The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934 film)

The Scarlet Pimpernel
theatrical release lobby card
Directed byHarold Young
Written byScenario, continuity & dialogue:
Lajos Bíró
S. N. Behrman
Robert E. Sherwood
Arthur Wimperis
Baroness Emmuska Orczy (uncredited)
Alexander Korda
Rowland Brown (contributing writers, uncredited)
Based on
  • The Scarlet Pimpernel
    1905 play
    by Baroness Orczy and Montagu Barstow
  • The Scarlet Pimpernel
    1908 novel
    by Baroness Orczy
Produced byAlexander Korda
StarringLeslie Howard
Merle Oberon
Raymond Massey
CinematographyHarold Rosson
Edited byWilliam Hornbeck
Music byArthur Benjamin
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release dates
  • 23 December 1934 (1934-12-23) (UK)
  • 7 February 1935 (1935-02-07) (U.S.)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£81,000
Box office£420,000

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1934 British adventure film starring Leslie Howard, Merle Oberon, and Raymond Massey. It was directed by Harold Young and produced by Alexander Korda. Based on the 1905 play by Baroness Orczy and Montagu Barstow and the 1905 adventure novel by Orczy, the film is about an eighteenth-century English aristocrat (Howard) who leads a double life, passing himself off as an effete aristocrat while engaged in a secret effort to rescue French nobles from Robespierre's Reign of Terror. Howard's portrayal of the title character is often considered the definitive portrayal of the role. In 1941, he played a similar role in "Pimpernel" Smith but this time set in pre-WWII Germany.