AllMovie

When Prisoner of Corbal was released in the US in 1939, reviewers were confused as to its country of origin. A bit of extra research would have revealed that the film was lensed in England under the title The Marriage of Corbal, and that it was based on The Nuptuals of Corbal, a swashbuckling novel by Rafael Sabatini. Hazel Terry plays Cleonie, the romantic bone of contention between the French aristocrat Marquis de Corbal (Hugh Sinclair) and insurrectionist Varennes (Nils Asther). To save Cleonie from the guillotine during the Revolution, Varennes disguises her as his nephew (!) and smuggles her out of the country. Unexpectedly, it is the Marquis who proves the hero of the peace, while Varennes willingly becomes a martyr to his own cause. Noah Beery overracts as usual in the role of a rogueish Sergeant.