Prisoner Of Zenda (DVD)

Of all tales of gallantry and romance, few are as durable as Andrew Hope's beloved swashbuckler. There are at least seven screen versions, including this 1922 adaptation featuring some of the era's most luminous players. Lewis Stone, no stranger to leading-man roles in the 1920s, plays the dual role of a kidnapped king and the look-alike Englishman recruited to fill in for him. The cast includes Barbara La Marr, the exotic and ill-fated looker hailed as "The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful." And Ramon Novarro, then named Ramon Samaniegos, gives his breakthrough performance as villainous Rupert. Because of his rising stardom, Novarro was top-billed in rereleases of the film, as is the case in this print.