A Tale of Two Cities

Big costume drama on a familiar tale from the early days of Fox's new California studio. Yes, there are teeming crowds and nice period dress, but the big interest at this point is Farnum starring in a dual role as both Darnay and Carton, aided along by some well-handled double exposure. If his Darnay seems a bit bland, it soon becomes clear this is to make his Carton (already the most enthusiastic performance in the film by far) stand out all the more.