Crossed Swords (1977)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Berta Domínguez D. (screenplay)
George MacDonald Fraser (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 March 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family

Plot:

A poor boy and the Crown Prince of England exchange identities, but events force the pair to experience each other's lives as well.

Plot Keywords:

Prince | Stocks | Identity Swap | Beautiful Woman | Swashbuckler

Cast

Oliver Reed	...	Miles Hendon
Raquel Welch	...	Lady Edith
Mark Lester	...	Prince Edward / Tom Canty
Ernest Borgnine	...	John Canty
George C. Scott	...	The Ruffler
Rex Harrison	...	The Duke of Norfolk
David Hemmings	...	Hugh Hendon
Harry Andrews	...	Hertford
Julian Orchard	...	St. John
Murray Melvin	...	Prince's Dresser
Lalla Ward	...	Princess Elizabeth
Felicity Dean	...	Lady Jane
Sybil Danning	...	Mother Canty
Graham Stark	...	Jester
Preston Lockwood	...	Father Andrew

Also Known As:

The Prince and the Pauper (UK)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track

Certification:

Finland:K-8 (cut) (1980) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

International Film Production

Trivia:

The last non-special-event movie to play Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

Quotes:

Tom Canty: If you think the food may be poisoned, why not feed it to a dog, or a plumber?

Movie Connections:

Version of The Prince and the Pauper (1909)

Great support, but the center does not hold...

This is an oddly mangled version of the famous Mark Twain novel. Historically, Edward VI became king at age 10, and had been dead for three years when he would have been Mark Lester's age (18) at the making of this film. Why director Richard Fleischer chose to transmute the title characters from children to late adolescents is a mystery to me. It makes their bumbling in their respective reversed roles more pathetic than sympathetic. Mark Lester's performance, in both roles of prince and pauper, I thought was distinctly undistinguished in view of his earlier achievements. Perhaps he was already thinking of his medical career ahead. Now having said all that, the strength of this movie, such as it is, lies in its powerhouse supporting cast: Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Ernest Borgnine as the abusive father, George C. Scott as a brigand, Rex Harrison, David Hemmings, and even Charlton Heston as Henry VIII -- WOW! As I watched, I wished they had just left the protagonists out altogether and let these master actors tell the story of Sixteenth Century Tudor intrigues. To view or not to view? It's a toss-up: you decide.