Ronald Colman : Will You Suggest Top Five Films Please?

I am an avid "old movie" fan, especially from 1929-1959 and have a pretty good library of films and books from that period. For some reason I haven't seen many of Mr. Colman's films. I saw a little cute flick he did with Ginger Rogers from 1940 this morning and would love to see more. I like to hear from fans, so if you can recommend any - a "Top 5" would be great, but i'll take any! - must-see films, i'd appreciate it so much! Thanks in advance!

I was just thinking of how I w b68 ould rank Mr. Colman's films and saw your post. I have seen every sound film he made and find him an incredibly thoughtful and measured actor.

Without doubt, these are his best five films and the ones he is most known for:

Lost Horizon
A Tale of Two Cities
Prisoner of Zenda
Random Harvest
Talk of the Town

Each has a different angle - one is fantasy, one is an adventure, one is a love story, one a sophisticated comedy and the other an historical drama. Colman excelled in all these film genres. It's too bad if you missed it, because TCM played 4 of these 5 films yesterday, but they are all classics and will often replay every few months. I re-watched 'A Tale of Two Cities' and 'Random Harvest' after many years and was in tears on how simple and moving these old Hollywood productions could be.

Cheers!

Hello, fellow-Colman f 5b4 an,

I think the mysterious x pretty much nailed my top five with the possible exception of "Talk of the Town," which I find a tad wearisome and not a great script. I would respectfully replace that with "A Double Life," Colman's Academy Award film. But with Colman, it's hard to go wrong.

Yes, to take it a step further, 'A Double Life' definitely is a top Colman film. Other greats include 'Champagne for Caesar', 'Cynara', 'Condemned', 'Beau Geste', 'The Light that Failed', 'If I Were King', 'Bulldog Drummond' and the sequel 'Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back'.

My top five personal favorites of Ronald Colman, in no order.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES
LOST HORIZON
THE PRISONER OF ZENDA
A DOUBLE LIFE
RANDOM HARVEST

Random Harvest.
Lost Horizon.
A Double Life.
A Tale Of Two Cities. 16d0
Lucky Partners.

It is my business to protect your majesty.... against all things.

This is just a duplicate list of what others have already cited, but allow me to reinforce them with:

A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1935)
THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1937)
LOST HORIZON (1937)
RANDOM HARVEST (1942)
A DOUBLE LIFE (1947)

Honorable mention:

THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH (1926; silent western co-starring a very young Gary Cooper in his first major screen role)

BEAU GESTE (1926; almost scene-for-scene identical to the talkie remake of 1939 which starred Cooper)

BULLDOG DRUMMOND (1929; Colman as the pulp adventurer hero. Very dated in its humor and early talkie technique, but of major significance to film history buffs as the movie that would make or break Ronald Colman's future screen career as his first venture into the sound era -- and of course Colman made it into talkies with flying colors because of his unparalled and amazing speaking voice!)

ARROWSMITH (1931 medical drama; Sinclair Lewis novel transitioned onscreen)

KISMET (1944; Colman, opposite Marlene Dietrich, in one of his few films shot in color, as a roguish but likeable beggar and thief, evading stern justice in the days in midieval Baghdad. Not among Colman's greatest pictures, but very fun and entertaining!)

CHAMPAGNE FOR CAESAR (1950 comedy; Colman as an egghead and game show contestant with a grudge -- he's out to bankrupt the show's sponsor by continuing to win into the millions of dollars. Very timely content; worth watching in tandem with Robert Redford's QUIZ SHOW (1994)

Okay folks, show's over, nothing to see here!

Ronald Colman's top ten films.

THE WHITE b68 SISTER [1923]
BEAU GESTE [1926]
THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH [1926]
BULLDOG DRUMMOND [1929]
CONDEMNED [1930]
A TALE OF TWO CITIES [1935]
LOST HORIZON [1937]
THE PRISONER OF ZENDA [1937]
RANDOM HARVEST [1942]
A DOUBLE LIFE [1947]

An admirable list, but I would add the seriously underrated THE LIGHT THAT FAILED (1939). Exactly why this excellent film, one of Colman's best, has never had a proper DVD release is a complete mystery.

LOST HORIZON (1937) "Robert Conway"
RANDOM HARVEST (1942) "Smithy"/"Charles Rainier"
A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1935) "Sydney Carton"
A DOUBLE LIFE (1948) "Antony John"
ARROWSMITH (1931) "Martin Arrowsmith"

THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING (1942) "Michael Lightcap"
PRISONER OF ZENDA (1937) "Rudolph Rassendyl"/"King Rudolph V"
IF I WERE KING (1938) "Francois Villon"

A man of Grace, Dignity, Charm and TALENT....and the embodiment of the word "GENTLEMAN". (When it still meant something to BE one.)

(One last thing... Did I mention an Impeccable sense of Humour?)









I do hope he won't upset Henry...