Flucht aus Paris (1935)

Flucht aus Paris: Directed by Jack Conway, Robert Z. Leonard. With Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, Reginald Owen. A pair of lookalikes, one a former French aristocrat and the other an alcoholic English lawyer, fall in love with the same woman amongst the turmoil of the French Revolution.

“With the exception of David Copperfield this is probably Hollywoodu0026#39;s most accomplished treatment of a Charles Dickens work. Sumptuously mounted and produced in grand MGM style it has the the perfect voice and charm of Ronald Colman as Sidney Carton, a stalwart supporting cast and magnificently choreographed large scale crowd scenes depicting the out of control energy and fury of the revolt and subsequent reign of terror. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eColmanu0026#39;s charming cynic wins us over early given he is surrounded by just cause with a Dickenu0026#39;s roster of pompous bores and hypocrites caught up in their own self importance. He drinks and offends but who can blame him. The sardonic wit of the film extends beyond Carton though by way of Dickens u0026quot;cinematicu0026quot; descriptive style that sharply conveys through both character and setting distracting dark humor over the grim proceedings by intermingling comic portraits with the sober cruel personages while making incisive social commentary. A laudable supporting cast consisting of Reginald Owen, Edna May Oliver, Billy Bevan, Blanche Yurkau0026#39;s Madame DeFarge and Basil Rathboneu0026#39;s venal Marquis de Evermonde truly do bring the pages to life, though I will admit an Oliver, Yurka death match near the end does take liberties with the tome. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOliver Marshu0026#39;s photography is commendable throughout whether conveying panorama in the excellently edited storming of the Bastille and raucous courtroom scenes or the tight tension filled cramped ominously lit interiors of cells or the De Farge wine shop. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWith Colman in the lead and every MGM department clicking on all cylinders Tale of Two Cities remains fresh and vital 75 years later. It is one of those rear films that embraces rather than wrestle with a classic literary work which it does here with grandeur and confidence.”