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 | Deception | Slum | Children | Mob

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)
Carrie Daumery	...	Lady at Court (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)
John George	...	Beggar (uncredited)
Douglas Gordon	...	(uncredited)
Hubert F. Greenwood	...	Archbishop (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	...	Beggar (uncredited)
Edward Harvey	...	Lord (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson	...	Watchman #1 (uncredited)
John Hyde	...	Man (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)
John J. 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)
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)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

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

Production Companies

• First National Pictures
• Warner Bros

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1937) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)
• Warner Bros. First National Pictures (1937) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. First National Films (1938) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros (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)
• Emerald (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Western Costume Company  costumes (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #2932) | Australia:G | West Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL (original rating) (1937) | Argentina:Atp | Norway:7

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

The film's release coincided with the Coronation of King George VI of the United Kingdom.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In a scene with Miles Hendon Father Andrew is seen wearing modern spectacles this was not possible in 1547 as The modern style of spectacles, held by temples passing over the ears, was developed some time before 1727, possibly by the British optician Edward Scarlett.

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:

Featured in Between Two Worlds: Erich Wolfgang Korngold (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Roost Song

Great b/w movie paves the way to 'Robin Hood'

For all my life I loved the film 'The Adventures of Robin Hood'. I always liked Errol Flynn and his men fight the bad guys. And of course I liked the soundtrack. It earned its composer (E.W.Korngold) an academy award. Yesterday I saw The Prince and the Pauper on TV for the first time. It was great. A lot of music that won the Oscar in Robin Hood appears here in this film (2 years earlier !!). Look out for Little John in the role of the captain of the King's guards. And Dicken, the evil guy, sent to murder King Richard in Robin Hood, appears here as part of a kidnap-the-king team. The film is, for a b/w movie, wonderfully long. The crowning ceremony is admirably detailed. I liked watching it (8/10).