How others will see it. Most will see The Scarlet Pimpernel as a creaky old black and white movie without any recognizable actors. They might even misinterpret Howard's affected attitude as a corny attempt at humor. Their only hope is provided by Oberon, a poised beauty but a bit on the whiny side.
Classic film buffs will recognize the leads, of course, especially Howard of Ashley Wilkes fame. They might also appreciate the droll British humor dispensed here and there, and they won't care that the film is all about glorifying England at the expense of anarchic France. They might notice, though, the film's stagey nature: the villains hiss, the heroine pauses at a turning point, and the hero bravely risks his life for the good of mankind. Or at least for the good of the dashing story.
How I felt about it. I've played my hand just now, and you already know how I will condemn the film. The cackling peasants hail the drop of the bloody guillotine. The aristocrat, when his disguise is revealed, immediately drops out of character to bandy brave words with the hateful lower-class man-ape. The source novel was written by a baroness, which provides an insight into the biases of the author and her intended audience. The lower classes weren't just born poor. Their very humanity is in doubt, as if they were stitched together by Dr. Moreau.
Naturally, we are expected to cheer for the survival of the French aristocrats, even though they are unable to save themselves, being helpless French. Luckily for them, a dashing aristocrat Englishman will risk his own life and limb to rescue them, which he's able to do since he is, after all, an Englishman, and a nobleman at that.
Sneering, sadistic villain Massey is the man we should love to hate, except that we have seen his Basil Rathbone-like character in too many other similar films. And Rathbone was better at it. Much the same can be said for Oberon, whose purpose in this film, apart from providing eye candy and female interest, is to make the already impossible job of The Scarlet Pimpernel that much more difficult. She would be better off sticking with getting her portrait painted, just as her husband would be better off fixing cravats and cuffs. He's much more entertaining as a mincing social wit than as a dashing hero of the reverse underground railroad: rescuing disgraced nobility from their revenge-minded former serfs.