The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)

(On Cable TV, January 2021) There’s a special place for The Scarlet Pimpernel (the character) in fictional history, considering that it inspired the motif of (super)heroes with a hidden identity, preceding Zorro, which preceded Batman. Considering that Emma Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel (the novel) is an adventure tale set at the time of the French Revolution featuring a mild aristocrat-by-day becoming a wild swordsman-by-night, it’s possible to imagine any adaptation leaning on one or two directions, either as a swashbuckling adventure, or as a period costume drama. Unfortunately for me, I was expecting the first and received the second in the 1934 version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. While the film is not devoid of sword-fighting action sequences, it mostly goes in the period drama direction. The costumes and sets are sumptuous, but modern viewers will miss the steady pace of action sequences that more modern adaptations would have been sure to include. It’s not entirely fair to second-guess the storytelling instincts of previous generations—after all, producer Alexander Korda clearly knew what he was doing, and the result was one of Great Britain’s top-grossing films of 1934. But modern viewers will find it impossible to watch The Scarlet Pimpernel and not see where the film could have been pumped up with more action for an even more engaging result—as it is, it feels too slow, too talky and too dull despite a fascinating premise. Oh well—seeing how the Three Musketeers have been reinterpreted in steadily more action-filled ways over the decades, maybe it’s not a good idea to wish for a remake.