Command Performance

So far there is only one other review for this film on IMDb and that writer really, really hated it. While I can understand some of their wrath, I found the film enjoyable despite its deficits. Yes, Neil Hamilton is a big hammy in his acting...they're right about that. And I should point out that this film and the play it's based upon clearly are ripping off "The Prisoner of Zenda", though it's different enough to be enjoyable--and it gives a happy ending you'll never find in the original source material.

Neil Hamilton is acting in two roles in one of the oldest and saddest clichés in films--the notion of identical strangers! It seems that a tiny kingdom is doomed to be invaded unless they can make a marriage alliance by another nearby country. However, the prince is a jerk-face--and couldn't care less if his country is invaded and so he refuses the marriage. Well, it just so happens that there is an actor who looks a lot like the prince (exactly, actually) and he goes to woo the fair princess (Una Merkel).

While the romance seems rushed and the film overly familiar, I like what the film did at the end--creating a very interesting contrast to "The Prisoner of Zenda". I also thought Merkel was excellent and lovely--far different from her usual comical and light roles. All in all, not a great film but an enjoyable one that you can download for free at archive.org.