The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) and (1952)

Plot: An Englishman on a Ruritarian holiday must impersonate the king when the rightful monarch, a distant cousin, is drugged and kidnapped.

I've combined my review since both movies have the same plot and almost a similar script. The only difference seems to be the direction and the two casts, and boy do those two things make a difference. The 1937 version is perfectly cast, especially the lead Ronald Coleman, and the male supporting cast, Niven, Massey, C. Aubrey Smith, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The actresses are pretty good too, Madeleine Carroll is luminous as the Princess and Mary Astor is excellent as the French Mistress. Not only does everyone look the part, they sound the part. In fact, you could simply listen to the movie on CD and enjoy it.

By comparison, the 1952 version is pretty dreary stuff. The use of Technicolor is a plus, but despite having almost the same script and actually being shorter, it seems longer. The first half, especially seems to drag. And cast is vastly inferior. Granger is bland, Calhern is dull and too American, and Douglas as "Prince Michael" lacks Massey's charisma. Kerr is good as the Princess and Mason does well as "Rupert" when simply trading barbs, but he lacks Fairbanks Devil may care charm and athleticism.

Summary - The 1952 remake made MGM quite a bit of money, but there's really no reason to see it when the 1937 version is available.