PRINCE OF FOXES: Blu-ray (2oth Century-Fox, 1949) Kino Lorber
Shot on location
in Italy, Henry King’s Prince of Foxes (1949) is a lavishly appointed
and visually resplendent ‘would-be’ epic that tragically only comes to life in
fits and sparks. Based on the novel by Samuel Shellabarger, the film tells the
story of the greedily ambitious, Cesare Borgia (played with appropriate amounts
of diabolically fey menace and crude chest-thumping charm by a goateed Orson
Welles). Cesare, a 1500 AD conqueror, set to devour the whole of Italy - one
province at a time - was a formidable adversary in life. And indeed, Welles
formulates the appropriate manner to imperil a house already divided by court
intrigues, and, a nation on the cusp of provincial war. With his booming voice
and command of the English language, tongue, firmly implanted in cheek, Welles
towers above his co-stars here. If only he were the movie’s star. Alas, no – this
honor is set upon Tyrone Power, Fox’s resident heartthrob, looking a tad too
long-in-the-tooth to be considered the robust, hearty and lustful Andrea Orsini
– Cesare’s right-hand man. Aside: something about Ty Power has never sat right
with me. In his day, Power was primed as a paragon of masculinity – the new
Valentino for the talkie era. Personally, I find him utterly ridiculous in
tights, unlike say, Errol Flynn. Vittorio Nino Novarese’s costumes are wearing
the actor, instead of the other way around. And Power, undeniably the ‘pretty
boy’ of his day, nevertheless had far more success portraying youthful cock-of-the-walks
from his own era than dandified figures derived from history. It’s just no
good. With his Median quaff and frilly duds, Power just looks like a middle-age
pharmacist going to a costume ball. He also appears transparently uncomfortable
throughout Prince of Foxes.
I don’t wonder,
having been promised – by 2oth Century-Fox’s mogul, Darryl F. Zanuck - a new
contract with better opportunities to escape his Valentino-esque status and
truly expand his acting chops in different directions, only to be repeatedly denied
this right after the box office implosion of Nightmare Alley (1947) –
the movie that unequivocally illustrated just how good Power could be in a
project he absolutely believed in with all his heart. Prince of Foxes puts Power back in his
box, if hardly, his comfort zone. Audiences evidently loved seeing him this
way. But Power’s slender frame and fine-boned features, aging rapidly after the
war, were out of step with the characters he increasingly played under his ironclad
contract. And Power, looking every inch as
though he has emerged from some summer stock roadshow company doing Strindberg
in the park, does his ample best to convince us he is a dashingly handsome figure
cut from the nobleman’s cloth. Really, though – and next to the accomplished
Welles, who maneuvers effortlessly with an air of confidence, Power falls flat
on his sword. Welles too was unhappy to be working for somebody else. He would
have preferred to be his own master. That avenue denied him after his ousting
from RKO, Welles found that he was much in demand on the other side of the
camera. If it paid the bills it hardly satisfied his auteur’s eye.
The runaway success of Shellabarger’s novel practically guaranteed it
would be transformed into a motion picture. Fox, in fact, beat out heavy
competition to produce it, paying a whopping $200,000 to secure the rights.
Producer, Sol Siegel was given the plum assignment, with Henry King to direct.
Milton Krims’ screenplay adhered fairly close to the novel, making concessions
only to accommodate the picture’s run time. To appease the Catholic League of
Decency and avoid censorship, the Borgia’s father, Pope Alexander VI was omitted
from these proceedings, as were all references to religion and the church. Cast
and crew spent months migrating across the Italian landscape, shooting in its
authentic locations; the picture, mostly financed by ‘frozen funds’ in Italy,
with Fox shelling out an additional $1.5 million to cover cost overruns. While
exteriors covered the expanse of Italy’s renaissance architecture; the Chapel
of the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Tuscany, Venice and Veneto, virtually all of
the interiors were photographed at Rome’s famed Cinecittà Studio with art
directors’ Mark-Lee Kirk and Lyle R. Wheeler plying their craft to lend an air of
authenticity. Screening the dailies, Zanuck concurred – whatever the cost, it
was worth ‘every dollar’, Zanuck adding, “…and it cost plenty!”
After Alfred Newman’s bombastic orchestral main title, we arrive in
Italy, circa 1500. Andrea Orsini, an artist/nobleman, as skilled with a brush
as a sword – and a beloved of many women – serves the Machiavellian Prince
Cesare Borgia. Infinitely pleased with
Andrea's ability to follow instructions, while still sporting a mind and a will
of his own, Borgia selects Andrea for his most wicked intrigue yet: an arranged
marriage between his widowed sister, Lucrezia (whose husband has just been
assassinated for this purpose), to Alfonso d'Este (James Carney), the son of
the Duke Ercole d'Este of Ferrara (Joop van Hulzen).
It is a marriage of state, certain to remove Ferrara as Cesare’s only
impediment to conquer the land. Alas, Andrea earns the hostility of Don Esteban
Ramirez (Leslie Bradley), a ruthless rival. Travelling to Venice to raise money
for his expenses, Andrea encounters Camilla di la Baglione (Wanda Hendrix), the
young bride of an aged Count, Marc Antonio Verano (Felix Aylmer).
Immediately smitten, Andrea gallantly offers Camilla one of his paintings as a
lure. Soon after, an assassin sent by d'Este fails in his murder plot against
Andrea. In reply, Andrea hires his own mercenary, Mario Belli (Everett Sloane).
On route, Andrea visits the farm of a blacksmith's widow who, unbeknownst to
him, is actually his real mother, Mona Constanza Zoppo (Katina Paxinou). Their reunion
is bittersweet as Mona does not approve of her son's lifestyle. Meanwhile,
Belli learns the truth of Orsini’s birthright.
Proceeding to Ferrara, Andrea arranges Lucrezia’s marriage by
intimidating the Duke, but flattering Alfonso. Having succeeded in his clever
ruse, Cesare now appoints Andrea as his ambassador to Citta del Monte with
secret orders to conquer the strategic mountaintop village for the Borgias by
seducing Camilla to facilitate her betrayal of the Count. Cesare also appoints
Belli to act as his spy, reporting back to him on Andrea’s progress and loyalties.
Through Camilla, who is free of fault, Andrea learns that whenever the Count
has a problem to contemplate, he climbs to a high precipice for inspiration;
the perfect way to make his death look like an accident. Alas, the Count is
tender and warm. Andrea is affected by his sincerity and wisdom – unable to
commit his act of treason. Hence, when Cesare orders the Count to allow his
forces to pass in conquest, the Count instead defies him. Andrea sides with the
Count against Cesare, forcing Belli to retire his commission and return to his
previous master. The Count reveals to Andrea his marriage to Camilla was
strategically plotted to protect her interests after her own father’s death.
Indeed, the Count has never harbored romantic affections toward her, but rather
looks upon her as the daughter he never had. Tragically, the Count is mortally
wounded in an ambush not long thereafter, forcing Andrea to take up arms in
Camilla’s honor.
Three hellish
months of battle ensue, the city, at last, reduced to its last extremity. Don
Esteban offers Camilla generous terms of surrender – with a catch; she must give
up Andrea to Cesare. Desperately in love
with Andrea, she refuses. Alas, Andrea knows the city cannot withstand Cesare’s
armies and gives himself up willingly as a sacrifice to Don Esteban. At a
triumphal dinner, Camilla pleads with Esteban for Andrea's life. Instead, Cesare
parades the badly tortured Andrea for all to see, revealing his true identity
as a peasant; the claim backed by Mona’s presence. Cesare orders Andrea be put
to death by starvation. However, Belli, now a lieutenant in Cesare’s service, demands
a more sinister revenge; to gouge out the eyes and make Andrea a blind beggar
for the rest of his life. The idea amuses Cesare who orders it done in everyone’s
presence. Mercifully, Belli has remained loyal to Andrea. Now, he fakes Andrea’s
disfigurement, sending Mona home with her ‘blinded’ son. Sometime later, Andrea and Belli plot to free
Camilla and help her people retake the city. Belli aids Andrea in re-entering
Cesare’s castle. Mistakenly, the secret signal to launch the citizen’s uprising
is given before Andrea can rescue Camilla. Killing Don Esteban, Andrea is
almost murdered by an advancing assassin after stumbling over Esteban's body.
However, Baglioni (Eugene Deckers), renounces his allegiance
to Cesare, sparing Andrea’s life. As the resistance spreads, Cesare is forced
to withdraw his forces. Victory at hand, in the advancing autumn, Andrea and
Camilla are wed.
Sumptuously photographed
in B&W by Leon Shamroy, with some of the most impressively gargantuan sets
ever created for a motion picture, Prince of Foxes has everything going for
it except narrative cohesion to keep the action and dialogue in perfect
harmony. As Cesare, Orson Welles is in his element and having a damn good time
at being master of all he surveys. Regrettably, the story jettisons his
involvement midway through to focus on Orsini’s growing affections for the Count
and his daughter. Ty’ Power’s allure in
period garb escapes me. He is ill-served by breast plates, capes and spandex –
appearing effeminate and gawky. Everett Sloane in similar attire is woefully
laughable to say the least. Prince of Foxes is regarded as one of the
best of this sort of cloak and dagger faux history epics. If so, it is not
saying much for the genre as the whole. We are meant to buy wholesale into Power’s
prowess as a man’s man, lusting after life and women, but with nobler pursuits
in mind, wed to the heart of a lion in battle. Tragically, Power is
sleep-walking his way through this performance. Wanda Hendrix is not much better
than that. And, in the final analysis, strict adherence to period alone is not
enough to promote Prince of Foxes from B-grade fluff to A-list epic. It
looks the part but otherwise is something of a dog and pony show for men in
tights.
Prince of Foxes arrives via
Kino Lorber’s alliance with Fox Home Video. While there is a pleasant amount of
detail in this B&W image, showing off the ornamental costumes and settings,
with good solid texturing, the gray scale appears to have been ever-so-slightly
boosted, resulting in an image that, if not digitally processed, is not precisely
film-like either. Grain is thick, but
kept within acceptable levels. The source has many age-related imperfections
and there are hints of edge enhancement too. The 2.0 DTS is undistinguished,
with an occasionally muffled resonance. Otherwise, it sounds flatter than
anticipated – even for a vintage mono track. Worse, there is a slight hiss,
persistent throughout and exaggerated during quiescent scenes. Extras include
an isolated score and audio commentary from Troy Howarth. It’s worth a listen. There
is also a very brief Movietones newsreel covering Power’s wedding to Linda
Christian in Rome. The original theatrical trailer is actually the Italian
trailer, minus its foreign overdub narration. Bottom line: a glamorous looking,
but largely dull affair. It could have been better. Ditto for the Blu-ray.
Judge and buy accordingly.
FILM RATING (out
of 5 - 5 being the best)
3
VIDEO/AUDIO
3.5
EXTRAS
2
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