The Elusive Pimpernel
1950 | 109m | English
Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Baroness Emmuska Orczy |
| Staring: |
| Foppish Sir Percy Blakeney, who secretly leads a double life as the daring rescuer of French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution, fights to save his brother-in-law while his wife is manipulated by the villainous Chauvelin into helping capture him, unaware of her husband's true identity. | |
| Release Date: | Nov 07, 1950 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger |
| Writer: | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Baroness Emmuska Orczy |
| Genres: | Adventure, Drama, Romance |
| Keywords | |
| Production Companies | London Films Productions, The Archers |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $140,000
Budget: $480,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Jan 30, 2026 Entered: Apr 29, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| David Niven | Percy "Scarlet Pimpernel" Blakeney |
| Margaret Leighton | Marguerite Blakeney |
| Cyril Cusack | Chauvelin |
| Jack Hawkins | Prince of Wales |
| Arlette Marchal | Contesses de Tournai |
| Gérard Néry | Philippe de Tournai |
| Charles Victor | Colonel Winterbotham |
| Danielle Godet | Suzanne de Tournai |
| Edmond Audran | Armand St. Juste |
| Eugene Deckers | Captain Merieres |
| David Oxley | Captain Duroc |
| Raymond Rollett | Bibot |
| Philip Stainton | Jellyband |
| John Longden | The Abbot |
| George De Warfaz | Baron |
| Arthur Wontner | Lord Grenville |
| Richard George | Sir John Coke |
| David Hutcheson | Lord Anthony Dewhurst |
| Robert Coote | Sir Andrew ffoulkes |
| Patrick Macnee | Hon. John Bristow |
| Terence Alexander | Duke of Dorset |
| Richmond Nairne | Beau Pepys |
| Howard Vernon | Comte de Tournai |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Michael Powell | Writer, Director |
| Emeric Pressburger | Writer, Director |
| Baroness Emmuska Orczy | Novel |
| Reginald Mills | Editor |
| Christopher Challis | Director of Photography |
| George R. Busby | Production Assistant |
| Brian Easdale | Music |
| Hein Heckroth | Production Design |
| Arthur Lawson | Art Direction |
| Ivy Baker | Costume Design |
| Nandi Heckroth | Costume Design |
| Bernard Sarron | Costume Design |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Michael Powell | Producer |
| Emeric Pressburger | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 2024 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 2026 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Trending Position
David Niven takes on the mantle of Baroness Orczy's hero in this classy but a little lightweight take on the escapades of the "Scarlet Pimpernel". Hugely successful at smuggling doomed artisto's from under the nose of the Reign of Terror, the French authorities charge "Chauvelin" (Cyril Cusack) to t ... rack down the culprit. He has some leverage with the new and glamorous "Lady Blakeney" (Margaret Leighton) and so offers her the life of her brother if she will agree to help him. She just happens to be married to the foppish "Sir Percy", but is he so useless as his persona suggests? Niven is on quite good form in this; there is enough intrigue to keep it moving along well and Leighton can always be relied upon to deliver competently (even if this is far from her best effort). It's not the best Powell & Pressberger film, but it is still a polished adventure with a soupçon of humour as we head to an exciting last fifteen minutes. Perhaps not as good as Leslie Howard's 1934 iteration, but Niven looks like he enjoyed making it and I enjoyed watching it, too.