The Prisoner of Zenda (1922)
(Rex Ingram, US 1922, 100 min., 16mm)
The Eastman Theatre in downtown Rochester opened on September 4, 1922, with a screening of this Victorian adventure classic. A century later, the Dryden Theatre presents the best surviving film element of this title with live piano accompaniment.
While the weak and drunken King Rudolph of Ruritania (Lewis Stone) awaits his coronation, he is drugged by his brother, Black Michael (Stuart Holmes), who is preparing a coup d'état. Michael's plans are thwarted by the substitution at Rudolph's coronation of Rassendyll (also Stone, in a dual role), an Englishman who is the king's exact double. Michael, discovering the ruse, kidnaps the real king and holds him captive in the castle at Zenda. A rousing adventure based on the novel by Anthony Hope, it still thrills with action, suspense and romance.
Live piano accompaniment by Dr. Philip C. Carli.