The Exile

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The Exile

Released Oct 17, 1947

1h 35m

Adventure

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4 Reviews

69%

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100+ Ratings

In 17th-century England, Charles II (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), the rightful heir to the kingdom, is driven from his country by militants working for rogue leader Oliver Cromwell. Charles ends up in the Netherlands, where he falls for local beauty Katie (Paule Croset) and spends his days happily in the quiet countryside. Unfortunately, Cromwell's associate Col. Ingram (Henry Daniell) and his men track Charles down, and the would-be monarch must resort to swashbuckling his way to freedom.

James Agee

TIME Magazine

The script ... has a charming, blank-verse hauteur that just possibly may be a bit asinine-but the direction saves the day by insisting on a witty, natural reading.

Mar 2, 2018

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Virginia Graham

The Spectator

The Exile, which [Douglas Fairbanks] has both written and produced... is one of the least convincing and least entertaining bits of history it has ever been my misfortune to see.

Jun 19, 2018

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Engaging breezy cloak and sword adventure film.

Rated: B-

Jan 7, 2015

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Sean Axmaker

Parallax View

...while Fairbanks lunges and leaps, Ophuls choreographs the crowd scenes to give the film a scope the belies the budget and a grace lacking in most such adventure films.

Feb 19, 2012

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StephenPaul C

The greatest 01 hour: and 35 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/05/23

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Audience Member

awesome costume drama

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

I was wicked sleepy while watching this, so maybe it's better than I'm giving it credit for. It also got a little round of applause from the blue hairs and such following the screening at the Siskel (then again, that crowd claps a lot, never more so than when they've just seen a film almost as old as they are... zing!). I said I thought "The Reckless Moment" didn't necessarily seem like material ideally suited to Ophuls' sensibility. Well, obviously, I hadn't seen this yet. The palace intrigue part fits well enough with Ophuls' keen understanding of the bourgeoisie, but a swashbuckling action adventure? That sounds more like a Michael Curtiz flick, and this film was probably trying to recapture the audience of "The Adventures of Robin Hood." Anyway, it's all professionally accomplished, and Fairbanks Jr. mostly does his father proud, though he's not exactly Jackie Chan. Montez is amusing as a Garbo-esque aristocrat. And Corday is lovely playing a kind of earth mother that Fairbanks falls for immediately.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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Audience Member

Incredibly fun excuse for Douglas Fairbanks Jr. to jump around and swing through windows and flirt with cute little Dutch women. Some really cheesily wonderful cross cutting and extended fight scenes. All transformed from B-movie status by the skill of Max Ophuls.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Audience Member

The Exile, equal parts romance, comedy, and adventure, is really charming. I really liked Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and thought the script which he wrote for the film was really nice. In this film, which had a certain refined hollywood sensibility, I thought Ophuls again shined. The director or The Bourne Ultimatum should have watched this film first so he knew how to film action in an intelligible and still exciting way.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Max Ophuls

Director

Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Charles Stuart

Maria Montez

Countess

Rita Corday

Katie

Henry Daniell

Colonel Ingram

Nigel Bruce

Sir Edward Hyde

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Synopsis

In 17th-century England, Charles II (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), the rightful heir to the kingdom, is driven from his country by militants working for rogue leader Oliver Cromwell. Charles ends up in the Netherlands, where he falls for local beauty Katie (Paule Croset) and spends his days happily in the quiet countryside. Unfortunately, Cromwell's associate Col. Ingram (Henry Daniell) and his men track Charles down, and the would-be monarch must resort to swashbuckling his way to freedom.

Director: Max Ophuls
Producer: Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Screenwriter: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Cosmo Hamilton
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal International Pictures
Genre: Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 1947, Original
Runtime: 1h 35m