A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Jack Conway

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel)
W.P. Lipscomb (writer) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The most dramatic love story in the history of literature!

Plot:

An elaborate adaptation of Dickens' classic tale of the French Revolution. Dissipated lawyer Sydney...

Plot Keywords:

Dickens | Paris | French Revolution | Guillotine | Lawyer

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Ronald Colman	...	Sydney Carton
Elizabeth Allan	...	Lucie Manette
Edna May Oliver	...	Miss Pross
Reginald Owen	...	Stryver
Basil Rathbone	...	Marquis St. Evremonde
Blanche Yurka	...	Madame De Farge
Henry B. Walthall	...	Dr. Manette
Donald Woods	...	Charles Darnay
Walter Catlett	...	Barsad
Fritz Leiber	...	Gaspard
H.B. Warner	...	Gabelle
Mitchell Lewis	...	Ernest De Farge
Claude Gillingwater	...	Jarvis Lorry
Billy Bevan	...	Jerry Cruncher
Isabel Jewell	...	Seamstress

Also Known As:

Charles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities' (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

128 min | USA:121 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Actor Ronald Colman agreed to play the role of Sydney Carton with the sole condition that he not also be required to play the role of Charles Darnay, as was usually expected in adaptations of the Dickens novel. The plot of 'A Tale of Two Cities' turns on the physical resemblance between the two characters.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Close up of a paper reporting arrest of Charles Darnay shows a Reuters report. The action takes place in 1785...Paul Reuter was born in 1816 and did not set up his eponymous news agency until 1850.

Quotes:

[after the Marquis' coach runs over and kills a peasant child, he gets out of the coach and speaks to the onlookers]
Marquis St. Evremonde: It's extraordinary to me that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children. One or the other of you is forever in the way. How do you know what injury you might do to my horses?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Irving Thalberg: Prince of Hollywood (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

None But the Lonely Heart

A Fabulous Tale of 2 Cities ****

Charles Dickens would have stood up and applauded had he seen this fabulous 1935 version of his classic tale.

There are no words adequate enough to praise the fine performances in this film dealing with the French Revolution.

Ronald Colman is memorable as Sidney Carton, an alcoholic lawyer, who gave up his life to save the husband (Donald Woods) of the woman he loved. The woman, played by Elizabeth Allan, was strong in emotion and very appealing.

The supporting performances are first-rate. Had they had supporting Oscar categories in 1935, Edna May Oliver, as Miss Pross, governess to Allan and Blanche Yurka, as fiery revolutionary Madame De Farge, would have certainly been nominated. Who can forget the fight scene between both of these women? Who can forget De Farge's demand that Darnay, the nephew of the notorious Marquis Evremonde, a vicious Basil Rathbone, be put to death for being a member of this elitist family? Yurka tore into this scene a revenge rarely seen in motion pictures. Unfortunately, Hollywood could offer her few parts for a talent as great as this. Oliver, as Miss Pross, shed the right tears, and with sarcastic wit, delivered some of the most memorable lines in this film. Her facial gestures along with those of Yurka were something else. You'd also feel for the mobs of the starving French while the aristocrats lived so well.

Isabel Jewell, as the condemned seamstress, gave heart in her brief performance. Her emotional outburst, as she nears her fate, will never be forgotten.

The dialogue was crisp, the directing by Jack Conway, was first rate.

Years later, this classic was remade in 1958. It was an extremely poor remake. Foolishly, they weakened the part of Madame De Farge. **** for the original and even more. Revolutions were never as good as this one!