Director: Harold Young
Year Released: 1935
Rating: 1.5
Malicious French government/regime is lopping off its citizens' heads at an alarming rate (for no real defined reason other than having shouted "Long live the King") and it's up to one ambiguously gay man and his loyal band of followers to save them from the guillotine. That particular man is Leslie Howard, or The Scarlet Pimpernel, a foppish, intensely irritating (check out all those close-ups!) Robin Hood-type who has never learned to use a bow and arrow, musket or sword, but is damn fine at slicing apart the opposition using his cunning and creative disguises. I was thoroughly distracted the entire way through - none of the characters are all that well-developed, and there is no genuine sense of urgency or energy you need for a picture of this sort. Nor is it smart (the "bad guys" are too doltish) or clever, and the performances - in particular, the Pimpernel's wife - are overdone. What the place needs is for Errol Flynn or Fairbanks to step in and carry the film's weight, because Howard isn't qualified for such a role.
