Royal Flash

Movie
German title	Royal Flash
Original title	Royal Flash
Country of production	England , Germany
original language	English
Publishing year	1975
length	102 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Richard Lester
script	George MacDonald Fraser
production	David V. Picker Denis O'Dell
music	Ken Thorne
camera	Geoffrey Unsworth
cut	John Victor-Smith
occupation
Malcolm McDowell : Harry Flashman Alan Bates : Rudi von Starnberg Florinda Bolkan : Lola Montez Oliver Reed : Otto von Bismarck Tom Bell : de Gautet Joss Ackland : Major Sapten Christopher Cazenove : Erik Hansen Henry Cooper : John Gully Lionel Jeffries : Power Stone Alastair Sim : Mr. Greig Michael Hordern : Director Britt Ekland : Countess Irma von Strackenz Bob Hoskins : Cop

Royal Flash is a film by Richard Lester based on the novel Flashman - Prince of Denmark by George MacDonald Fraser from his series of Flashman Papers .

action

Otto von Bismarck involved the British officer Harry Flashman against his will in the quarrels of the March Revolution in 1848 and the Schleswig-Holstein question . With the help of Lola Montez , Bismarck forces Flashman to pretend to be the regent's future husband in the small principality of Strackenz between Germany and Denmark. Prince Carl Gustaf, a Danish nobleman, looks a lot like Flashman. Bismarck makes Flashman believe that he only has to "represent" the real prince until he has survived the syphilis . As the game progresses, it becomes clear to Flashman that Bismarck kidnapped the sick prince to use him as a means of political pressure. Erik Hansen, a childhood friend of the prince, sees through Flashman and forces him to rescue the prince who is held captive in a moated castle. The company succeeds and Flashman escapes to England.

Others

• The Principality of Strackenz is the only fictional setting for Flashman's adventures.
• In addition to Bismarck and Lola Montez, Flashman meets, if only briefly, other contemporary figures: Edward VII , the Bavarian King Ludwig , Richard Wagner , Franz Liszt , Oscar Wilde , Henry Irving , Karl Marx , Henry John Temple , John Gully and Jefferson Davis .
• The plot has parallels to the book The Prisoner of Zenda . The novel, however, claims that Flashman's adventure is authentic and inspired Anthony Hope .
• Alastair Sim played his last film role here a year before his death.

criticism

“With Royal Flash Richard Lester delivers a punchy and refreshingly disrespectful parody of the Bismarck era. As with his theatrical success The Three Musketeers (1973), fast-paced, action-packed epee battles and operetta-like opulent scenarios dominate here too. "

- arte.tv

"Only partially successful parody of a German being who lacks a bit of speed and accurate wit."

- Lexicon of international film

literature

• George MacDonald Fraser : Flashman - Prince of Denmark (Original title: Royal Flash ). German by Helmut Degner . Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin and Vienna 1984, 266 pages, ISBN 3-548-21003-1 .

Web links

• Royal Flash in Internet Movie Database (English)
• Information on arte.tv

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information on arte.tv on the occasion of a broadcast  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ^ Royal Flash. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 4, 2014 .