THE SWAN (MGM, 1956) Warner Archive Collection

The last movie Grace Kelly committed to celluloid, though not the final one to be released theatrically, before becoming Her Serene Royal Highness of Monaco was director, Charles Vidor’s The Swan (1956); a remake twice removed from its source material by Ferenc Molnar. A sort of grandly operatic riffraff that MGM had once excelled at during the 1930's, The Swan tells the tale of a conflicted young Princess who must choose between the duties of a Queen and the passions of a real woman - placing duty above passion in order to secure her family's future within the reigning monarchy. MGM had already successfully adapted this Ruritanian romance under its original title in 1925, then again in 1930 before effectively retiring the rather conventional story to the fairy-tale dust bins as a careworn chestnut. However, in 1954, Grace Kelly – one of the most high-profile movie stars of her generation, and a stunningly handsome woman besides – became the invited guest of Prince Rainier of Monaco aboard his private yacht. The whirlwind romance that followed seemed, ironically, to so perfectly chronicle life imitating art, MGM could not resist resurrecting The Swan for one final bow.

Were that we still had stars like Grace Kelly adorning our cinema firmament today. Kelly, who came to the attention of cinema goers after a spate of unremarkable television work and her breakout in 1953’s Mogambo – a loose and not terribly prepossessing remake of the Jean Harlow classic, Red Dust (1932, also to have costarred, Clark Gable), thereafter was to appear in a legendary – if brief – run of A-list movies, including 3 for Alfred Hitchcock - Dial ‘M’ for Murder, Rear Window (both in 1954) and, To Catch a Thief (1955), High Noon (1952), The Country Girl (1954, for which she won her only Best Actress Oscar) and, the swell-egant musical, High Society (1956) before officially to achieve even greater heights of international renown as Her Serene Royal Highness, Princess Grace of Monaco. Whirlwind does not begin to describe the stealth and significance with which Kelly made her mark on the movies. And indeed, even after she departed Hollywood for these greener pastures behind palace walls, directors kept clamoring for her return to the screen, hurling their scripts over the garden walls in the hopes she would acquiesce. Very briefly, it looked as though Kelly would return to the movies for Hitchcock in Marnie. Alas, no - this was never to happen by royal decree, and Kelly – by all accounts, experiencing the slings and arrows, as well as the growing pains of her new position, was left to spend her immeasurable talents, entertaining her newfound constituents almost exclusively in other ways; poetry readings to raise money via her charity for the needy. So, to mark her grand exit from filmdom forever, MGM gave Kelly two of their biggest movies – two shining examples why Grace Kelly has, to this day, forever remained one of the truly surreal and uber-glamorous stars from Hollywood’s golden age. The Swan is happily regarded today as a deftly produced, if frothy and feather-weight vehicle, never to strain Kelly’s range.   

In a nutshell, this version of The Swan has everything going for it. Its top flight adaptation by John Dighton lightly treads on Molnar's masterpiece with reinvigorated humor that is quite refreshing at times. The film's sweeping score by Bronislau Kaper is among his best, and, befitting of a future princess - its aptly lush orchestrations, soaring above the light drama and even more lithe comedy. The outstanding cast includes not only Kelly in the title role, but also super stars, Alec Guinness and Louis Jourdan as her amiable suitors. Princess Alexandra (Kelly) is the daughter of a minor branch of the European aristocracy, betrothed to her cousin Prince Albert (Guinness) - a man whom she neither loves nor, in fact, has met since the two were children. The princess' two adolescent brothers, George (Van Dyke Parks) and Arsene (Christopher Cook) are attended to in their studies by Dr. Nicholas Agi (Louis Jourdan); a handsome tutor whose progressive teachings promise to become the harbingers of real romantic chaos later on in this narrative. The princess' mother, Princess Beatrix (Jessie Royce Landis) is a delightfully scheming scatterbrain, determined to have her family restored to the good graces of Queen Maria Dominika (Agnes Moorehead) even at the expense of sacrificing her own daughter's true happiness. The rest of the family includes dotty spinster aunt Symphorosa (Estelle Winwood) and a doting uncle, Father Carl Hyacinth (Brian Adherne); a true man of the cloth and the one calming and intelligent voice within this otherwise unhinged family tree.

A marriage between Albert and Alexandra will restore the family to the throne taken from them by Napoleon. However, all is not as easily won - especially when Albert seems to take an interest in everything except Alexandra; from shooting duck and engaging in a spirited game of football with the princes, to interrupting a ball given in his honor by playing the bass fiddle with the orchestra. To urge an inevitable proposal from Albert, Beatrix coaxes Alexandra to feign a romantic interest in Nicholas. But this ruse backfires when Nicholas mistakes the Princess's sudden affections as legitimate overtures to romantic love. Alexandra spurns Nicholas upon learning of his infatuation, but then succumbs to his charms. Unearthing their truest passion for each other, Albert declares his affections for the Princess and suggests that once he is King, he will allow the family their return to France, despite Alexandra's obvious desire to run away with Nicholas. An impatient Dominika arrives the next afternoon to decide whether or not there will be a royal marriage. Realizing how prescient and perilous the future of the monarchy is, Nicholas leaves the manor without his true love. Albert returns to Alexandra's side, declaring that she is like a swan - serene upon the waters, yet evermore the awkward goose on dry land.

The Swan does have its spirited moments, mostly procured from the fine ensemble acting throughout. The screenplay takes itself just seriously enough to be engaging and involved but never weighted down. Grace Kelly is very much the storybook princess and, in retrospect, there is a sublime blurring of the lines between this fictional story and Kelly's own fairy tale escape from reality, soon to follow. True enough, the stronger talent here is Alec Guinness, ever so slightly wasted in this forgettable mélange. However, in the few moments where it is required, Guinness’ presence adds formidable depth and resonance to what is, by far, an outrageously far-fetched and glossy bauble. Louis Jourdan is appropriately contrite and always fun to look at. His contributions herein can best be described as jilted male eye-candy, which works in a part that never requires anything further of his talents. In the final analysis, The Swan is worth another glance on home video - it's blunted poignancy, nicely framed in surface sheen and stylish trappings a la the old MGM style, photographed in expansive Cinemascope.

This Warner Archive MOD DVD of The Swan is advertised as 'remastered', and, to be certain, the film has had some minor work performed in preparation for this standard-def release. However, the Cinemascope image remains rather softly focused throughout, while the palette of Eastmancolor is anemic and occasionally exhibits slight hints of color fading to boot. At intervals, the palette veers from adequate to muddy, favoring browns, beiges and a bilious green tint. Flesh tones are either pasty pink or washed out to an almost ghostly white. This isn't a particularly engaging home video presentation and that's a shame, considering all of the splendid art direction and vivid cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg and Robert Surtees. The audio is a 5.1 remastering of the original Cinemascope six track stereo and is appropriately crisp and bombastic in spots. There are no extra features on this disc - not even the film's original theatrical trailer. Bottom line: in a perfect world The Swan would have already made the leap to Blu-ray via WAC. One can sincerely hope it may someday appear on the studio's radar for the necessary hi-def upgrade it so obviously requires.

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

3.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

3

EXTRAS

0