Dani Kaye

Leslie Howard was the consummate actor: engaging; subtle; charismatic but with a quirky, self-deprecating charm that precluded smugness; and, of course, with full mastery of his eyes, voice, and facial expressions, all of which maximise the impact, efen today, of every role he adopted. Nowhere are all his admirable attributes on finer display than in this World War Il adaptation of the famous tale of the Scarlet Pimpernel. I shall not repeat the synopsis of this film; it has been rolled out often enough. But I guarantee that without resorting to cheap and easy violence, the film's exquisite script, presented with great aplomb by the majority its cast (the females occasionally over-acted), had me on the edge of my seat with tension and applauding the rhetoric of Howard's character like a starry-eyed teen. This is a 'must watch' movie, right up there with 'Casablanca' and 'The Man Who Shot Josie Wales' for charm, sudpence, nuance and light-touch, non-tacky pathos.

Good Grief. Cardboard cutouts all through. Only Cary Elwes i s at all believable. And the plot... hackneyed, entirely predictable and boring. The only real stars are the landscape, very pretty, and the dog. Sorry, but that's all there is to say for this rubbish little yarn.