A Tale of Two Cities (1935 film) French Revolution and deals with two men who are alike, not only in appearance, but in their love for the same woman. The film is generally regarded as the best cinematic version of Dickens' novel. On the eve of the French Revolution, Lucie Manette (Elizabeth Allan) is informed that her father (Henry B. Walthall) is not dead, but has been a prisoner in the Bastille for many long years before finally being released. She travels to Paris to take her father to her home in England. Dr. Manette has been taken care of by a friend, Ernest Defarge (Mitchell Lewis),
A Tale of Two Cities (1935 film) emotional sledge-hammer blows ... Ronald Colman gives his ablest performance in years as Sydney Carton and a score of excellent players are at their best in it ... Only Donald Woods's Darnay is inferior, an unpleasant study in juvenile virtue. It struck me, too, that Blanche Yurka was guilty of tearing an emotion to tatters in the rôle of Madame Defarge ... you can be sure that 'A Tale of Two Cities' will cause a vast rearranging of ten-best lists." The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: A Tale of Two Cities (1935 film) A Tale