So Rudolph must continue to pretend he's still the king. But things go wrong when they find out that Rupert has kidnapped the king and taken him to a cottage in Zenda (Zenda is a place, not a person). Then, after the coronation, the fully recovered Rudolf V can assume the throne. The will substitute Rudolph for the real king. Aubrey Smith) and Fritz von Tarlenheim (David Niven) come up with a plan of their own. In this plan Michael is assisted by Rupert of Hentzau (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.)īut the king's men, including Colonel Zapt (C. With the king incapacitated for an entire day, he will of course not be crowned at the cathedral, and Michael will declare himself king. During the celebration the night before the coronation, his assistant gives the king drugged wine. Black Michael, the king's half-brother (Raymond Massey) also wants to be king, so he devises a simple plan. (Please note: I deducted one star from this review because of the MGM version.) Rudolph Rassendyll (Ronald Colman) happens to be vacationing in a Ruritarian kingdom at the same time as his identical cousin Rudolf V (also Ronald Colman) is about to be crowned king. Selznick makes it work, for two reasons: 1) a great story, and 2) a great cast. "Prisoner of Zenda" is a story about a time long ago which no longer exists, a time when kings and queens lived in castles and ruled their subjects with absolute authority.
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