If production values were all that mattered, this would be considered a vast improvement over the B&W version with Ronald Colman and Madeleine Carroll. MGM has spared no cost in sets and costumes but this is clearly a scene by scene remake that brings nothing new to the story, no added dimension of enjoyment except for the color and the technical improvements for the twin photography. It moves at a rather stately pace, as though impressed enough with its own trappings to conclude that a viewer needs nothing more.
STEWART GRANGER and DEBORAH KERR are graceful replacements for Colman and Carroll and both look splendid in their roles with Granger having considerably more acting to do in a dual role when he assumes the identity of the King of Ruritania.
The famous story has him as the commoner posing as the King and falling in love with Princess Flavia. Of course, there has to be a villain and JAMES MASON fills that role superbly as Rupert, involved in the plot to kidnap the real King in a struggle for power. It's the kind of role Mason specialized in for a decade or so previously and he's a scene stealer. Likewise, ROBERT DOUGLAS as a fellow conspirator plays another villain with relish.
It's a lavish costume adventure/romance of the highest order, prettified in color by Technicolor so that it seems like a fairy-tale for adults. And it is. It's fantasy, beautifully realized of course, and a feast for the eyes.
The final duel between Mason and Granger makes up for any lulls along the way. It's one of the best choreographed swashbuckling duels since "The Adventures of Robin Hood".
STEWART GRANGER and DEBORAH KERR are graceful replacements for Colman and Carroll and both look splendid in their roles with Granger having considerably more acting to do in a dual role when he assumes the identity of the King of Ruritania.
The famous story has him as the commoner posing as the King and falling in love with Princess Flavia. Of course, there has to be a villain and JAMES MASON fills that role superbly as Rupert, involved in the plot to kidnap the real King in a struggle for power. It's the kind of role Mason specialized in for a decade or so previously and he's a scene stealer. Likewise, ROBERT DOUGLAS as a fellow conspirator plays another villain with relish.
It's a lavish costume adventure/romance of the highest order, prettified in color by Technicolor so that it seems like a fairy-tale for adults. And it is. It's fantasy, beautifully realized of course, and a feast for the eyes.
The final duel between Mason and Granger makes up for any lulls along the way. It's one of the best choreographed swashbuckling duels since "The Adventures of Robin Hood".