The Prince and the Pauper (1937)

Director:

William Keighley
(more)

Writers:

Mark Twain (novel)
Laird Doyle (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

8 May 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Mark Twain's Immortal Classic !

Plot:

Two lookalike boys, one a poor street kid and the other a prince, exchange places to see what the other's life is like.

Plot Keywords:

Guard | Ward | Slum | Attempted Murder | Thief

Cast

Errol Flynn	...	Miles Hendon
Claude Rains	...	Earl of Hertford
Henry Stephenson	...	Duke of Norfolk
Barton MacLane	...	John Canty
Billy Mauch	...	Tom Canty (as The Mauch Twins)
Robert J. Mauch	...	Prince Edward (as The Mauch Twins)
Alan Hale	...	Captain of the Guard
Eric Portman	...	First Lord
Lionel Pape	...	Second Lord
Leonard Willey	...	Third Lord
Murray Kinnell	...	Hugo
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Archbishop
Phyllis Barry	...	Barmaid
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Clemens (as Ivan Simpson)
Montagu Love	...	Henry VIII
Fritz Leiber	...	Father Andrew
Elspeth Dudgeon	...	Grandmother Canty
Mary Field	...	Mrs. Canty
Forrester Harvey	...	Meaty Man
Joan Valerie	...	Lady Jane Seymour (as Helen Valkis)
Lester Matthews	...	St. John
Robert Adair	...	First Guard
Harry Cording	...	Second Guard
Robert Warwick	...	Lord Warwick
Rex Evans	...	Rich Man
Holmes Herbert	...	First Doctor
Ian Maclaren	...	Second Doctor (as Ian MacLaren)
Anne Howard	...	Lady Jane Grey (as Ann Howard)
Gwendolyn Jones	...	Lady Elizabeth
Lionel Braham	...	Ruffler
Harry Beresford	...	The Watch
Lionel Belmore	...	Innkeeper
Ian Wolfe	...	Proprietor (as Ian Wolf)
St. Luke's Episcopal Church Choristers	...	Choir (as St. Luke's Choristers)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jimmy Aubrey	...	Tramp (uncredited)
Frank Baker	...	Man at inn (uncredited)
Daisy Belmore	...	Cockney (uncredited)
Wilson Benge	...	Man at inn (uncredited)
Frank Benson	...	Beggar (uncredited)
Jack Best	...	(uncredited)
Ted Billings	...	Tinker (uncredited)
Sidney Bracey	...	Man in window (uncredited)
Peter Bronte	...	Man at inn (uncredited)
George Broughton	...	Man at inn (uncredited)
George Bunny	...	Cockney (uncredited)
Rita Carlyle	...	(uncredited)
Charles Coleman	...	Watchman (uncredited)
Edward Cooper	...	Presbyter (uncredited)
Robert Cory	...	(uncredited)
Kay Deslys	...	(uncredited)
Larry Dods	...	Horseman (uncredited)
Harry Duff	...	Urchin (uncredited)
Fred Ellis	...	Urchin (uncredited)
Peter Ellis	...	Urchin (uncredited)
Harold Entwistle	...	Old man (uncredited)
Leslie Francis	...	Man at inn (uncredited)
Douglas Gordon	...	(uncredited)
Hubert F. Greenwood	...	Archbishop (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	...	Beggar (uncredited)
Edward Harvey	...	Lord (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson	...	Watchman #1 (uncredited)
Noel Kennedy	...	Urchin #1 (uncredited)
Colin Kenny	...	Watchman #2 (uncredited)
George Kirby	...	Proprietor of inn (uncredited)
Raymond Lawrence	...	Lord (uncredited)
Connie Leon	...	(uncredited)
Billy Maguire	...	Urchin #2 (uncredited)
Charles McNaughton	...	Ugly man (uncredited)
Doreen Munroe	...	(uncredited)
Ottola Nesmith	...	Lady in Waiting (uncredited)
Mrs. Wilfrid North	...	Lady in Waiting (uncredited)
Elsie Prescott	...	Woman in window (uncredited)
Jack Richardson	...	Beggar (uncredited)
Tom Ricketts	...	Sexton ringing bell (uncredited)
Clifford Severn	...	Urchin #3 (uncredited)
Yorke Sherwood	...	Innkeeper (uncredited)
Charlie Simpson	...	Cockney (uncredited)
Eric Snowden	...	Cockney (uncredited)
John Graham Spacey	...	Petty Officer (uncredited)
Ernie Stanton	...	Guard (uncredited)
Will Stanton	...	Man in crowd (uncredited)
Spencer Teakle	...	Man at inn (uncredited)
Lotus Thompson	...	Lady in Waiting (uncredited)
Cyril Thornton	...	Man at inn (uncredited)
Leo White	...	Jester (uncredited)
Tom Wilson	...	One-eyed beggar (uncredited)
Claude Wisberg	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
William Keighley
William Dieterle		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Mark Twain		(novel "The Prince and the Pauper")
Laird Doyle		(screenplay)
Catherine Chisholm Cushing		(dramatic version)

Produced by
Robert Lord	....	associate producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Cinematography by
Sol Polito		(photography by)
George Barnes		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Ralph Dawson

Art Direction by
Robert M. Haas		(as Robert Haas)

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chuck Hansen	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Oliver S. Garretson	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
James Gibbons	....	special effects (uncredited)
Willard Van Enger	....	special effects (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Milan Roder	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• First National Pictures
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1937) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)
• Warner Bros. First National Films (1938) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (reissue)
• Turner Home Video (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (193?) (Belgium) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Western Costume Company  costumes (uncredited)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Vitaphone

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #2932) | Australia:G

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

William Dieterle filled in as director when William Keighley got the flu. Similarly, cinematographer George Barnes took over as director of photography when Sol Polito fell ill.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the boys exchange roles, as the Prince (as Tom) goes out to get his dog at the stable he picks up a large candle, but when he comes out the door he no longer has it.

Quotes:

[Miles has taken the Prince to his home for the night]
Prince Edward Tudor: I'm hungry. What have you to tempt my appetite?
Miles Hendon: Well, now, that depends on what didn't tempt the mices.
Prince Edward Tudor: Mice?
Miles Hendon: Oh, yes. I had to fatten them all up. You see the, uh, cat threatened to leave.
Prince Edward Tudor: You're making a joke.
Miles Hendon: The humor of being short of rations, my small friend, has always escaped me.
Prince Edward Tudor: Then you're poor?
Miles Hendon: Would you believe it? I am.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: The Principal and the Pauper (#9.2)" (1997)

Twain Classic, with Flynn in Support of the Mauch Twins!

In 1937, the WB, capitalizing on Errol Flynn's spectacular performances in CAPTAIN BLOOD and THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, cast him in four films, with varying degrees of success. The best, by far, was William Keighley and William Dieterle's production of the Mark Twain classic, THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, where he supported new WB 'discoveries' Billy and Bobby Mauch, portraying London urchin Tom Canty and his look-alike, Prince Edward Tudor. The twins were gifted, young (12 at the time of the filming) actors, with a Freddie Bartholomew-like quality of engaging innocence, and they gave this version of the oft-filmed tale a sense of reality that split-screen performances by a single actor could never achieve.

The story is an engaging one, as young Canty, inspired by his mother and a local priest to dream of a finer life than his father, an ill-tempered beggar (Barton MacLane) could provide, sneaks onto the grounds of Buckingham Palace. There, he meets young Prince Edward, who is thrilled to meet a boy his own age...and, after cleaning him up a bit, is astonished to discover that the pair could pass as twins. Edward decides this is a golden opportunity to see what life outside the Palace is really like, so, against Canty's misgivings, the two exchange clothing, and the Prince leaves...creating far more of an uproar than either boy could ever imagine!

Canty is soon considered 'mad', as he insists he is not Edward, and the Prince, abused and ridiculed by Tom's father, is unceremoniously thrown off the Palace grounds when he attempts to return, by a disbelieving Captain of the Guards (Alan Hale, in the first of 11 films he'd make with his friend, Errol Flynn). The ambitious Earl of Hertford (the always brilliant Claude Rains) investigates Canty's claim, and realizes, after interviewing the Captain, that the boy is telling the truth, giving him a golden opportunity to seize power. Ordering the Captain to find and kill the Prince, the Earl then threatens to kill Canty if he doesn't obey his commands.

Things grow desperate for the young Prince, as he attempts to evade his murderous 'father' on the streets, until Miles Hendon (Flynn), a roguish but good-natured 'soldier-for-hire' comes to his aid. Offering his protection to the lad, Hendon thinks him a bit balmy, as well...until events (the child's obvious despair over the death of Henry VIII, the Palace search party, and a sword duel with the Captain, where Flynn KILLS Alan Hale!!!) convince him otherwise. Then it becomes a race against time to smuggle the real King into the Coronation, before Canty is crowned, and the Earl assumes "the Power behind the Throne".

Blessed with a gifted cast, including wonderful character actor Montagu Love as the dying Henry VIII, the film offers a truly exceptional film score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (who would eventually expand the theme into a symphonic work). Audiences have always been surprised that Errol Flynn's role is not larger, but as a faithful Twain adaptation, the focus had to be on the two boys, and not on the impoverished soldier. Flynn had fun playing Hendon, and the Mauch twins were nothing less than superb as the leads.

With THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD less than a year away, and Errol Flynn's star continuing to ascend, the WB had every reason to celebrate, and THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER is a pleasure to watch, to this day!