This time around, Sir Percy Blakeney (Barry K. Barnes), aka the Scarlet Pimpernel, has left off rescuing the French nobility from the guillotine, having promised his wife never to return to Paris. But the villainous Robespierre and his henchman are determined to get hold of Blakeney any way they can and lop off his head from crimes against France. They lure him to France by kidnapping his wife, a French aristocrat, and sentencing her to death, knowing that Blakeney and his gang will be forced to come to her rescue. He does. And he succeeds too, not only in rescuing his wife but, with the help of an honest citizen, Tallion (James Mason), he manages to bring down Robespierre and seemingly end the Reign of Terror.
Well, Barry K. Barnes isn't Leslie Howard, the original Scarlet Pimpernel, and this is, after all, a sequel, so many of the incidents we see have a familiar ring. Most missed -- the "latent status" of Sir Percy Blakeney as the intriguing master of disguise, the brave and adventurous hero. Barnes still has his disguises, by Guy "Frankenstein" Pearce, and he's still stalwart and noble, but he no longer has any reason to play the effete pouf. Everyone in both England and France knows that Blakeney is the Scarlet Pimpernel. I missed that effete poser. Only for a few minutes, and for no discernible reason, does Blakeney hold that triangular lorgnette up to his nose and exclaim, "Sink me!", in the sort of inflection that would feel entirely at home in Julius's in Greenwich Village. Part of the thrill of these masquerades is knowing that the harmless fop is actually a deadly swordsman like Zorro, or in this case a clever manipulator of circumstance.
Still, if you liked "The Scarlet Pimpernel", you'll certainly like this one because of its close family resemblance to the original. I only wish that there were more of Howard's pouf persona present, and that it had an enjoyable and witty set piece like Howard's snoozing on the library couch and putting one over on Raymond Massey's Chauvelin.
Sir Percy is a fictional character, of course, and no one actually ended the Reign of Terror, a case of yet another revolution bringing about too much of a good thing. Robespierre, the rabid revolutionary, was himself beheaded. Even M. Guillotine, who invented the demonic machine, met Mme. Guillotine. The result was chaos until order was restored by Napolean, who didn't take long to proclaim himself Emporer.
Well, Barry K. Barnes isn't Leslie Howard, the original Scarlet Pimpernel, and this is, after all, a sequel, so many of the incidents we see have a familiar ring. Most missed -- the "latent status" of Sir Percy Blakeney as the intriguing master of disguise, the brave and adventurous hero. Barnes still has his disguises, by Guy "Frankenstein" Pearce, and he's still stalwart and noble, but he no longer has any reason to play the effete pouf. Everyone in both England and France knows that Blakeney is the Scarlet Pimpernel. I missed that effete poser. Only for a few minutes, and for no discernible reason, does Blakeney hold that triangular lorgnette up to his nose and exclaim, "Sink me!", in the sort of inflection that would feel entirely at home in Julius's in Greenwich Village. Part of the thrill of these masquerades is knowing that the harmless fop is actually a deadly swordsman like Zorro, or in this case a clever manipulator of circumstance.
Still, if you liked "The Scarlet Pimpernel", you'll certainly like this one because of its close family resemblance to the original. I only wish that there were more of Howard's pouf persona present, and that it had an enjoyable and witty set piece like Howard's snoozing on the library couch and putting one over on Raymond Massey's Chauvelin.
Sir Percy is a fictional character, of course, and no one actually ended the Reign of Terror, a case of yet another revolution bringing about too much of a good thing. Robespierre, the rabid revolutionary, was himself beheaded. Even M. Guillotine, who invented the demonic machine, met Mme. Guillotine. The result was chaos until order was restored by Napolean, who didn't take long to proclaim himself Emporer.