear. For all you know he's a married man who is deeply in love with his wife."

There is adventure and romance. A must see movie.

Leslie Howard is SUPERB as Sir Percy Blakeney!

[anton-6 · 7/10 · 23 December 2001]

The thing that makes this film funny is Leslie Howard´s superb acting.I really love it.The rest of the acting is also good and the film has a great dialogue to.No masterpiece but if you enjoy classic adventure films this is the right one for you.4/5