Synopsis

During the French Revolution, the Scarlet Pimpernel secretly rescues aristocrats from execution and smuggles them to England. His public identity is Sir Percy Blakeney, an apparently foolish and fashion-obsessed nobleman. When French agent Chauvelin discovers a connection between Percy and the mysterious rescuer, he pressures Percy's estranged wife, Marguerite, into helping expose the Pimpernel before another daring escape can be completed.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is based on Baroness Orczy's novel *The Scarlet Pimpernel*, with elements also drawn from her later novel *The Elusive Pimpernel*.

• The production was originally conceived as a musical. Songs and musical sequences were planned, but the project was ultimately reshaped into a light-hearted period adventure. Some abrupt transitions in the finished film are often attributed to material being removed during that change.

• Samuel Goldwyn and Alexander Korda jointly financed the production. Goldwyn was dissatisfied with the completed picture and refused to pay his remaining share, leading to lawsuits between the two producers.

• It was released in Britain as *The Elusive Pimpernel* in November 1950. The American release used the title *The Fighting Pimpernel* and did not arrive until 1954.

• The American version was substantially shortened and issued in black and white, despite the British release being photographed in Technicolor.

• Location work was carried out in Britain and France, including Bath, Dover, Savernake Forest, the Marlborough Downs, Loire Valley chateaux, and Mont Saint-Michel.

• The film's bright Technicolor imagery and stylized treatment of the swashbuckling period anticipate the more flamboyant historical adventures that became popular in later decades.

• The production cost was reported at approximately 477,000 pounds, while its recorded British gross was approximately 133,354 pounds.