The Silver Screen Oasis

I think Niven is just marvelous here, I think this is the first film I saw him in. I fell for him immediately on sight, and I made sure to find out who he was. There's an embarrassment of riches - three good humored, good looking men in Zenda.

klondike wrote:A great old film, one I'd almost forgotten just how much I liked!
And a nice reminder of how powerful, yet subtle a presence the young David Niven could be; he certainly "paid his dues" as a supporting character before the camera started favoring him, didn't he?

He (David Niven) was superb in this film. He was simply a great supporting character in this movie. Klondike, your words above is adaptively put and well thought of.

All men should have brown curly hair and pencil thin moustaches.

JackFavell wrote:I think Niven is just marvelous here, I think this is the first film I saw him in. I fell for him immediately on sight, and I made sure to find out who he was.

I totally agree about Niv in Zenda--though I first fell for him when he returned to his comrades in The Dawn Patrol (1938) riding in a sidecar while wearing spotted pajamas with a magnum of champagne under each arm! Sometimes I think that an overly earnest and divided world is in dire need of more people trying to relish every scrap of amusement they can scrounge up and translate into that elusive quality once called charm.

JackFavell wrote:There's an embarrassment of riches - three good humored, good looking men in Zenda.

Of course you are referring to Messrs. Colman, Niven and Fairbanks, but I get a great kick out of C. Aubrey Smith's
cautious but expedient Colonel Zapt, acting as guardian angel, spur to action, and conscience simultaneously!

"Think of Ruritania first, my prince!"

Oh golly, I haven't seen The Dawn Patrol in years! I must go right out and find a copy.... immediately! I have to see that scene again.

The fact that Niven could translate roguish attempts to find fun in the smallest details into a career spanning years and years is amazing... He could take that same fellow and show the darker side of charm in movies like Enchantment, Separate Tables and Bonjour Tristesse, proving what a really brilliant actor he was. No one made it look easier, not even Cary Grant.

Look at that picture - it tells all. Fritz balances Col. Zapt's singlemindedness perfectly.... However, I'm quite sure that Colonel Zapt had a pencil thin moustache too in his youth. One wants to see a prequel, the Adventures of Col. Zapt!

One really has to relish the names in this movie, if nothing else.

Caught this one again the other day and the whole thing is done with such flair. There is a good sense of humor about it even when it should be its darkest time. A wonderful cast with wonderful performances. One does wonder, or at least I do, why Mary Astor was so in love with the evil Raymond Massey.

One thing stood out in the sword fight near the end of the picture was the look of it. It seemed very much to influence not only "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and "The Sea Hawk." It is also very likely it followed something else but the shadows and the quick cuts the skill involved, at least on the two in the long shots, was quite good. And why not have some witty dialogue while you're doing it.

Everyone has their duty.

I like this one too! The later, more colorful one is fine as well. But this version tops it!

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Movieman and Red River: I truly believe that Stewart Granger was the best swashbuckler of the era, including Errol Flynn. Granger has the swagger and ego down pat, I guess because he was personally pretty much of a flirt, but he had the looks for it.