The Prisoner of Zenda (1913 film)

Last updated
The Prisoner of Zenda
Directed by Edwin S. Porter
Hugh Ford
Written byHugh Ford
Based on The Prisoner of Zenda
1894 novel
by Edward E. Rice
Anthony Hope
Produced by Albert W. Hale
Adolph Zukor
Starring James K. Hackett
Beatrice Beckley
David Torrence
Music by Joseph Carl Breil (accompaniment)
Production
company
Distributed byState Rights
Release date
  • February 18, 1913 (1913-02-18)
Running time
Four or five reels
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent

The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1913 silent film adaptation of a play by Edward E. Rice, which was in turn based on the 1894 Anthony Hope novel of the same name. It was directed by Edwin S. Porter and Hugh Ford, and starred stage actor James K. Hackett, Beatrice Beckley and David Torrence. [1]

Contents

In 1913, Adolph Zukor lured Hackett from the stage to star in a role which Hackett had played in the theater numerous times. Since feature films were in their infancy, Hackett was at first reluctant to take the part, so Zukor tried to convince Hackett in person; as Neal Gabler writes, "When Hackett came to visit Zukor, he was the very picture of the faded matinee idol. He wore a fur-collared coat with frayed sleeves and carried a gold-headed cane". [2]

According to silentera.com, the Library of Congress possesses two paper positive prints, and the International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman House also has a partial positive print. [1]

Plot summary

King Rudolf of Ruritania is saved from a coup attempt by the help of his lookalike cousin, who falls in love with the king's fiancee.

Cast

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Prisoner of Zenda</i> 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope

The Prisoner of Zenda is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order for the king to retain the crown, his coronation must proceed. Fortuitously, an English gentleman on holiday in Ruritania who resembles the monarch is persuaded to act as his political decoy in an effort to save the unstable political situation of the interregnum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolph Zukor</span> Hungarian-American film producer (1873–1976)

Adolph Zukor was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures. He produced one of America's first feature-length films, The Prisoner of Zenda, in 1913.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin S. Porter</span> American film pioneer (1870–1941)

Edwin Stanton Porter was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Of over 250 films created by Porter, his most important include What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City (1901), Jack and the Beanstalk (1902), Life of an American Fireman (1903), The Great Train Robbery (1903), The European Rest Cure (1904), The Kleptomaniac (1905), Life of a Cowboy (1906), Rescued from an Eagle's Nest (1908), and The Prisoner of Zenda (1913).

<i>Rupert of Hentzau</i> 1898 novel by Anthony Hope

Rupert of Hentzau is a sequel by Anthony Hope to The Prisoner of Zenda, written in 1895 but not published in book form until 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James K. Hackett</span> American actor (1869–1926)

James Keteltas Hackett was an American actor and manager.

<i>The Prisoner of Zenda</i> (1979 film) 1979 film by Richard Quine

The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Richard Quine that stars Peter Sellers, Lynne Frederick, Lionel Jeffries, Elke Sommer, Gregory Sierra, Jeremy Kemp, and Catherine Schell. It is adapted from the 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope. The novel tells the story of a man who has to impersonate a king, whom he closely resembles, when the king is abducted by enemies on the eve of his coronation.

<i>The Prisoner of Zenda</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by John Cromwell

The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1937 American black-and-white adventure film based on Anthony Hope's 1894 novel of the same name and the 1896 play. A lookalike has to step in when his royal distant relative is kidnapped to prevent his coronation. This version is widely considered the best of the many film adaptations of the novel and play.

<i>The Prisoner of Zenda</i> (1952 film) 1952 film by Richard Thorpe

The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1952 American Technicolor adventure film version of the 1894 novel of the same name by Anthony Hope and a remake of the 1937 sound version and the 1922 silent. This first color version, made by Loew's and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The film stars Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, and James Mason, with Louis Calhern, Robert Douglas, Jane Greer, and Robert Coote in supporting roles.

The Prisoner of Zenda is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope.

<i>The Prisoner of Zenda</i> (1922 film) 1922 film directed by Rex Ingram

The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1922 American silent adventure film directed by Rex Ingram, one of the many adaptations of Anthony Hope's popular 1894 novel The Prisoner of Zenda and the subsequent 1896 play by Hope and Edward Rose.

<i>Rupert of Hentzau</i> (1915 film) 1915 British film

Rupert of Hentzau is a 1915 British adventure film of the silent era. It was directed by George Loane Tucker and starred Henry Ainley, Jane Gail and Gerald Ames. It was based on the 1898 novel Rupert of Hentzau by Anthony Hope, the sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda (1894). It tells the story of the journey of an Englishmen to Ruritania in Eastern Europe where he is forced to impersonate a King to thwart the plans of a villainous aristocrat Rupert of Hentzau.

<i>A Good Little Devil</i> 1913 American film

A Good Little Devil is a 1914 silent film starring Mary Pickford, produced by Adolph Zukor and Daniel Frohman, and distributed on a 'State's Rights' basis. It was Pickford's first feature-length film.

<i>In the Bishops Carriage</i> 1913 American film

In the Bishop's Carriage is a 1913 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players Film Company film company and starring Mary Pickford. It is based on the novel of the same name by Miriam Michelson. This film is lost.

<i>The Dictator</i> (1915 film) 1915 film by Edwin S. Porter

The Dictator is a 1915 American silent comedy film directed by Oscar Eagle and reputedly Edwin S. Porter. It was based on a play The Dictator by Richard Harding Davis and produced by Adolph Zukor and the Charles Frohman Company. John Barrymore stars in a role played on the stage by William Collier, Sr. whose company Barrymore had performed in this play. The film was rereleased on April 13, 1919 as part of the Paramount "Success Series" of their early screen successes. The story was refilmed in 1922 as The Dictator starring Wallace Reid. Today both films are lost.

<i>Jim the Penman</i> (1915 film) 1915 film by Edwin Stanton Porter

Jim the Penman is a 1915 silent film crime drama produced by the Famous Players Film Company and released through Paramount Pictures. It was the first movie based on a well-known stage play, Jim the Penman by Charles Lawrence Young, about a forger in Victorian Britain. The film was directed by Edwin S. Porter and starred stage actor John B. Mason in his debut film, in line with Adolph Zukor's efforts to recruit famous stage actors for films. Mason had played the part on the stage in the 1910 season on Broadway. Co-starring with Mason was the young up-and-coming favorite Harold Lockwood.

<i>His Neighbors Wife</i> 1913 American film

His Neighbor's Wife is a 1913 silent short film directed by Edwin S. Porter and starring Victorian actress and celebrity Lillie Langtry in her only feature screen appearance. It was produced by Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company and distributed on a State's Rights basis.

<i>The Count of Monte Cristo</i> (1913 film) 1913 film by Edwin S. Porter and Joseph A. Golden

The Count of Monte Cristo is a 1913 silent film adventure directed by Joseph A. Golden and Edwin S. Porter, based on the adapted play of Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel of the same name by Charles Fechter, adapted on screen by Hampton Del Ruth. It starred James O'Neill, a stage actor and father of playwright Eugene O'Neill. James O'Neill had been playing Edmond Dantès most of his adult life and was famous in the role. Daniel Frohman and Adolph Zukor produced together. Edwin S. Porter co-directed with Joseph Golden, though this was probably necessary as Porter also served as the film's cinematographer. The film was released on November 1, 1913.

The Pride of Jennico is a lost 1914 silent swashbuckler film directed by J. Searle Dawley. It was produced by Adolph Zukor and released on a State Rights basis. On the Broadway stage, the play starred James K. Hackett, Bertha Galland and Arthur Hoops.

<i>Rupert of Hentzau</i> (1923 film) 1923 film

Rupert of Hentzau is a 1923 American silent adventure film directed by Victor Heerman and starring Bert Lytell, Elaine Hammerstein, and Lew Cody. It is an adaptation of Anthony Hope's 1898 novel Rupert of Hentzau, the sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatrice Beckley</span> English-born actress

Beatrice Mary Beckley was an English-born American actress of stage and screen.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Prisoner of Zenda (1913)". silentera.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  2. Gabler, Neal (1988). An Empire of Their Own. New York, NY: Doubleday. p. 31.