Magic Flame Reviews

An elaborate costume melodrama that featured romantic idol Ronald Colman in the dual roles of an evil prince and a circus clown, and exotic Vilma Banky as a trapeze artist. Lovers Tito (Colman) and Bianca (Banky) are performers with Baretti's Circus, which travels from town to town. Bianca attracts the eye of the corrupt Prince of Illyria (Colman), who lures her to his hotel room with a forged letter. Her acrobatic skills allow her to escape through a window, but Tito -- who has come to rescue her -- accidentally kills the Prince, who falls from the same window into the sea. Tito is terrified, but his uncanny resemblance to the dead man offers a way out: The hotel staff assume that he's the Prince, so he pretends that he is. The situation becomes increasingly complicated when the King dies suddenly, forcing the "Prince" to assume his throne. Bianca, meanwhile, assumes that the Prince has killed Tito and vows revenge. The lovers are reunited at the coronation: Bianca is about to kill the "Prince," when he reveals that he's really her beloved Tito; the two then escape back to the circus. Despite the preposterous plot, this action-packed entertainment -- based on Rudolph Lothar's 1904 play Konig Harlekin, ein Maskenspiel in vir Aufzugen -- has lots to offer, including the attractive leads -- a popular screen couple previously paired in THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH and THE NIGHT OF LOVE (both 1926) -- some charming comedy and lots of elaborate faux-medieval production design.