Slated for the film's starring roles, Ingram realized that much of the Although Terry and Lewis Stone (as the identical cousins) were Roles, into Alice Terry, the icy blonde star of his greatest pictures (and He had turned Alice Taaffe, a perky redhead usually cast in supporting To keep large-scale productions moving as for his genius at creating stars.įor Horsemen, he had discovered Rudolph Valentino. Metro entrusted the production to Rex Ingram, an Irish-bornĪctor-turned-director who had scored a huge hit the year before with Theįour Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). Michael who wants to steal the throne and the king's beautiful fiancée. In this perennial favorite, the look-alike cousin ofĪ kidnapped king takes his place to thwart the plans of the evil Black Named after the novel's setting the Ruritanian Romance combines the glamour of the European aristocracy with swashbuckling adventure and tales of doomed love between royalty and commoners. Hope's book had created a whole sub-genre when it became a best seller inġ894 - the Ruritanian Romance. Seven adaptations of Anthony Hope's popular adventure novel. Time the studio was born, thanks to films like The Prisoner of Zenda (1922), the third of
The MGM tradition was firmly in place by the Goldwyn Pictures to become MGM in 1924, it was building a reputation forĬlassy, lavish productions. They remained married until the director's death in 1950.Even before Metro Pictures merged with Louis B. Shortly following the completion of filming, Rex Ingram eloped with lead actress Alice Terry. Afterwards MGM heavily promoted him as a "Latin Lover" and sex symbol in movies such as The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927), Mata Hari (1931) and The Barbarian (1933). Even though he already had small parts in almost 100 films, The Prisoner of Zenda was considered Novarro's "big break." (Indeed, he would be top-billed in re-release prints.) Navarro would later cause a sensation with his revealing costumes in the original Ben-Hur (1925). The actor who makes the biggest impression is Ramon Novarro, playing a supporting villain. Leading man Lewis Stone is best known as Mickey Rooney's stately father in the Andy Hardy film series, but at the time he more resembled Ronald Coleman, who would later play Rudolf in the 1937 remake. Twenty-six costume designers labored four months to make the costumes, assisted by 540 tailors and dressmakers. 10,000 extras were employed during the coronation scene. Massive construction crews built 72 buildings, eventually making up six city blocks worth of dwellings, to create the fictional kingdom of Ruritania. Owing to his prior film's success, the director was granted an enormous budget for The Prisoner of Zenda. Rex Ingram followed up his box-office smash The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) with this adaptation of the classic 1894 novel by Anthony Hope.
The prisoner of zenda film 2012 free#
Rassendyll leads a rescue party to free the King, but realizes that giving up his royal duties may not be as easy as he thought. Realizing his scheme has been foiled, Michael kidnaps the real King and holds him captive in the Castle of Zenda. Using him as substitute, the coronation proceeds as planned. Rudolf Rassendyll, a visiting Englishman and distant relative of the royal family, bears a startling resemblance to the King. Unwilling to let Michael seize power, the King's subordinates hit upon a daring plan. He has been poisoned by his evil half-brother, Grand Duke Michael. On the eve of his coronation as king, Rudolph V of Ruritania falls ill.
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