than a lot of other movies, that’s for positive! What a extraordinary adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Story of Two Cities”. Like so many of the titanic author’s works, this narrative is crammed rotund of images well-known outside of the work itself: Madame DeFarge and her incessant, malevolent knitting, Dr. Manet lost in his cobbling, Sydney Carton offering the ultimate appreciate sacrifice. Ronald Colman gives a glowing performance as the world-weary Sydney, and looks surprisingly young without his trademark moustache. Among the sterling supporting cast, Edna May Oliver, as always, steals the explain as the prim Miss Pross, chaperone to Lucie Manet, daughter of the downhearted doctor held captive in the Bastille for half a lifetime. Like all pre-GWTW Selznick pictures, the movie has an air of the antique about it (like “David Copperfield” and “Runt Women”), but for a anecdote station in the distant past, that makes sense. It had been many years since I last saw this fragment, and what surprised me were the excellently done mob scene when the French peasants charge the Bastille, and when Madame DeFarge denounces Charles Darney in the watch box. Usually, the only scene excerpted from “A Fable of Two Cities” is the last guillotine shot, but I believe it’s a disservice to the film to not prove more of these other tall scenes to a larger audience. “It was the best of times” seeing this broad traditional film–take my work for it, and rent it yourself.
This is an fable film, adapted from Charles Dickens’ book of the same name. It is, indeed, a legend of two cities, as the drama in the film swings support and forth between Paris and London. In Paris, France, the seeds of revolution are being sown. A secret underground is already at work, presided over by a Madame Defarge (Blanche Yurka), who, with her husband, runs a limited wine shop. These depressed citizens are seeking to kill the tyranny of the aristocracy, whom they belief as oppressors of the bad. The worst of the aristocracy is represented by the Marquis St. Evremonde (Basil Rathbone), an insufferable, effete aristocrat, who cares for no one but himself, mighty less for the starving masses outside his door, whom he considers to be less than dogs. There is a scene in the film that illustrates this quite aptly.
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Meanwhile, one of the victims of the Marquis, Dr. Manette, an innocent man who has been imprisoned in the Bastille for the last eighteen years without serve of trial, is finally released, a changed man who has lost touch with reality. Dr. Manette is reunited with his daughter, Lucie (Elizabeth Allen), who had plan that her father was wearisome. Under her esteem and nursing, he recovers a bit and together go to England to resume their lives. It is on that voyage that they meet a fellow Frenchman, a young, attractive man who goes by the name of Charles Darnay. They do not know that he is the idealistic nephew of the unsuitable Marquis St. Evremonde.
Once in London, Lucie and Darnay have occasion to meet. Then, he is accused of treason, having been framed by an emissary of the Marquis. Represented at trial by a team of barristers, which includes Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman), a ravishing, discouraged barrister with a penchant for drinking. It is at the trial that Carton makes the acquaintance of Lucie Manette, for whom he develops a deep and abiding secret treasure. Carton becomes a welcome and frequent visitor to the Manette home, where Lucie holds him in grand adore and considers him her greatest friend. Carton thrives under her attention. So, when she tells him that she is going to be marrying Charles Darnay, Carton simply begins his downward spiral anew. Shortly after, Lucie becomes Mrs. Darnay. Later, Carton resumes his visits with Lucie, none the wiser of his feelings for her. Carton eventually settles for being a common of Lucie and Darnay’s young daughter, who is watched over by Lucie’s feeble nanny and companion, Miss Pross (Edna May Oliver) .
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When the revolution in France begins, all hell breaks looks, with Madame Defarge as its spokesperson. She now relentlessly knits shrouds for victims of the guillotine, as the aristocracy and anyone affiliated with them are sentenced to death by kangaroo courts presided over by “citizens”. Under unfounded pretenses, Darnay is lured serve to France. Even though he knows that he is at risk, he goes, thinking that he will be helping his faded tutor and friend, who has been arrested for having been employed by the Marquis St. Evremonde, the Marquis having long since been murdered. When Darnay arrives in Paris, he is arrested as a member of the aristocracy, despite having renounced his title long ago. He is imprisoned, and his wife, daughter, father-in-law, Miss Pross, the family banker, and Sidney Carton, all go to Paris in hopes of helping him. Dr. Manette testifies on behalf of his son-in-law at trial, and it looks as if Darnay may be region free, as the people seem persuaded by the eloquent plea of the man who spent eighteen years unjustly imprisoned in the Bastille. Then, an outraged Madame Defarge steps up to home plate. At Darnay’s trial, she rallies her fellow citizens with her revolutionary rhetoric and gets the verdict that she desires.
While Darnay awaits his turn at the guillotine, Carton sees that there is something he can do to aid his beloved Lucie. He can return Charles to her. He concocts a valiant view, so that instead of Darnay, the guillotine will meet with him, instead. It is one of the most memorable, redemptive self-sacrifices ever filmed. He also arranges for them to soar France immediately, as the by now insanely bloodthirsty Madame Defarge, aware that Darnay has a child, wants all the descendants of the Marquis St. Evremonde to construct contact with the guillotine. Madame Defarge almost succeeds but for the fact that she runs into the formidable Miss Pross. The tangle between these two at the eleventh hour makes for one of the film’s most memorable scenes.
This is a superlative film. The cast is stellar and gives performances that are exceptional. The two main standouts are Ronald Colman and Blanche Yurka. Ronald Colman gives a sensitive, restrained performance as Sidney Carlton, the lawyer on the skids, who finally has an opportunity to present his worship for Lucie in a contrivance that will be meaningful to her. Moreover, in portraying an attorney with a drinking plight, he does so with a deft subtlety, getting the point across without over doing it. His face shows a myriad of emotions, and his suffering is etched on it, visible with every gape. His velvet sigh, as always, keeps the viewer riveted to the cloak. Blanche Yurka gives a great and compelling performance as the commanding Madame Defarge, who goes over the deep demolish at the last. Basil Rathbone is satisfactory as the cruel and narcissistic Marquis St. Evremonde, his every word and action dripping with contempt for the people of France. Of course, who could forget the indomitable Edna May Oliver, who has one of the most memorable scenes in the film, when Madame Defarge crosses her path at a most inopportune moment? The rest of the cast, too many to mention, individually contributes successfully to making this a grand film, indeed. It should be in the personal collection of all those who devour vintage films. Bravo!
Total Gym 2000
