A pair of lookalikes, one a former French aristocrat and the other an alcoholic English lawyer, fall in love with the same woman amidst the turmoil of the French Revolution.
Alas, an aristocrat and a barrister on the same plateau. This is the story of a revolution, a revolution that occurred in France known as the Reign of Terror. The barrister, the town alcoholic and man of disrepute, is in love with a beautiful woman, who marries the aristocrat and bears a beautiful baby girl. The baby girl is infatuated with the barrister, and he with her because of her mother. The ultimate sacrifice occurs and a man's soul goes forward.
Dissipated lawyer Sydney Carton defends emigre Charles Darnay from charges of spying against England. He becomes enamored of Darnay's fiancée, Lucie Manette, and agrees to help her save Darnay from the guillotine when he is captured by Revolutionaries in Paris.—Marg Baskin <[email protected]>
A disreputable barrister finds redemption through the most unlikely of friendships and in the process provides for himself both human and spiritual salvation.—Carl Schultz
The film opens with a portion of the famous introduction to the novel: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us... In short, it was a period very like the present..." Lucie Manette (Elizabeth Allan) and her servant and companion Miss Pross (Edna May Oliver) are informed by elderly banker Mr. Jarvis Lorry (Claude Gillingwater) that her father, Dr. Alexandre Mannette (Henry B. Walthall) is not dead, but has been a prisoner in the Bastille for eighteen years before finally being rescued. She travels with Mr. Lorry to Paris to take her father to her home in England. Dr. Manette has been cared for by a former servant, Ernest De Farge (Mitchell Lewis), and his wife (Blanche Yurka) who own a wine shop in Paris. The old man's mind has given way during his long ordeal, but Lucie's tender care begins to restore his sanity.
On the return trip across the English Channel, Lucie meets Charles Darnay (Donald Woods), a French aristocrat who, unlike his uncle, the Marquis St. Evremonde (Basil Rathbone), is sympathetic to the plight of the oppressed and impoverished French masses. He has denounced his uncle, relinquished his title, changed his name and is going to England to begin a new life. The marquis has Darnay framed for treason, but he is defended by barrister C.J. Stryver (Reginald Owen) and his highly proficient but cynical colleague Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman). Carton goes drinking with Barsad (Walter Catlett), the main prosecution witness and tricks him into admitting that he framed Darnay. When Barsad is called to testify, he is horrified to discover that Carton is a member of the defense. He recants his testimony to save himself, and Darnay is acquitted.
Following the trial, Carton is thanked by Lucie. He quickly falls in love with her. Darnay confesses to Dr. Manette he is the nephew of the Marquis St. Evremonde; Manette forgives him, but reserves the right to tell Lucie himself. On their way to church, Lucie meets Carton and invites him to join them and he accepts. Afterwards, she invites him into their home to celebrate Christmas, but he declines because he has been drinking. Lucie and Carton eventually become close friends. Carton has hopes that Lucie will requite his love, but one day she tells him that she is engaged to Darnay.
Lucie and Darnay marry and have a daughter, also named Lucie, who is very fond of Carton. By this time, the French Revolution is beginning. Charles' uncle, the Marquis St. Evremond is one of its first victims, stabbed in his sleep by a man whose child had been fatally run down by his coach. The long-suffering peasants vent their fury on the aristocrats, condemning scores daily to Madame Guillotine. Darnay is tricked into returning to Paris and is arrested. Lucie and Dr. Manette travel to Paris to save Darnay. Manette pleads for mercy for his son-in-law, but Madame De Farge, seeking revenge against all the Evremondes, convinces the tribunal to sentence Darnay to death, using a letter Dr. Manette wrote while in prison, cursing and denouncing the entire Evremonde family.
Upon learning of Darnay's imprisonment, Carton travels to Paris to comfort Lucie. Carton consults Mr. Lorry and tells him of his plan to rescue Darnay. Carton discovers Barsad is also in Paris and works as a spy in the prisons. Carton overcomes Barsad's reluctance to help him with his scheme to rescue Darnay by threatening to reveal that Barsad had been a spy for the Marquis St. Evremonde. Barsad takes Carton to visit Darnay in his cell; Carton renders Darnay unconscious with ether, switches clothes with him, and finishes the letter Darnay has been writing to Lucie and puts it in Darnay's pocket. Darnay is carried out of the cell without anyone noticing the switch.
While Lucie prepares to return to England, Madame De Farge goes to provoke her into denouncing the Republic, but she is intercepted by Miss Pross inside the now-vacated apartment. Pross knows why Madame De Farge has come and is determined to stop her. The two women fight and De Farge pulls out a pistol, but in the ensuing struggle, Pross kills her. Darnay, Lucie, little Lucie, Lorry and Pross all escape safely.
While awaiting execution, a condemned, innocent seamstress (Isabel Jewell) who was sentenced at the same time as Darnay, notices Carton has assumed his identity. She draws comfort from his bravery and sacrifice as they ride together to the guillotine. As Carton stands at the foot of the guillotine, drums roll and then fade away as the camera rises up past the guillotine to the city and the sky above. His voice is heard saying, "It's a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done. It's a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known."
