By Sir Percy Blakeney/The Scarlet Pimpernel (Leslie Howard)

It is the French revolution and everone is losing their heads. Sir Percy Blakeney must fake being ridicules and may even lose the love of his life Lady Marguerite Blakeney (Merle Oberon.) This is necessary to save their friends from the guillotine.

How long can he pull this off while right next to hem is Citizen Chauvelin (Raymond Massey) who is trying to track down The Scarlet Pimpernel. He even threatens Marguerite's with the life of her brother to find the pimpernel.

The story, originally a play then a novel has been remade and in some ways improved through the years. However this version will always be the classic that others are measured by.

A bad copy of a good film
Review date: 2005-09-15 Rating: 2 out of 10

The film is the first adaptation of Baroness Orczy's novel, and remains true to the original (although it adheres to the book in scenes that could easily be sacrificed, and summarises other crucial elements that could do with expanding!). The DVD is terrible! I've seen this film in better quality - and the whole film, at that - on television. The picture never stays still and the sound is lost behind background interference and constant 'popping'. Adding to that the fact that some scenes have been cut (Leslie Howard's line 'Cease? I shall love her 'til the day I die, that is the tragedy', amongst others), it is hardly worth buying this copy. Wait until it reappears on a classic movie channel, for the best presentation of this romantic film, or buy the 1982 film on DVD instead!

Shockingly poor quality DVD
Review date: 2004-06-07 Rating: 2 out of 10

This amazing 1934 British Classic deserves better than this terrible DVD release. Sound quality is abysmal, picture quality is equally poor. This DVD seems like a tenth generation video copy and completely spoils the magic of an amazingly entertaining and wonderful film. I was bitterly disappointed in this DVD - I should have realised from the front cover when Merle Oberon was pictured but not billed as Leslie Howard's co star - instead for some strange reason Joan Gardner (playing a rather minor role) is credited.

This DVD is not worth buying. Hopefully a remastered version will eventually come onto the market - save your cash and wait till it does. Your reward will eventually be an hour and a half of exciting escapsim rather than frustration.

Is he in heaven, is he in hell?.............................
Review date: 2000-11-11 Rating: 10 out of 10

There is one scene in this film that I have always felt particularly moved by. That is when a royalist appears on top of a roof in Paris in Paris when 'that damned elusive Pimpernel' is rescuing the De Tournay mother, daughter and son and proceeds to raise his hand in a symbolic gesture and shout 'LONG LIVE THE KING OF FRANCE' -the shouts from then crowd below (although basically meaning 'let's kill that treasonable bastard') I have always taken to mean as 'Let's kill that peasant pox infected bastard Robespierre'. Immensely patriotic stuff and exemplary of Mr Korda's genius behind the camera -particularly if you watch THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII and THE THIRD MAN. As for the rest of this splendid production, Raymond Massey shimmers as Chauvelin, bringing to it the slyness and straight through to the core evilness that such a part demands - it is a mark of his skill that the only actors to have really equalled his performance have been Ian McKellen and Martin Shaw- each of whom have had to tackle other sides to the complex character that the chief agent of the Committee of Public Security is. Leslie Howard also stands out - the way that he is able to switch on and switch off the foppishness and then the man of action is brilliant. Merle Oberon - whom I have never seen in anything else is also good value as the woman (a) you would want to die for and (b) class as the wife who is ready to lay down her life for her husband. The way that Marguerite's distress for her brother's life, her love for her husband and her helplessness at the hands of Chauvelin can be balanced up so well by Merle Oberon is further example of why, as the Amazon review says, Hollywood 'doesn't make 'em like they used to...............................................'

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