Another literary classic gets the Hollywood treatment . What this 1935
version of "A Tale of Two Cities" lacks in sophistication it certainly
makes up for in vigour. Jack Conway directed, (though Val Lewton and
Jacques Tourneur are credited with the handling of the crowd scenes,
which are magnificent), and Ronald Colman is a splendid Sydney Carton
doing a far, far better thing than he had ever done, The supporting cast
are something of a mish-mash; Elizabeth Allan and Donald Woods are
drips as Lucie and Charles Darnay but Edna May Oliver is terrific as
Miss Pross and Blanche Yurka, a suitably terrifying Madame De Farge,
knitting shrouds like there's no tomorrow which, of course, for many
there wasn't. Subtle it isn't but even now it's still one of the most
enjoyable epics of its period and vastly superior to the tepid British
remake with Dirk Bogarde playing both Carton and Darnay.Tuesday 8 October 2019
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
Another literary classic gets the Hollywood treatment . What this 1935
version of "A Tale of Two Cities" lacks in sophistication it certainly
makes up for in vigour. Jack Conway directed, (though Val Lewton and
Jacques Tourneur are credited with the handling of the crowd scenes,
which are magnificent), and Ronald Colman is a splendid Sydney Carton
doing a far, far better thing than he had ever done, The supporting cast
are something of a mish-mash; Elizabeth Allan and Donald Woods are
drips as Lucie and Charles Darnay but Edna May Oliver is terrific as
Miss Pross and Blanche Yurka, a suitably terrifying Madame De Farge,
knitting shrouds like there's no tomorrow which, of course, for many
there wasn't. Subtle it isn't but even now it's still one of the most
enjoyable epics of its period and vastly superior to the tepid British
remake with Dirk Bogarde playing both Carton and Darnay.
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