The Scarlet Pimpernel

“They seek him here, they seek him there…” Anyone out there who doesn’t know the famous story set during the bloody French Revolution should blush in shame. In this 1934 version it’s Leslie Howard who plays the dual-role of the foppish Sir Percy Blakeney aka The Scarlet Pimpernel, but how does the film fare compared to other adaptations of Baroness Orczy’s 1908 novel?

The year is 1792 and the Reign of Terror is in full swing… countless French aristocrats meet their bloody end at the guillotine while the mob cheers on. When it is announced that former ambassador to Great Britain, Count de Tournay (O.B. Clarence), and his family are to be executed the Countess and her daughter are saved at the last minute by the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel and some of his helpers. The Count, meanwhile, is offered a deal by Robespierre (Ernest Milton) and Citizen Chauvelin (Raymond Massey): if he provides them with leads from his English contacts which may lead to the arrest of the Pimpernel, then de Tourney is spared his life.

Back in England, Sir Percy purposefully cultivates his foppish image in order to distract from any possible suspicion as to his other identity. The marriage to his wife Marguerite St. Just aka Lady Blakeney (Merle Oberon) seems strained due to the fact that Marguerite apparently denounced a certain Marquis de St. Cyr, which in turn led to the execution of him and his family… although Sir Percy loves her as much as ever but won’t show it. Marguerite on the other hand has no idea that her husband is in fact the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel. When her brother Armand (Walter Rilla), who is a member of Blakeney’s secret society, is arrested by Chauvelin after a tip-off, he blackmails Marguerite into helping him discover the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel or Armand will be executed…

Thus the stage is set for an adventure in which everyone distrusts everybody else and in which death lurks at every corner. Unfortunately, it all sounds much more adventurous than it is (although it should be bursting with action). Admittedly, the acting is top notch and especially Howard, a mega-star at the time, is in splendid form. The costumes are opulent, the sets are lush, the avenging mob looks suitably like poor peasants starved not only of food but also by injustice, and Howards seems to have plenty of fun slipping into all sorts of disguises as the Scarlet Pimpernel. Yet, the film is surprisingly devoid of action and is lacking in pace, instead, emphasis is given on verbal duets rather than physical ones and all seems somewhat static and moves rather slowly – obviously this is down to director Harold Young.

Still, despite the lack of action The Scarlet Pimpernel makes for entertaining viewing, and the DVD offers the following Bonus material: Image gallery and Original scrip PDFs.