The Prisoner of Zenda

A 19th-century classic gets the unpredictable Peter Sellers (The Party) treatment in this rollicking, all-star romp about a cabby who becomes a king. The crazy old monarch of Ruritania (Sellers) dies in a balloon accident, leaving the throne to his son Rudolf (also Sellers). But his evil brother Michael (Jeremy Kemp) wants the crown for himself. Afraid harm will come to Rudolf, his loyal followers (Lionel Jeffries and Simon Williams) switch his Majesty with a cab-driving London lookalike named Syd (Sellers yet again)! Add two adoring and confused royal blondes (Lynne Frederick and A Shot in the Dark’s Elke Sommer), plenty of treachery and double-dealing, and a full-scale battle for life and honor, and you’ve got Zenda at its zaniest! Director Richard Quine’s (Paris When It Sizzles, How to Murder Your Wife) lavish production features the beautiful scenery of Vienna and Salzburg set to a stately score by Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther).