THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER: Blu-ray (Warner Bros., 1937) Warner Archive

Crossed swords. A palace in peril. Derring-do, and a dashing dude to do it. William Keighley’s The Prince and The Pauper (1937) is an enchanting cinematic revision of the much beloved Mark Twain classic – originally published by subscription in 1881 in Canada. The book, Twain’s maiden foray into historical fiction, charts the intrigues of a palace coup with an even bigger bait and switch – replacing the future King of England with a common, impoverished wretch from the streets. In an inspired bit of casting, twins, William and Robert J. Mauch made indelible impressions as Prince Edward and Tom Canty. Both boys were under contract to Warner Bros. and had appeared separately to excellent effect in Anthony Adverse, The White Angel, and, The Charge of the Light Brigade (all 3 made and released the year before). Alas, Twain’s adventure yarn was thrown slightly off balance by the inclusion of Errol Flynn as Miles Hendon (originally intended for Patric Knowles), a fairly inconsequential character in the book, but, owing to Flynn’s ever-rising stature as the studio’s #1 matinee heartthrob, an integral figure in this cinematic retelling. Still, it took some thirty-odd-minutes for Flynn to appear on the screen. On the cusp of being cast as that perennially satisfying rogue in tights, Robin Hood, Jack L. Warner, already knowing of Flynn’s prowess in a cod-piece, likely was testing that appeal with this comparatively minor costume programmer before spending lavishly on his Technicolor epic. And Flynn, at the height of his sex appeal and physical agility, was, with few exceptions, never wilier nor more incredibly debonair than in this lustily scripted swashbuckler.

The year is 1547. Edward (Bobby Mauch) awaits as the spoiled heir to the Tudor English throne. He is an opinionated, self-centered, minor nuisance; his days spent in amiable play with Lady Jane Grey (Ann Howard), Lady Elizabeth (Gwendolyn Jones) and his Jester (Leo White). Nevertheless, Edward loves his father – the badly ailing King Henry VIII (Montagu Love). Somewhere in London we find Tom Canty (Billy Mauch) - a child of the streets. Although life has been bitter and cruel, Tom has retained a nobler integrity wed to his street savvy wit. This has sustained him during his many hardships. However, when Edward accidentally meets Tom, his playful petty larceny is put into high gear. Why not let this poor urchin occupy his throne for a spell while he – Edward – mingles with the commoners in search of new adventures away from the constant scrutiny of court life? Alas, as the boys have traded apparel, and bear an uncanny physical resemblance to each other, Edward is thus mistaken for Tom by the Captain of the Guard (Alan Hale) and ruthlessly driven from the palace into the streets. Meanwhile, Tom innocently tries to set the record straight. Alas, his protestations are misperceived as mental illness, leaving the King deeply concerned.

Meanwhile, Edward’s ‘trusted’ adviser, the Earl of Hertford (Claude Rains at his devious best), with the complicity of the Duke of Norfolk (Henry Stephenson) is plotting to murder the young Prince and take over the throne. Only the King’s Captain of the Guard remains loyal. Mistaking Tom for Edward, the Earl imprisons him in the tower, declaring a regency in the King’s ‘absence.’ Into this fray of royal intrigues arrives fortune hunter, Miles Hendon (Errol Flynn) – a cunning and handsome rapscallion. By happenstance, Miles finds Edward, masquerading as Tom. Learning of the immediacy of the situation, Edward commands Hendon to assist in restoring him to the throne. At first, unconvinced, Hendon treats Edward with mild contempt – a sobering experience for the boy/King used to getting his own way. Eventually, Hendon is humbled by the truth and decides he must set everything right - for King, country and the healthy profit it will likely derive. It all ends pleasantly enough in a very un-Twain-like display of crossed swords, culminating in a coronation to make even legit/Brit royalty blush.

The Prince and the Pauper is a lot of fun. But waiting for Flynn to appear on camera is a bit of a slog, regardless of how competently Laird Doyle’s screenplay has managed to expedite the details of the ‘back story’ before Edward and Tom met. Claude Rains is an exceptionally suave and menacing baddie and his venom sustains many a scene before Flynn begins to chew up the scenery. The Mauch twins, while occasionally teetering on the verge of precociousness, never take the tumble into what, so easily, could have devolved into another costumed cloak and dagger dilly with oodles of sloppy charm to spare. Doyle’s dalliances with Twain, actually basing his work on playwright, Catherine C. Cushing’s stagecraft, favors Flynn once he arrives on the scene.  But the transition and refocusing of the tale is never awkward or stultifying. Keighley’s direction, wed to Sol Polito’s gorgeous cinematography and vibrant underscore by Eric Wolfgang Korngold, make for an effective package. And production design here is absolutely first rate. In one of Hollywood’s genuine ironies, the Mauch Twins never did much in Hollywood after this – a genuine pity, since they, not Flynn, are the real/reel reason this version of Twain’s masterwork has retained its luster with the passage of time, and, is still considered the definitive cinematic version of this story.

Arriving on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive, The Prince and the Pauper sports another impressive transfer. A handful of scenes are soft. Owing to film stocks, age-related wear and tear or improper storage? Any one or all three would likely contribute to the picture looking decades older than it actually does here. The grayscale is gorgeous. There’s a silver sheen here with few opportunities for truly black ‘blacks’. But contrast is uniformly excellent. Age-related artifacts are not an issue. Everything is up to snuff, and then some.  The 2.0 DTS mono is remarkably resilient. Extremely disappointing…the extras. Three Merrie Melodies shorts and a trailer are all we get.  Bottom line: swashbucklers are an acquired taste. But once you’ve acquired it, they become a joyous way to effortlessly spend an afternoon. And The Prince and the Pauper is among the finest efforts in that subgenre of perilous adventure. WAC’s Blu-ray is solid and attractive. Let’s hope we get more such offerings in the next 11 months. Very highly recommended!

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

3.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

4.5

EXTRAS

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