The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1955) - S01E01 - The Hostage
1955
▶ Watch on Internet Archive⚠ Unverified — hosted on the Internet Archive, not confirmed public domain. Opens on archive.org; nothing plays here directly.
Also available commercially · United States
Availability from TMDB/JustWatch.
The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel is an early ITV series from the UK. It aired for 18 episodes. This is the first. It was digitized from a 16mm syndication print in my personal collection. Unlike many shows of this era, The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel was shot on 35mm film (as opposed to being a live broadcast that was kinescoped, or a 16mm production) so this 16mm print is not in any way definitive. There is a Much Higher Quality transfer in circulation that was apparently digitized from the original 35mm negative. It is available here. The Scarlet Pimpernel rescues a Baroness from Chauvelin, but she is reluctant to leave because Chauvelin is holding her son as a hostage. The Scarlet Pimpernel must rescue the boy and not give away his identity as Sir Percy Blakeney. Guest stars Yvonne Furneaux and Robert Shaw.