The Scarlet Pimpernel

:"We seek him here, we seek him there, / Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. / Is he in heaven?--Is he in hell? / That demmed, elusive Pimpernel."

Film and other media

Hollywood took to the Pimpernel early and often; most such movies have been based on a melange of the original book and Eldorado (1913). Film treatments were done as early as 1917 and again in 1928 and 1937. The 1934 film directed by Harold Young, starring Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon, is widely regarded as the best screen adaptation, although Orczy herself believed Oberon miscast. It was also remade by Leslie Howard in 1941 as Pimpernel Smith, set in Nazi Germany instead of Paris. A popular TV adaptation was filmed in 1982, starring Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour and Ian McKellen. A British TV series based on the novel, produced by ITC Entertainment, aired for a season in 1956. The novel has even been parodied as a Warner Bros cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck (the Scarlet Pumpernickel), in 1954.

Related Topics:
Eldorado - 1913 - 1917 - 1928 - 1937 - 1934 - Harold Young - Leslie Howard - Merle Oberon - 1941 - Pimpernel Smith - Nazi Germany - Paris - 1982 - Anthony Andrews - Jane Seymour - Ian McKellen - ITC Entertainment - 1956 - Warner Bros - Daffy Duck - Scarlet Pumpernickel - 1954

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By contrast, a 1950 version (The Elusive Pimpernel) starring David Niven has been widely panned by serious fans of the canon. The BBC filmed the story as two 3-part mini-series in 1999-2000 with Richard E. Grant in the title role and Martin Shaw as Chauvelin. The series was shown on the A&E network in the United States.

Related Topics:
1950 - The Elusive Pimpernel - David Niven - BBC - 1999 - 2000 - Richard E. Grant - Martin Shaw - United States

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Returning to the work's stage roots, a 1997 Broadway musical based on the story was composed by Frank Wildhorn and written by Nan Knighton.

Related Topics:
1997 - Broadway - Musical - Frank Wildhorn - Nan Knighton

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In print, one of Simon Hawke's Time Wars novels, The Pimpernel Plot (1985), involves the Scarlet Pimpernel. Steve Jackson Games published GURPS Scarlet Pimpernel, by Robert Traynor and Lisa Evans, in 1991, a supplement for playing the milieu using the GURPS roleplaying game system.

Related Topics:
Simon Hawke - The Pimpernel Plot - Steve Jackson Games - GURPS Scarlet Pimpernel - Robert Traynor - Lisa Evans - 1991 - GURPS

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