My 5 Favorite Ronald Colman Movies (and then some!) 

Hesitate no more and get you a copy of Champagne for Cesar! Really, I insist! This is absolutely the best example of Colman trying to prove he's cleverer than anyone else, but in the most charming way. Nothing but sparkling amusement and wit from one end to another. I promise you will kick yourself for all those lost years you could have been watching it over and over again.

To me, "Random Harvest"is the quintessential Colman. But he was fabulous in all his films, a unique and brilliant actor. Honorable Mention: "If I Were King." - wonderful. Frustrating that TCM never seems to show it!! Thanks for this tribute to one of my favorite actors! !

Jerome, As my introduction to your reviews while searching out Ronald Coleman movies I was both charmed and impressed with your enthusiasm and commentary on several of Coleman's movies. He was quite a talent; versatile, classy, amusing and personable. A favorite would be Lost Horizon, but I quite enjoy his humorous side as well, including his radio appearances on the Jack Benny Program. BTW, the film I watched the other night was I Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo which had a good cast (Joan Bennett, Colin Clive, Nigel Bruce) and a large degree of Coleman charm, although the plot was a bit contrived.

When he turns to greer garson at the end of random harvest the emotion in his face can make you cry.

I LOVE Colman, I think he might be one of the most watchable actors of all time.

Ronald Colman is my favorite actor... of films not already on your list, I'd recommend The Light That Failed (some others have mentioned it) which Ida Lupino is also great in, and The Late George Apley by Joseph Mankiewicz.

Great job and terrific post. He was truly the most enjoyable star of the golden age of movies. Those were definitely the best choices. And what a voice ! Seems like a good many of the English stars of the day tried very hard to emulate Colmans style and delivery. While Raffles and Bulldog couldnt really be considered comparable to the five you mentioned, I always loved them for their cozy matinee fun and way he carried those movies as only he could. In fact the sequels that came after werent anywhere as good as the ones in which he starred. After Ronald Colman ,perhaps the only two others who come nearest in uniqueness and captivating depth in performance are Robert Donat and Louis Hayward. Youre 39 steps review was right on the money. Check out The Winslow Boy and The Citadel if you havnt already.

It's Random Harvest for me. It always makes me cry at the end.

Here's some interesting trivia: When George Mallory disappeared in 1924 attempting to climb Mount Everest, the incident inspired James Hilton to write LOST HORIZON.

His interpretation of Sydney Carton is my favorite Colman role.

R.I.P. RONALD COLMAN. A QUINTESSENTIAL ENGLISH ACTOR INDEED !!! GORGEOUS !! I LOVED HIS MOVIES " RANDOM HARVEST, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, LOST HORIZON, PRISONER OF ZENDA ,SUPERB! BEAUTIFUL , FANTASTIC. THANK YOU ! FROM U.K.(2021).

Glad you mentioned Bulldog Drummond. In my opinion, Colman was the first actor to immediately transition to sound with none of the stiffness that affected most of the other actors who were making that transition. Even William Powell was not quite smooth yet at this early stage in talkies. Colman, in contrast, was a complete natural: confident, funny, unencumbered by the crudities of the technology. He just coasted right in there. Another film from this period by him that I would highly recommend is The Devil to Pay from 1930.

Thank you for the very lovely tribute. Nice to see someone so young can enjoy the old films. The ending of Random Harvest is my favorite scene of any movie. That beautiful look on his face, I could watch over and over. Glad you felt the same

Cannot fault you on any of your Top 5. I believe I have every RC movie available on DVD including about a half dozen silent titles. Mr. Colman is my favorite actor of all time.

Great job on this video! You ranked your top 5 very similar to how I would have done it. I know "Random Harvest" is beloved by many, including myself, but "A Tale of Two Cities" will always be at the top for me. "If I Were King" is definitely worth watching at least once, and another silent Ronald Colman film I enjoyed was "The Winning of Barbara Worth" (1926).

"A Tale of Two Cities," Baby! Ronald Coleman was amazing.

Great to see fellow classic enthusiasts like myself :-) I love Ronald Colman, he was such a unique actor with such an amazing distinctive voice, I look forward to seeing some of your recommendations (sadly I've only seen 3 of his movies) but you got me fired up for more! Cheers from the other side of the world, Cairo, Egypt ;-)

I loved your commentary about Ronald Colman, one of my favorite actors! You were right on the money about Lost Horizon, The Prisoner of Zenda and most especially, A Tale of Two Cities! I would love to see more of your posts and will try and find them somewhere on youtube. Please keep up the good work!

Bravo to you for "Talk of the Town." It is, indeed, under-rated. However, it was a gutsy movie against mob violence while the government was sending innocent Japanese-Americans to internment camps.

Thank you for reminding me of this great actor's fine body of work. Much appreciated.

"Random Harvest" one of my favorite Ronald Coleman movies.

I miss the old classic "The Masquerader" with Ronald Coleman and Elissa Landi. A true classic! Karl

Ronald Coleman. Goosebumps.......🥰

I just saw "Raffles" on TCM a few days ago so I found this very interesting. Love the video. I'll have to check out some of Colman's other films.

Well done Weaselberger, good job! You definitely need to see If I Were King, it has a very witty script by Preston Sturges, and a truly brilliant performance by Basil Rathbone - he even outshines Ronnie. The RU-vid and DVD versions of this great movie are sadly very poor quality, it is a tragedy that there is not a remastered DVD or Blu Ray available. Sadly, the same is true with Beau Geste, I cannot bring myself to watch the RU-vid version - this was one of the great silent blockbusters, and the biggest movie of 1926, for goodness sakes!

Thanks JW for this tribute to the great Ronald Colman. Yes, I can heartily recommend, If I Were King and hope you soon have the opportunity to see it. Not only is Colman wonderful in his performance as the poet, Francois Villon but Basil Rathbone as King Louis XI is absolutely outstanding. Thanks again.

I hope you have finally seen "The Light that Failed", my first RC movie. Random Harvest is my all time favorite and watch any chance I get.

Cynara was on TCM this past week. they've shown 4 Ronald Coleman movies back to back twice this past week.

Thank you, Jerome, for an interesting and entertaining video. Looking forward to watching other videos from you. Cheers.

I DO LOVE "IF I WERE A KING". IT TOOK ME A LOT OF TIME TO WATCH IT A SECOND TIME. IT WAS THE FILM THAT MADE ME DISCOVER RONALD COLMAN AND HIS INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL VOICE. ALSO REALLY LIKE "LUCKY PARTNERS". SUCH A CLASS, ...HE ADDED QUALITY TO ANY FILM.

"If I Were King" Fabulous gem! I really enjoyed it. But the I would pay money to listen to Ronald Coleman read the phone book.

Thanks for posting this. I love old classic films and I think the men had their best look at that time with actors like Robert Donat Errol Flynn and Anton Walbrook who happens to be in our Churchyard in Hampstead. Your pretty cool too.

I remember seeing A Tale of Two Cities when I was a kid. I loved the book and the movie. That was touching at the end. It was a great scene.

These reviews make me wish an old film-sharing club was available with THE LATE GEORGE APLEY, CHAMPAGNE FOR CHARLIE (cool Colman vs. arrogant Vincent Price over a radio contest), THE LIGHT THAT FAILED (bring hankies), decent BEAU GEST and the benign WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH so you'd have those pleasures. These films need to be available for film historians, much less fans instead of locked behind dusty vaults, refusing to be broadcast or available for home-video.

Thanks for the great video and, like so many others, I applaud your taste! I have a feeling my mother would have left all of us if Ronald Colman had only come to the door and asked -- she was that big a fan. And it may very well be genetic because I just THINK about the name "Smithy" and I tear up! Anyway, I was surprised that no one mentioned that Mr. Colman's voice was so well-loved that they used an impression of it as the voice of Toucan Sam, the Froot Loops, er, spokesbird. (The impression, by the way, was by Paul Frees, who did nearly everybody you know that wasn't done by Mel Blanc. Paul was, in fact, the voice of the incomparable Boris Badenov!) Thanks again for the review(s) and may I also thank everyone for the comments -- I certainly appreciated wallowing in Colman pond all afternoon, haha!

Hi Jerome! So great to find other Colman fans on RU-vid! You should definitely see "If I Were King!" Also, if you like Colman's comedies, try "Champagne for Ceasar" - Colman sparkles, and he brilliantly offsets a zany Vincent Price :)

In the last couple of years I watched "If I Were King" and "The Light that Failed" (1939) on youtube. I recommend both. I also saw Cynara (1932) with the wonderful Kay Francis. It was in a pre-code collection I got from the library. Pretty classic Coleman.

Jerome, What a delightful commentary on Ronald Colman's films. You were brisk and insightful. Hope you get a chance to see "If I were King." It's worth the price of a DVD. Warmest...

If you and all the other fans of Ronald Colman haven't yet, you must see "Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back" (so funny), "The Unholy Garden" (charming and funny), and "The Masquerader" ("Stop pawing at me!"). - these aren't classics in the sense of A Tale of Two Cities, Random Harvest, The Prisoner of Zenda, or Lost Horizon, but they are totally entertaining. - Colman was the best, so effortless, the only actor who by comparison could make Cary Grant seem gauche - thank you for your Colman tribute!

I watched The Talk of the Town for the first time last year (I think), and it instantly made it to my favourites list. My mum and I were a little disappointed by the ending as we felt The Professor and Miss Shelly should have been ‘endgame’, so to speak.

I really like your style of commentary and reviewing.

my favorite Coleman movie out of the ones I've seen is Lost Horizon.. but another one I love is Cynara (I was Faithful). If you haven't seen this one you should checking out. Phyllis Barry is great in it as a woman Coleman is drawn into an affair with that has a tragic ending for Barry.. and causes a life change for Coleman but I loved the movie.

Thanks. I am very touched by his role in Two Cities, as someone who's struggled a bit with the booze himself. And how much more handsome a man he was in close-up and in motion as opposed to photograph. If he were born ten years later, then he'd have been as great a star as the Grant / Cooper / Gable trio.

Well, for someone so young, you are reaching pretty far back. I'm sure you already know this, but you have excellent taste in men and actors... Ronald Colman, was not only handsome and cool far above anyone else at the time! He always had a way of playing the guy every man would want to be if he could. But he also had one of the best voices in acting history! He was one of the best! During his early talkies he dominated the screen the minute he appeared. I have never seen anything he did that I did not like! I once heard that supposedly Cary Grant had been said by some, to have kind of used Ronald Colman as a guide for the ultra cool persona he depicted in many films... I meant to ask him about that but when I had the pleasure to meet him, however, it would not have been appropriate to ask at that time. I wonder if anyone else knows?

My fave RC movie is Random Harvest but I also enjoyed the others and Champagne for Cesar (with Vincent Price), this is one of his later movies in the 50s. I only like this one because of RC in it and his role of being this academic who 'knows everything, except how to make a buck' ... I found it quite comical.

I love Random Harvest! Although it naturally differs from the book which has the big reveal at the end (i.e. Margaret - Helen in the book - is Paula), the film works brilliantly. When Paula walks into Charles Ranier's office as Miss Hanson, you catch your breath! I'm blubbing from that point on. I particularly love the scene with the beads. Garson was never lovelier. Colman, although too old at the beginning of the film, is his charming self.

I think he was the best British actor of the 30s

Wonderful commentary, especially on my favorite Colman performance/film, “Lost Horizon”.👍👍

Thanks, fun one. Great actor, and great choices to highlight. Don Adams did a hilarious Ronald Coleman imitation in at least one if not more than one of the episodes of Get Smart.

Wow, I finally found another person close to my age who enjoys and appreciates the old classic film stars ! YAY !!!!!!!!!!! Ronald Colman's voice is so distinguished and so smoothing to hear. I have probably watched most of his films. Random Harvest, Lost Horizon and The Prisoner of Zenda are my top favorites of mine. Though, I must say I do enjoy the remake of TPOZ (1952). Have you ever heard of the Jack Benny radio show?? I have a collection of his radio shows and he did a few with Ronald. The joke was that they were neighbors and always getting in each other's way. It's funny !

Try seeing The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo and My Life With Caroline. Two movies that are considered mediocre and that I had avoided for years for this reason. I saw them recently and to my surprise, I thought they were great movies with Colman at his charming best.

Ronald Colman's personal picks for his Top 4 films: 1. Lost Horizon (my choice as well...) 2. A Tale Of Two Cities (his favorite role) 3. The Prisoner of Zenda 4. Random Harvest. His daughter's favorite film: "The Light That Failed."

"If I Were King" is in the public domain, and you can pick up a cheap DVD. It's also on youtube.

Solid choices. Have you seen Champagne for Caesar yet? Pure comedy with Colman and Vincent Price, plus Mel Blanc as the voice of the obnoxious drunk parrot that is the title character. There's a version here on RU-vid. It would be in my top 5.

Coleman was a great Sydney Carton and was great in Prisoner of Zenda. He gave classic hero (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) a great role as a truly evil (but charismatic and likable) villein. Good actors make other good actors better as Coleman did here. He also gave Don Adams a "go to" imitation.

A Tale of Two Cities, The Light That Failed, If I Were King, Lost Horizon, Random Harvest. That's five. I saw The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo and Kismet for the first time recently and they were a lot better than I had heard and Colman was brilliant in both.

If anyone were to ever compile a Jerome Weiselberry Channel Trivia, this vid would be the answer to, “What vid did JW not sign off with her ‘Thanks for watching. Bye!’ signature?” 😁

Hi Jerome, I think the best early talkie with Ronald Coleman is "The Masquerader" with Elissa Landi (very noble). His "cousin" teams up with her and saves England! It is a predawn-classic which must have helped to launch his career. Take care of the workers. Karl

You have good taste in cinema. Keep up the good work. Thanks.

Please add "The Masquerader" with Elissa Landi. My favorite, K

Just found your channel....VERY NICE. How is it you look exactly the same 5 years ago as you do now? Where you in "Shangri-La" with Dabney Coleman?

Excellent video. Whetted my appetite to watch more Ronald Colman movies. Was watching A Tale of 2 Cities only yesterday. Am thinking someone more winsome & big-eyed should've played Lucie Manette. Someone of the Lilian Gish mold. But that's just my opinion. I think they got the seamstress right. I recommend to you the Wikipedia article on the seamstress. It's a glowing testimonial of both her and Sydney , and sheds much light on their brief moments together. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_seamstress_(A_Tale_of_Two_Cities)

Tried to watch a double life again. It's on RU-vid.now .Boy you are absolutely right. Not a movie one wants to re watch. Great performances all around but not a joy to watch. Still love Ronald Colman but a double life is not the way I want to enjoy his movies. Good call on that one.

I hope you will continue to discover Colman films, Jerome. You will have many wonderful discoveries ahead. Of the ones you haven't seen, I would recommend :"If I Were King," "Champagne for Caesar," (a very witty and charming performance in a very light comedy), "Cynara," "Beau Geste," "The Winning of Barbara Worth," and, if you can find a copy, "The Light That Failed." Also, if you haven't done it already, you might want to join the Ronald Colman Appreciation Society on Facebook.

great list!

I recenrluy watched a Ronald Colman movie on youtube titled,I think< Cymara, about a married man who falls in love with another woman. It was wonderful. I loved it. He was so handsome, self assured and sexy. Very suave. I wish there were male actors today with his qualities. Random Harvest is one of my favorites too,

you should check out a screwball comedy of his Champagne for Caesar Ronald Coleman Vincent Price Celeste Holm Barbara Britton with Art Linkletter and Mel Blanc

Great you cite actors 'fading' now e.g. Cotten, Colman. Humanitarian-antiracist actresses? A series? Rosalind Russell, Audrey Hepburn, Myrna Loy, Marilyn Monroe, Irene Dunne

The Light that Failed is a good one. And isn't he in the one where he is blinded in WW I and tries to hide it when his friend and former fiancee find him? Most of these I saw a late-night movies on TV back in the days of three networks and local stations. I love Random Harvest, but it's impossible to pull off the surprise of the ending on film the way you can in the book - and the book is one of my guilty pleasures, which I strongly recommend if you haven't read it. And I love The Prisoner of Zenda. I've only seen A Double Life recently, and it's so dark I'm not sure how I feel about it. He does psychosis so well, though.

Because of the time of year I settled in to watch The Trouble with Harry to compliment the season. For a fall vibe it's pretty hard to beat. This time round I was drawn to John Forsyths character portrayal. All I could think of how much he reminded me of Ronald Colman. Not least of which was his voice and inflection. Hope I'm not too nutty and off the mark in saying so. Oh well.

Get Smart (1965) episode "The King Lives" is a direct steal of "The Prisoner of Zenda"

Zenda looks fun! Thank you! Think I'll like Vincent price? Unfortunately I had to bring prejudice back to GCC, I just couldn't make it through lol.. Oh well, someday

Great actor.

SOUNDS GOOD

I hope you got your filll on all of Colman's films before you watch any episode of "Get Smart" where Max does an impression of him while playing the King of Coronia. You won't look at Colman the same way again.

Does anyone know which was Ronald Colman's favorite movie of his own? I know he considered A Double Life his "most fulfilling role", but not sure if that makes it his favorite film?

Great does anyone have the documentary, Hollywood greats on Ronald Colman please upload if possible thanks

[Re humanitarian actresses] Oprah in tears, about Myrna Loy: "I do not know a better woman. I #DO NOT KNOW# a better woman."

Just looked and Amazon has used copies starting under $2. Enjoy!

You never seen The devil to pay, you are missing out !!!

> eA +...

Lost Horizon goes on too long. Hilton's novel is better.

Ronald Coleman was regarded as one of the very best actors, along with Robert Donat. Sadly the girl who did these tributes acted so immaturely. She should realize her subjects are the object not her silly self-centered attitude and exaggerated gestures.

Tale of 2 cities fantastic movie