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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 972

The Prisoner of Zenda

Synopsis

An English visitor to Ruritania discovers that he is the king's double. When a plot leaves the ruler unable to attend his own coronation, the stranger takes his place to keep a rival from seizing the throne. The deception draws him into court intrigue, a dangerous rescue and a romance that his borrowed identity cannot easily sustain.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
113:08
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Rex Ingram · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsRex Ingram

Inspirations

Rex Ingram's version draws on Anthony Hope's 1894 novel and its stage adaptation. Lewis Stone plays both the visitor and the king, while the fictional kingdom provides a setting for the conflict between personal desire and public duty.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 15, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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