A Tale of Two Cities
Set during the French Revolution, MGM's lavish 1935 production of Dickens' classic tale of ill-fated romance and noble sacrifice quickly followed producer David O. Selznick's first foray into the world of Dickens with David Copperfield, released earlier in the same year.
Both films recieved Academy Award nominations in the Best Picture category in successive years (1935 and 1936), with A Tale of Two Cities also garnering a Best Editing nomination. Basil Rathbone, Elizabeth Allan and Edna May Oliver co-star, with Ronald Colman in the lead role as a disreputable lawyer who finds a chance at redemption in the most dramatic of circumstances.
"Its marvellous period scenes include a storming-of-the-Bastille set piece by no less than future horror maestri Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur. [It] remains highly watchable for the matchless, mellifluous performance of Ronald Colman as the cynical yet romantic anti-hero, Sidney Carlton." - BFI
