June 6, 2022

"King Serge" (Adolphe Menjou) reigns over the impoverished kingdom of Molvania. Faced with the choice of an unwanted marriage or his brokering an oil deal, he heads to the good old US of A, ostensibly to sort out the deal, but where he manages to escape some of the trappings of his rather formal existence and take a sneaky trip to Coney island. That's where he encounters "Mary" (Bessie Love) and an intense infatuation ensues. There is nothing par… read the rest.

"King Serge" (Adolphe Menjou) reigns over the impoverished kingdom of Molvania. Faced with the choice of an unwanted marriage or his brokering an oil deal, he heads to the good old US of A, ostensibly to sort out the deal, but where he manages to escape some of the trappings of his rather formal existence and take a sneaky trip to Coney island. That's where he encounters "Mary" (Bessie Love) and an intense infatuation ensues. There is nothing particularly original about the story, but there is a degree of chemistry on the screen between Menjou and Love, a little mischief from the King's Parisian pal "Thérèse" (Greta Nissen) and Oscar Shaw is at his obsequious best as "Rockland". There is an underlying, gentle, sense of the comedic from Menjou, too - his charm helps this to stand out a bit more than many of the more typical royalty/urchin dramas. The production is a bit basic, it could have done with more light ut it is still quite a fun way to kill an hour.

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