Gerald McCarthy wants to develop the first black tulip and win the big prize from the Dutch horticultural society. Neighbor Harry Waghalter wants the money and fame, so he alerts the authorities that McCarthy has papers from his uncle, implicating him in treason. With McCarthy in jail, Waghalter can't find the tulips. McCarthy has the bulbs on him. He and beautiful warden's daughter Zoe Palmer fall in love, and there's lots of intrigue and nastiness in this adaptation of the Dumas novel.
The actors are pretty good, but co-directors Maurits Binger and Frank Richardson spend the first half of the movie in a cinematic lockdown, in which they use chapter-heading techniques to bring the audience up to speed on the story. It's only when Waghalter starts negotiating for the hand of Miss Palmer, that we see some sign that the directors have learned something of editing techniques, as the screen alternates between Waghalter and her father, played by Coen Hissink, deciding how she's going to spend her life, interspersed with the two lovers, that this movie begins to move. Later, we even get a bit of the dashing heroine, as Miss Palmer is the one running around and fighting the bad guy. It gives it up for the final ten minutes, however, as we get a bald deus ex machina.
Dumas' book is not one of his best, but it is certainly readable. Given how beautiful the movies made from his two best-sellers are, this one is a disappointment. That's basing an opinion on anticipation, which is a mistake. It's simply a programmer based on a proven author.
