The Elusive Pimpernel (1950 film)

Not to be confused with The Elusive Pimpernel (novel).
For the 1919 film, see The Elusive Pimpernel (1919 film).

The Elusive Pimpernel
(The Fighting Pimpernel)
Theatrical poster
Directed byMichael Powell
Emeric Pressburger
Written byBaroness Orczy (novels)
Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger
Produced byMichael Powell
Emeric Pressburger
StarringDavid Niven
Margaret Leighton
Jack Hawkins
Cyril Cusack
Robert Coote
CinematographyChristopher Challis
Edited byReginald Mills
Music byBrian Easdale
Production
company
Distributed byBritish Lion Films
Release dates
  • 6 February 1950 (1950-02-06) (UK)
  • 17 April 1954 (1954-04-17) (NYC)
  • 1955 (1955) (US general)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£477,000[1][2]
Box office£133,354 (UK)[3]

The Elusive Pimpernel is a 1950 British period adventure film by the British-based director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905) by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. It was released in the United States under the title The Fighting Pimpernel. The picture stars David Niven as Sir Percy Blakeney (a.k.a. The Scarlet Pimpernel), Margaret Leighton as Marguerite Blakeney and features Jack Hawkins, Cyril Cusack and Robert Coote. Originally intended to be a musical, the film was re-worked as a light-hearted drama.

  1. ^ Karol Kulik, Alexander Korda: The Man Who Could Work Miracles, Virgin 1990 p. 319
  2. ^ Kevin Macdonald (1994). Emeric Pressburger: The Life and Death of a Screenwriter. Faber and Faber. p. 316. ISBN 978-0-571-16853-8.
  3. ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p. 492