Der Gefangene von Zenda (1979)
19KDer Gefangene von Zenda: Directed by Richard Quine. With Peter Sellers, Lynne Frederick, Lionel Jeffries, Elke Sommer. In order to save King Rudolph of Ruritania from assassins and murderous usurpers, the kingdom hires a look-a-like London cabby to impersonate the Monarch.
“I should probably begin this review by mentioning my familiarity of the source material – or rather, the lack of it. I have never read the novel, nor have I seen any of the previous film versions. Pretty much all I knew about u0026quot;Zendau0026quot; before watching this movie was the basic premise. I also knew the story was originally serious in tone. But I was open to it being done in a comic fashion, because with stuff like mistaken identity, the premise did indeed have comic possibilities.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSadly, everyone involved with this movie drops the ball. Iu0026#39;ll start with Sellers. I have found him funny in other movies, but he simply isnu0026#39;t funny here. His performance here simply lacks energy and seems sluggish. I do know he was having health problems at this point in his life, and this may explain his lack of enthusiasm.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut even if Sellers was in top form here, itu0026#39;s unlikely he could have saved the movie. The movie is terribly directed – the slow-moving story feels as sluggish as Sellers. And when it comes to delivering the (very sporadic) comedy, there is a curious feel to it. The comedy feels like itu0026#39;s being directed by someone intentionally trying to make it as serious as possible. Though many of the gags would still be dead on arrival even with a top comedy director, since they are predictable and very familiar.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJudging by the ragged look of the old print Universal is currently using for the movieu0026#39;s television appearances, they are in no hurry to restore this movie. No wonder.”
