Frank Shannon

Frank Shannon

Born: July 27, 1874
Died: February 1, 1959
in Ireland
Frank Shannon was an Irish-born stage and screen performer. He had his film debut in The Prisoner of Zenda (1913). He is most fondly remembered as the brilliant Dr. Zarkov in the three Flash Gordon serials.

Movies for Frank Shannon...

Purple Death from Outer Space
Title: Purple Death from Outer Space
Character: Dr. Zarkov
Released: January 1, 1966
Type: Movie
Edited version of the 1940 Universal serial "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe", released in a syndication package to TV in 1966.
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Spaceship to the Unknown
Title: Spaceship to the Unknown
Character: Dr. Hans Zarkov (archive footage)
Released: January 1, 1966
Type: Movie
A heavy condensation of the original serial compresses the original thirteen episodes into an efficient 97 minute feature. Disaster seems imminent when scientists discover that the planet Mongo is about to crash into Earth. Luckily, heroic young Flash Gordon is on hand to lead an investigative mission into outer space and onto the speedily approaching planet. There, he and his best girl, Dale, who is along for the ride, learn that Ming, the devious ruler of Mongo, has purposely put the planet on a collision course with Earth, and only Flash can stop him.
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A Dangerous Profession
Title: A Dangerous Profession
Released: December 10, 1949
Type: Movie
A cop-turned-bail bondsman gets involved in a murder investigation.
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Crack-Up
Title: Crack-Up
Character: Train Station Gateman (Uncredited)
Released: September 6, 1946
Type: Movie
Art curator George Steele experiences a train wreck...which never happened. Is he cracking up, or the victim of a plot?
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The Phantom
Title: The Phantom
Character: Professor Davidson
Released: December 24, 1943
Type: Movie
Two expeditions are trying to reach the Lost City of Zoloz -- one headed by Professor Davidson, a scientist who wants to establish an archaeological site, and the other by a greedy treasure hunter who wants to keep the fabled treasures of the city for himself. An agent of a foreign power also wants to establish a secret airbase there, so he stirs up the natives against The Phantom, who has been able to get them to stay peaceful so far. When The Phantom is murdered, his son takes his place and sets out to restore peace to the jungle and stop the agents' and the treasure hunters' nefarious plans.
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The Phantom
Title: The Phantom
Character: Prof. Davidson (uncredited)
Released: December 24, 1943
Type: Movie
Two expeditions are trying to reach the Lost City of Zoloz -- one headed by Professor Davidson, a scientist who wants to establish an archaeological site, and the other by a greedy treasure hunter who wants to keep the fabled treasures of the city for himself. An agent of a foreign power also wants to establish a secret airbase there, so he stirs up the natives against The Phantom, who has been able to get them to stay peaceful so far. When The Phantom is murdered, his son takes his place and sets out to restore peace to the jungle and stop the agents' and the treasure hunters' nefarious plans.
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Batman
Title: Batman
Character: Dr. Hayden
Released: July 16, 1943
Type: Movie
Japanese master spy Daka operates a covert espionage-sabotage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo, which turns American scientists into pliable zombies. The great crime-fighters Batman and Robin, with the help of their allies, are in pursuit.
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The Secret Code
Title: The Secret Code
Character: Police Commissioner
Released: September 4, 1942
Type: Movie
A superhero known as The Black Commando battles Nazi agents who use explosive gases and artificial lightning to sabotage the war effort.
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Ten Gentlemen from West Point
Title: Ten Gentlemen from West Point
Character: Senator (uncredited)
Released: June 26, 1942
Type: Movie
This historical drama tells the story of the first class to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In the early 19th Century, Congress appropriated the money to build the school, but opponents who believed it to be an illegitimate expansion of the powers of the federal government decided to sabotage the school. They put the hard-as-nails Major Sam Carter in charge of the academy, and he ruthlessly put the recruits through grueling training -- until only ten prospective soldiers remained. They include Dawson, a patriotic farm boy and Howard Shelton, a selfish playboy who has come to West Point only because of its prestige. The two vie for Carolyn Bainbridge, while they, along with the other eight, try convince Carter that the school is worth keeping.
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Rawhide Rangers
Title: Rawhide Rangers
Character: McDowell
Released: July 18, 1941
Type: Movie
A group of frontier businessmen set up a protective organization for the purpose of extorting money from the local ranchers.
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Federal Fugitives
Title: Federal Fugitives
Character: Hammond
Released: March 29, 1941
Type: Movie
A government agent goes undercover in order to apprehend a saboteur who caused a plane crash.
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A Dispatch from Reuters
Title: A Dispatch from Reuters
Character: Mr. O'Malley - Captain of the Nova Scotian (uncredited)
Released: October 19, 1940
Type: Movie
German Julius Reuter sends 19th-century news by carrier pigeon and then by wire, founding a news agency.
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Brigham Young
Title: Brigham Young
Character: Second Man with California Gold News
Released: September 27, 1940
Type: Movie
Based on the story of the famous Mormon leader, it follows Brigham Young and his challenge to transport his people across the Rocky mountains to settle in Salt Lake City. The plot focuses on two fictitious characters, Jonathan Kent and Zina Webb and the hardships they have to face along the way.
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Wildcat Bus
Title: Wildcat Bus
Character: Sweeney
Released: August 23, 1940
Type: Movie
A broke playboy signs on to help a young beauty save her ailing bus line.
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The Return of Frank James
Title: The Return of Frank James
Character: Sheriff
Released: August 10, 1940
Type: Movie
Farmer Frank and his ward hunt brother Jesse's killers, the back-shooting Fords.
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Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
Title: Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
Character: Dr. Zarkov
Released: March 3, 1940
Type: Movie
A mysterious plague, the Purple Death, ravages the earth. Dr. Zarkov, investigating in his spaceship, finds a ship from planet Mongo seeding the atmosphere with dust. Sure enough, Ming the Merciless is up to his old tricks. So it's back to Mongo for Flash, Dale, and Zarkov.
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Emergency Squad
Title: Emergency Squad
Character: Construction Supervisor at Elevator
Released: January 5, 1940
Type: Movie
Betty Bryant is an ambitious newspaper reporter in love with Dan Barton, a member of a big-city Emergency Squad who are trained to deal with riots, cave-in, explosions, fires and other emergencies where lives are at stake. Slade Wiley, an unscrupulous tunnel builder, finds that his low bid on the Newford Tunnel project is causing him to lose a lot of money, and has underworld leader Nick Burton set off blasts to frighten the stockholders into selling their shares at a low price so he can buy up the stock. Betty is investigating the deal when Wiley and Burton take her on a "tour trip" to the tunnel.
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The Night of Nights
Title: The Night of Nights
Character: Frank, the Bartender (uncredited)
Released: December 1, 1939
Type: Movie
A playwright has his career ruined when he is drunk on the first night. His wife dies having left him, and when his daughter triumphs in the revival of the play he dies contented.
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Rulers of the Sea
Title: Rulers of the Sea
Character: Kelsey (Uncredited)
Released: November 8, 1939
Type: Movie
The struggle of a man to build a steam ship to take him across the Atlantic in spite of all setbacks, and his win against a crack sailing boat in the early 19th century.
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Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite
Title: Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite
Character: Inspector McTavish
Released: August 12, 1939
Type: Movie
Torchy Blane and Steve McBride try to nab a gangster by tracking his moll.
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Torchy Runs for Mayor
Title: Torchy Runs for Mayor
Character: Captain McTavish
Released: May 13, 1939
Type: Movie
Torchy conducts a one woman campaign against a corrupt mayor and crime boss, and when the reform candidate is murdered, she takes up the banner.
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Union Pacific
Title: Union Pacific
Character: Old Man (uncredited)
Released: May 5, 1939
Type: Movie
One of the last bills signed by President Lincoln authorizes pushing the Union Pacific Railroad across the wilderness to California. But financial opportunist Asa Barrows hopes to profit from obstructing it. Chief troubleshooter Jeff Butler has his hands full fighting Barrows' agent, gambler Sid Campeau; Campeau's partner Dick Allen is Jeff's war buddy and rival suitor for engineer's daughter Molly Monahan. Who will survive the effort to push the railroad through at any cost?
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Torchy Blane in Chinatown
Title: Torchy Blane in Chinatown
Character: Police Capt. McTavish
Released: February 2, 1939
Type: Movie
Torchy Blane joins her police-detective fiance to solve a series of murders involving a set of Chinese grave tablets taken and sold to a collector and death-threats written in Chinese characters.
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Next Time I Marry
Title: Next Time I Marry
Character: Police Lieutenant
Released: December 9, 1938
Type: Movie
Heiress Nancy Crocker Fleming will only receive her inheritance if she marries a "plain American." Her late father was afraid a foreign gigolo would steal her heart and money. So Nancy pays Tony Anthony, working on a WPA road project, to marry, then divorce her. When Nancy inadvertently drives off with Tony's dog, Tony seemingly kidnaps her to retrieve the pooch, which leads to a cross-country race between the two to reach Reno and the divorce court since neither one wants to be the second to file papers.
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Torchy Gets Her Man
Title: Torchy Gets Her Man
Character: Police Captain McTavish (uncredited)
Released: November 12, 1938
Type: Movie
A notorious counterfeiter passes himself off as a Secret Service agent to Steve and gets him to unwittingly help him bilk the racetrack out of tens of thousands.
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Mars Attacks the World
Title: Mars Attacks the World
Character: Dr. Alexis Zarkov
Released: November 7, 1938
Type: Movie
Feature version of the 1938 film serial FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS. Flash Gordon fights Ming the Merciless once again to ensure the survival of the Earth.
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You Can't Take It with You
Title: You Can't Take It with You
Character: Mac (uncredited)
Released: September 1, 1938
Type: Movie
Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.
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Torchy Blane in Panama
Title: Torchy Blane in Panama
Character: Captain McTavish
Released: May 7, 1938
Type: Movie
Torchy, Steve, and Gahagan are on the trail of a bank robber aboard an ocean liner traveling from New York to L.A. via the Panama Canal.
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Over the Wall
Title: Over the Wall
Character: Duke Slattery - Policeman with Warrant
Released: April 2, 1938
Type: Movie
When a singing, song-writing prizefighter is framed for murder and sent to the state pen, his girlfriend sets out to prove his innocence.
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Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars
Title: Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars
Character: Dr. Zarkov
Released: March 21, 1938
Type: Movie
When a deadly Nitron ray strikes Earth, Flash Gordon and his friends travel to Mars to battle Ming the Merciless and his new ally Queen Azura.
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Rocket Ship
Title: Rocket Ship
Character: Dr. Hans Zarkov
Released: March 5, 1938
Type: Movie
A heavy condensation of the 1936 serial Flash Gordon, with altered musical score. Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.
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The Ship That Died
Title: The Ship That Died
Character: Minor Role (uncredited)
Released: February 19, 1938
Type: Movie
This MGM An Historical Mystery short traces the final voyage of the Mary Celeste, a ship discovered at sea, in December 1872, devoid - for no discernible reason - of crew, passengers and captain. At "the famed nautical court of Gibraltar", investigators propose three hypotheses.
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Blondes at Work
Title: Blondes at Work
Character: Capt. McTavish
Released: February 5, 1938
Type: Movie
When a rival newspaper publisher complains to his captain about possible collusion between himself and reporter Torchy Blane on scooping her rivals in crime news reporting, Det. Lt. Steve McBride determines to thwart her efforts to get inside information - and she determines to go on getting it, by whatever means necessary.
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Mannequin
Title: Mannequin
Character: Police Sergeant at Jail (Uncredited)
Released: January 21, 1938
Type: Movie
Jessie, a young working class woman, seeks to improve her life by marrying her boyfriend, only to find out that he is no better than what she left behind.
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The Adventurous Blonde
Title: The Adventurous Blonde
Character: Captain McTavish
Released: November 13, 1937
Type: Movie
The third of nine Torchy Blane movies. Angry that police detective Steve McBride (Barton MacLane) is giving preferential treatment to his reporter-fiancée, Torchy Blane (Glenda Farrell), reporters from a rival newspaper plan a fake murder with the idea that Torchy's paper will print the story and look foolish. The tables are turned when the fake murder turns out to be the genuine article.
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Ever Since Eve
Title: Ever Since Eve
Character: Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Released: July 15, 1937
Type: Movie
Madge Winton (Marion Davies), a beautiful secretary, makes herself look homely in order to avoid advances by lecherous bosses. When her new employer, writer Freddy Matthews (Robert Montgomery), accidentally sees her without her disguise, she has to pretend to be her roommate Sadie.
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End of the Trail
Title: End of the Trail
Character: Sheriff Anderson
Released: October 10, 1936
Type: Movie
In this western, a Spanish-American war veteran cannot find gainful employment. In desperation, he becomes a cattle rustler until he can get back on his feet. Just as he is ready to go straight, his girlfriend's younger brother is shot.
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The Texas Rangers
Title: The Texas Rangers
Character: Captain Stafford
Released: August 28, 1936
Type: Movie
Two down-on-their-luck former outlaws volunteer to be Texas Rangers and find themselves assigned to bring in an old friend, now a notorious outlaw.
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Flash Gordon
Title: Flash Gordon
Character: Dr. Hans Zarkov
Released: April 6, 1936
Type: Movie
Disaster seems imminent when scientists discover that the planet Mongo is about to crash into Earth. Luckily, heroic young Flash Gordon is on hand to lead an investigative mission into outer space and onto the speedily approaching planet. There, he and his best girl, Dale, who is along for the ride, learn that Ming, the devious ruler of Mongo, has purposely put the planet on a collision course with Earth, and only Flash can stop him.
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Road Gang
Title: Road Gang
Character: Chaplain (uncredited)
Released: March 28, 1936
Type: Movie
A crusading young reporter planning a series of articles about a corrupt politician is framed for a crime and sentenced to serve five years at a prison farm.
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The Prisoner of Shark Island
Title: The Prisoner of Shark Island
Character: Mr. Holt
Released: February 28, 1936
Type: Movie
After healing the leg of the murderer John Wilkes Booth, responsible for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, perpetrated on April 14, 1865, during a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington; Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, considered part of the atrocious conspiracy, is sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to the sinister Shark Island Prison.
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The Perfect Set-Up
Title: The Perfect Set-Up
Character: Detective Hewitt (uncredited)
Released: February 1, 1936
Type: Movie
In this MGM "Crime Does Not Pay" series short, a radio and television engineer falls into a life of crime by dismantling alarms for robberies.
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Black Gold
Title: Black Gold
Character: Dan O'Reilly
Released: January 19, 1936
Type: Movie
Wildcat riggers risk their lives in the pursuit of oil. Their jobs get even more dangerous when ruthless oil baron J.C. Anderson sets his sights on their territory. When longtime driller Dan O'Reilly falls to his death from a well tower sabotaged by Anderson's strong-arm thugs, his teenage son 'Fishtail' inherits the property and the troubles that come with it. With the help of his geologist pal, Hank Langford, the boy fights to bring in a gusher before the deed to the well-site expires.
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The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
Title: The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
Character: Police Sergeant
Released: January 11, 1936
Type: Movie
A young doctor is determined to expose the killer when a surgeon is found stabbed to death in a hospital elevator.
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The Pace That Kills
Title: The Pace That Kills
Character: Mr. Farley
Released: December 1, 1935
Type: Movie
A drug dealer on the run from the law meets an innocent young girl and her brother, and turns them into “cocaine fiends”.
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The Eagle's Brood
Title: The Eagle's Brood
Character: Mike
Released: October 25, 1935
Type: Movie
When the outlaw El Toro saves Hoppy's life, Hoppy agrees to find his missing grandson.
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Men Without Names
Title: Men Without Names
Character: Leahy
Released: June 29, 1935
Type: Movie
A G-man woos a newswoman and corners bank robbers with a hostage in a factory.
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'G' Men
Title: 'G' Men
Character: Police Chief at Lodge (uncredited)
Released: May 4, 1935
Type: Movie
James “Brick” Davis, a struggling attorney, owes his education to a mobster, but always has refused to get involved with the underworld. When a friend of his is gunned down by a notorious criminal, Brick decides to abandon the exercise of the law and join the Department of Justice to capture the murderer.
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Woman in the Dark
Title: Woman in the Dark
Character: Prison Warden
Released: November 8, 1934
Type: Movie
A recently released prisoner lives alone in his cabin so that his bad temper won't get him back in any more trouble, but his peaceful existence is disrupted when a mysterious woman arrives.
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A Burglar to the Rescue
Title: A Burglar to the Rescue
Character: The Burglar, Holtz aka Jack Dunning
Released: September 7, 1931
Type: Movie
He is working on the books to cover his crimes, when a visitor arrives with a gun. In the conversation that ensues, it is revealed that the visitor is an escaped convict that was a former employee of the bank. He was railroaded to prison to cover the crooked banker's crime. As with other entries in this series, there is a shadow projected every so often with a voice forecasting what is to come.
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Monsieur Beaucaire
Title: Monsieur Beaucaire
Character: Badger
Released: August 11, 1924
Type: Movie
The Duke of Chartres is in love with Princess Henriette, but she seemingly wants nothing to do with him. Eventually he grows tired of her insults and flees to England when Louis XV insists that the two marry. He goes undercover as Monsieur Beaucaire, the barber of the French Ambassador, and finds that he enjoys the freedom of a commoner’s life. After catching the Duke of Winterset cheating at cards, he forces him to introduce him as a nobleman to Lady Mary, with whom he has become infatuated. When Lady Mary is led to believe that the Duke of Chartres is merely a barber she loses interest in him. She eventually learns that he is a nobleman after all and tries to win him back, but the Duke of Chartres opts to return to France and Princess Henriette who now returns his affection.
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Icebound
Title: Icebound
Character: Judge Bradford
Released: March 2, 1924
Type: Movie
Ben Jordan runs away after accidentally setting fire to a barn in his small New England community. He returns when his mother dies to find that she has left everything to her ward, Jane Crosby.
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The Bride's Play
Title: The Bride's Play
Character: Sir John Mansfield
Released: January 22, 1922
Type: Movie
A sweet-natured young Irish woman is courted by a romantic poet and a local country gentleman. Which man will she choose?
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Boomerang Bill
Title: Boomerang Bill
Character: Terrence O'Malley
Released: January 15, 1922
Type: Movie
When New York City police officer O'Malley learns of a young man who is about to embark on a life of crime by taking part in a robbery, he takes the boy aside and tells him the story of Boomerang Bill, another wanna-be gangster who wanted to be a big shot in the New York crime scene. It seems that Bill fell for a pretty young dance-hall girl, and went up against local gang boss Tony the Wop when he insulted her. Tony, who never forgot a slight, found a way to make things very, very tough for Boomerang Bill, in a way that he never saw coming.
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The Prisoner of Zenda
Title: The Prisoner of Zenda
Character: Detchard
Released: February 18, 1913
Type: Movie
King Rudolf of Ruritania is saved from a coup attempt by the help of his lookalike cousin, who falls in love with the king's fiancee.