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I watched this delightful film on TCM last night. What a revelation! Although the print quality has clearly suffered over the years, the high quality of the original production values shines through. The famous Lubitcsh Touch is all over this sweet, moving film.

The acting is also superb! Navarro and Shearer give believable performances as a star-crossed couple in turn-of-the-century Germany. Navarro, in particular, gives a pitch-perfect portrayal of a reluctant prince who longs only for a simple life surrounded by school-friends and his first love.

Also giving a beautiful performance as the prince's tutor and mentor was Jean Hersholt.

I have never particularly enjoyed silent films - many seem to me to be overly melodramatic. But this film changed my opinion. The actors and director were able to communicate so much with very few dialog cards. It made me realize what was lost when talking pictures took over and everything became more literal.

Even if you don't think you like silent films, give this one a try.

This a delightful film full of humanistic touches-- from young Prince Karl's playful relationship with his good-natured mentor, Dr. Juttner, his carousing and drinking with the students in Old Heidelberg, to his paddling upon lakes and taking mad carriage rides with the beautiful barmaid, Kathy-- it's all at once side-stitchingly funny, bittersweet, romantic and a nostalgic tribute to youth and young love. The film is made with such a deft touch that, to the end where Prince Karl returns to visit Heidelberg, it never becomes schmaltzy. It is consistently charming and ends on a pitch perfect note. A real crowd pleaser. Highly recommended.

Before Sigmund Romberg and Dorothy Donnelly wrote their immortal score for The Student Prince, it had originally been performed as a straight dramatic work by the great turn of the last century stage actor, Richard Mansfield. Entitled In Old Heidelberg it is what we are in fact seeing here as opposed to a silent version of the musical, an oxymoron if there ever was one.

I do so love the music of Romberg and Donnelly, especially what they wrote for The Student Prince. Yet I was able to appreciate the fine dramatic work of Ramon Novarro as the prince of Karlsbad and Norma Shearer as Kathi the barmaid. They certainly were as romantic a couple as ever graced the silent screen.

Without the music, this version of The Student Prince went for characterization instead. There is a long sequence of about a quarter of the running time of the film that goes into Prince Karl's childhood with young Philippe DeLacy playing the prince as a child. We see the relationship with the very stern King played by Gustave Von Seyfertitz and later on when he's introduced to his tutor and closest friend, Jean Hersholt. Hersholt has the best performance in the film.

Novarro plays a most charming prince and Shearer is a fetching barmaid with whom he falls in love with. After the childhood prologue, the rest of the film is pretty much the same as the 1954 version with Ann Blyth, Edmond Purdom and the voice of Mario Lanza.

For reasons I don't understand MGM which held the rights to the Student Prince did not make a sound version until 1954. Odd when you consider that during the Thirties they had Allan Jones under contract who would have been wonderful in the part. Having heard him sing Deep In My Heart I can attest to that. Failing that it sure could have been a property for Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald.

I believe the German locale of the story probably had something to do with it not being filmed. Also the subject of an errant prince refusing to face his responsibilities was a big international story with the once and future Edward VIII giving it all up for the woman he loved. I can believe that Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer probably did not want to anger the British market at that time.

Though I missed the Romberg/Donnelly score, I still enjoyed the performances of Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer and the rest of the cast being transported back to Old Heidelberg under the masterful direction of Ernest Lubitsch. Try to see this if it is ever broadcast again.

Ernst Lubitsch's silent films are as graceful and enchanting as his sound pictures, but the director's silents are unfairly left in the corner and don't always get the distinction they truly deserve. Along with "Lady Windermere's Fan" and "The Marriage Circle", this heartbreaking silent classic is one of Lubitsch's most perfect and poignant American silent films.

"The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg"(surviving copies only say " Old Heidelberg") is a very moving and heartbreaking love story and pretty much in the best Lubitsch tradition of subtle, graceful, witty romantic comedy, tinged with an air of sadness and poignancy, much like what you see in the later Lubitsch sound masterworks like "The Shop Around the Corner", "Heaven Can Wait", and "Cluny Brown". Norma Shearer gives what could be her greatest and most satisfying silent performance as Kathi, a popular barmaid with fraternal students and townsfolk in the quasi-mythical university town of Heidelberg. Ramon Novaro is superb as her prince charming, the student prince who falls in love with her.

If you liked this one, I recommend Lubitsch's other great silent love story from this period, the rarely seen and appreciated "Eternal Love."

Freed from the strictures of the Karlsburg royal palace to attend University, THE STUDENT PRINCE IN OLD HEIDELBERG experiences true love for the first time.

This wonderful, exuberant, heartbreaking film - one of the last major movies of the Silent Era - is a scintillating example of the artistry of director Ernst Lubitsch. Filled with wry humor & aching pathos, Lubitsch tells a tale which is a persuasive paean to the power of the talkless film.

MGM had great faith in this movie & gave it excellent production values, with crowds of extras and picture-perfect sets & costumes. Based in part on the Wilhelm Meyer-Förster novel & the operetta by Sigmund Romberg, the film revels in romanticism.

Ramon Novarro, always eager to please his audience, brings great charm to the title role. Although about 10 years too old to be playing a typical university freshman, he nonetheless brings tremendous enthusiasm to the role. It was this essential boyishness which encouraged MGM to continue giving him roles which were too young for him (in 1932's HUDDLE he would play a Yale freshman). The Studio also insisted on giving their Mexican star a wide range of ethnic parts, everything from Chinese to Arab. He played them all well, but none better than here in STUDENT PRINCE. It is a shame that Hollywood would not reciprocate by giving him topnotch assignments.

Norma Shearer is radiant as Kathi, the vivacious & lovely barmaid who is beloved by the Prince. She gives a wonderful performance in what was considered a breakthrough role for her. She married MGM executive Irving Thalberg the same year STUDENT PRINCE was released and her stardom at the Studio was firmly established. She earned her celebrity through hard work and honest talent, however, not by noodling with the boss.

Jean Hersholt, as the Prince's gentle tutor, puts his own stamp on the kind of sympathetic role with which he would become associated. Miles removed from his villainous portrayals in TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY (1922) or GREED (1925), Hersholt here is the very embodiment of benevolence.

Gustav von Seyffertitz as the cold King, Edmund Connelly as the stern Prime Minister & Bobby Mack as an old rustic retainer all add very fine support. Movie mavens will recognize Lionel Belmore as a boisterous student & Charles K. Arthur as a drowsy inebriate, both unbilled.

Carl Davis supplied one of his typically bravura scores for the home video reissue of the film. He conducts the English Chamber Orchestra.

While Karlsburg is a fictitious Teutonic kingdom, Heidelberg is a very real city located in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. As ancient capital of the Rhenish Palatinate, its electoral counts - always a branch of the Wittelsbach royal family of Bavaria - played a significant role in the history of both the Holy Roman Empire and Central Europe. Although originally Roman Catholic, political vicissitudes brought about a change to Protestantism centuries ago. Heidelberg University was founded in 1386 by Count Rupert I & chartered the same year by Pope Urban VI. After a period of dissolution, it was revitalized in the 19th Century as a center of the sciences, law & philosophy. Town & gown are both overlooked by Heidelberg Castle, one of Europe's mightiest fortresses, where it sits on its hill 330 feet above the Neckar River. Its cellars contains the fabled Heidelberg Tun, a prodigious 18th Century wine cask capable of holding 49,000 gallons - surely a source of wonder to the Student Prince & his classmates...

Crown Prince Karl Heinrich (Ramon Novarro) hates being a prince. He can't go out and mingle or meet other people because of his station. He goes to Heidelberg to study. There he meets beautiful bar maid Kathi (Norma Shearer) and falls madly in love. She loves him too..but he can't marry beneath his station in life...

Just stunning silent film. You watch the screen mesmerized by how beautiful it is. It's wonderfully directed by Ernst Lubitsch with some truly incredible images but it's Novarro and Shearer who carry this film. He's unbearably handsome--she's just incredibly beautiful. Together they look like perfection and both give superb performances - I believed they were in love completely! There's a just incredible sequence on a starlit night in a field of flowers. All kidding aside, it was so beautiful you could almost cry! It all leads to a tragic but realistic ending. Just simply a must-see movie. Don't miss this one!

There are flashes of brilliance from both Ernst Lubitsch and Norma Shearer in this romantic tale, though it does drag on for a plot that is pretty thin. I like the way in which Lubitsch touches on things like disappointment and human connection - for the prince (Ramon Novarro) and his people, vs. stiff formality or ruling through fear and distance, as well as between the prince and the barmaid he meets in Heidelberg (Shearer). There are also several lovely moments: Shearer's smile after she tells him that a prince, after all, is only a human being, where she reflects genuine delight. The subtly leading way she shows him the couch in his room ("You can sit on it! You can lie down on it! You can't expect any more from a couch!") and then goes over and shows him how good the bed is by sitting and bouncing up and down on its mattress (gosh, what you can you do there, Norma?). How she carries fistfuls of steins out to the throng in the biergarten, and then chugs one down herself. And lastly, the romantic scenes where she playfully fights off his advances as Lubitsch uses a tracking shot occasionally blocked by pillars, and then on a hill with the flowers and grass blowing in the wind under the stars, where it's she who lays a big kiss on him. Unfortunately the film is lacking tension in the first hour, and then when it comes in the form of another woman being arranged for the prince and him having to return to his ailing father's side, it makes the mistake of trying to eke every last bit of emotion out of the farewell scene. When we finally get to the ending it's a good one, defying clichés, but it takes too long to get there. The film would have been better shorter, or with supporting characters or subplots to keep it moving. Still, there are enough moments here to make it worth checking out, particularly if you're a Lubitsch or Shearer fan.

Ramon Novarro (as Karl Heinrich) is the Crown Prince of Karlsburg. He is envied by his subjects, but lonely and isolated behind castle walls. Quite Princely in appearance, and capable of performing royal duties, he is, nonetheless, not enamored with dutiful royalties. With help from tutor Jean Hersholt (as Dr. Juttner), he becomes an honor student, and is goes to university at Old Heidelberg. There, he meets and falls in love with commoner Norma Shearer (as Kathi).

"The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg" is a first rate silent film production, expertly directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Mr. Novarro is appropriately exuberant as the young Prince - his performance is excellent throughout, but really starts to dazzle in the scenes beginning with his witnessing of Ms. Shearer's downing a German beer. Mr. Hersholt is great as Novarro's tutor; both men are superior with the necessary "silent screen" acting, and the more forward "underplaying". Ms. Shearer is just a step behind her co-stars in artful acting; but, it's a a gap she will very quickly fill. Shearer is terrific in the scene when she learns Novarro is leaving, and helps him pack. Philipe de Lacy is notable, playing the Prince as a boy; his characterization matches the older Novarro - director Lubitsch directs these early sequences effectively, creating the image of a young prince in his castle prison.

When a couple of important people in the Prince's life die, the story becomes necessarily more somber in tone. Of course, Novarro must eventually become King - these scenes are beautifully symbolic, and extraordinarily well photographed. The visit by an old friend prompts Novarro's return to Old Heidelberg, with unexpected results. Don't miss a later scene, when Novarro returns to his Old Heidelberg bedroom - especially, watch how Novarro briefly strokes his bed, obviously thinking of Shearer; it's a superb little bit of sexual suggestion. It would be nice to know whether the gesture originated with Novarro or Lubitsch - but, it's probably not possible to determine. "Is it Good to be King?" You'll know when you see Novarro's beautifully acted final scene, in his royal carriage - certainly, it's one of the most memorable performances in silent cinema.

********** The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (9/21/27) Ernst Lubitsch ~ Ramon Novarro, Norma Shearer, Jean Hersholt, Philippe de Lacy

The play on which the light opera is based on which 'The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg" is based was of course a typical product of imperial Germany: designed to convince the commoners that the political elites that ruled over them did not have so easy lives either. The crown prince of one of the smaller German states becomes a student in Heidelberg. He falls for the daughter of his landlord but is separated from his love when duty calls: he must return and ascend the throne, broken heart or no broken heart. Political slush, in short. Notwithstanding the dubious provenance of his source material, what Lubitsch gives us is a thoroughly enjoyable film. Ramon Novarro acts very well; he stops short of being unbearably naive and comes across as a sensitive and intelligent person - though this is in part also due to Lubitsch's decision to spend much time on the exposition, where Philippe De Lacy plays the young Karl Heinrich. Norma Shearer does very well as Kathi, but for my taste the highlight of the film is Jean Hersholt as Karl Heinrich's teacher Dr Jüttner. The setting is nicely done - it occasionally does look like a window that gives us a glimpse of student life in about 1900 (though the students spend amazingly little time studying and no time at all duelling). All in all a very nice film: it already shows the Lubitsch touch that became famous a decade later.

I found this film an absolute delight. All of the leads put in outstanding preformances. The romance between Prince Karl(Ramon Novarro) and Kathi(Norma Shearer) is wonderfully presented, and it is truly poignant. I did feel, however, that the film loses momentum, to an extent, twoards the end. The music score on the home video edition is, like most by Carl Davis, a big plus. Well worth seeing.

Who would guess that a SILENT-era version of a Sigmund Romberg musical chestnut like 'The Student Prince' could be so wonderful? The acting -- especially by the stunningly handsome Ramon Novarro in the title role and the glowing Norma Shearer as his love interest, a humble beer-hall girl -- is uniformly excellent. The settings and costumes are exceptional as well. The overall sepia glow that this film has adds to the sense that the viewer really IS seeing and experiencing "Old Heidelberg". The movie has it all : a little drama, a little humor, a little romance -- it is a confection that anyone who is willing to explore silent films is bound to find enjoyably sweet and memorable. HIGHLY recommended! (The version I saw also had a fantastic 'new' score by Carl Davis that added considerably to the atmosphere while supporting the action.)

Watching PYGMALION after seeing MY FAIR LADY is one thing. Both films stand on their own two feet--and besides, PYGMALION came first. Even without Lerner and Lowe's music, PYGMALION is a truly wonderful film.

Watching a silent STUDENT PRINCE without a Romberg melody blasting away from Carl Davis' score is another matter. Nor does NORMAL SHEARER, sporting an unattractive hairdo that makes her look matronly, look the part of a youthful barmaid, Kathi. RAMON NAVARRO plays the prince with a puppy dog eagerness and a winning smile but nothing to suggest believable chemistry with him and the dowdy looking Shearer. Surely, there must have been a better hairdresser for this particular film to at least give her a more youthful look. She ovedoes the coy flirtatiousness of the early scenes, batting her eyelashes at every drinking student.

There's a certain heavy-handedness to Ernst Lubitsch's direction and an excessive amount of men doffing their hats to each other. And the final reunion scene with Navarro not getting the warm welcome from friends that he expected, is a bit overdone. These are things the silent technique probably could not avoid, even with a director like Lubitsch who is known for "that touch." On the plus side, JEAN HERSHOLT is excellent as an amiable and kindly adviser to the prince and gives warmth to the role. The Carl Davis score played by a full orchestra is delightful but one does miss hearing the hero and heroine sing the familiar operetta songs by Romberg, especially during the student drinking scenes.

One has to wonder what the film was like on original release without a score like Davis wrote for the restored version. Strange indeed to have a silent film based on a famous musical.

Needless to say, not my favorite Shearer film--and I enjoyed Navarro more in BEN-HUR.

The titles call this film "Old Heidelberg." Perhaps the longer title was added later to cash in on the popularity of Romberg's operetta, "The Student Prince," or to differenciate this 1927 silent film from an earlier version. Although director Ernst Lubitsch is a bit ham-handed about hammering home the fact that the obligations of royalty can lead to unhappiness (characters musing about how wonderful it must be to be a prince/king...the irony is too heavy-handed, which isn't like him), the point, at least, does get made. The movie abounds in gorgeous, evocative images that enhance the dramatic situations. There are many very telling moments that reveal the Master's touch...the prince steps out of the train, his momentary jealousy when he sees Kathi's popularity with the students, his stiff reunion with his former friends, who can no longer be his friends, and his realization of it. Ramon Novarro is an eager puppy-dog of a prince, charmingly, almost unbelievably, naive and enthusiastic, which makes his dilemma all the more touching as he begins to realize that there are some things a king can't have; if Norma Shearer, by comparison, seems more calculating and "actressy," she's still quite effective (when she and Karl Friedrich embrace before he heads back home because of his uncle's illness, her eyes tell you that she suspects she may never see him again), and the lesser roles are cast to near-perfection. After performing as a successful screen villain, Jean Hersholt was so good as the Prince's loyal tutor and companion that he established a nearly-unshakable image of weary kindliness. Production values are high--Lubitsch spent a lot of money but, in this case, it wasn't wasted. As one who generally finds silent films hammily-acted and dated in sensibility, I was pleasantly surprised to find this movie so absorbing. The Carl Davis score with which it is now shown, was added much later and does its own part to enhance the movie. Highly recommended.

I have seen both sound and silent versions of this movie and I actually prefer the silent one--even though it was based on a musical! Maybe part of this is because I am not the biggest fan of musicals, but I think more of this has to do with how beautifully made this film is. The film was directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch--a man renowned for his deft artistic touch and romanticism in films. All this is so apparent in this film, as it is just a work of art--gorgeous and romantic through and through. The sets, camera-work and acting are all exquisite and help to make this a very memorable film. If you want to see a sound version, help yourself. But for me, this is THE definitive version of the film.

The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg is such a wonderful classic silent film, that it is amazing to me that the movie doesn't get more recognition from Hollywood film organizations. The film made Norma Shearer an absolute star at MGM, and confirmed her talents on the silver screen. The direction by Ernst Lubitsch is first-rate, as he captures a royal love story, along with the beauty and essence of Imperial Germany in the 19th Century. The look of this silent diamond-of-a-film is unforgettable, and the music score that one now hears on videos of the film only adds to the elegance of this silent art masterpiece. Ramon Novarro did his best work in this film, and the character of Dr. Juttner (played by the wonderful Jean Hersholt) is one that is so likable, that audiences root hard for the characters of Prince Karl and Kathi, whom Dr. Juttner supports. Although I have agreed with most of AFI's 25 Greatest Female Stars List, I wish that Norma Shearer was on it. She married the greatest film producer that Hollywood will ever know (Irving Thalberg), but even without having married 'The Boy Genius'(as Thalberg was then called), Norma Shearer would have have shined on her own - which she proved with this film before she married Thalberg. The reviews for this film in 1927 and 1928 were overwhelmingly positive - including the November, 1927 Photoplay review, which raved about the film. Maybe Hollywood film organizations and historians should take a second look. I loved it, and not just because I have German roots in my family.

The storyline is gripping and the performances are so superb, that you do not miss the dialogue or the music in this story that most people identify with the musical version. As Kathi, the girl the prince leaves behind, Norma Shearer gives a heartbreaking performance.

From time to time and in order to remember older better times, it is good to watch again those films that the European aristocracy and especially this German count likes most. Such is the case with "The Student Prince In Old Heidelberg", film directed by Herr Ernst Lubitsch during his Amerikan career.

And this German count especially likes this silent film not only because in the oeuvre can be seen Teutonic aristocrats and even crowned kings, not to mention stiff laws about etiquette, uniforms with plenty of medals, tradition, obligation and, last but not least, royal duties. Another reason is because the film has style and classic elegance, primal emotions in motion, beautiful scenery and almost real decors, an impossible but idealistic true love story and memorable and skillful direction. There are a lot of superb silent moments, as for example, the first and unseen kiss in the garden, the night meadow scene, each and every shot starring the heartbreaking Dame Norma Shearer and a charming Herr Ramon Novarro. Besides those indispensable and unforgettable supporting silent actors, there is finally a magnificent, cruel, real and sorrowful ending.

"The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg" is a film about youthful dreams, the first painful love and the greatness and illness of falling in love. It's about the passing of time and those glorious memories of loves past that nobody can take away in spite, after all, of those unbearable and unjust social actions of people in high places against working class folk.

Obviously this German count is talking about a classical, universal, wonderful masterpiece, a joy to the eye of a serious Teutonic aristocrat.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/

I enjoyed this silent film version alot, it is 1000 times better than the 1950's musical version. Carl Davis' soundtrack for this one is passable, not one of his best. I kept wanting to hear Sigmund Romberg's melodies in the background for the soundtrack, too bad they couldn't get permission at the time, since the musical was introduced in 1924.

An involving, clever, romantic, and sometimes very funny film featuring two of the era's most popular stars. Forget all the other silent starlets; Norma Shearer is the Queen of the silent movies! I'd never seen her in anything but dramas, and was delighted to see what a great comic actress she was. Ramon has some great moments, too. The end of the movie was a bit of a surprise, and is just one more reason to view this charming romantic comedy-drama.

Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927)

**** out of ****

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch

With Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer

Prince Karl Heinrich have an easy life, with all pleasure, but he hate that, he want to know the world. Suddenlly, he is send it to old Heidelebrg to study and there known, not only friends but love. Beautiful, rich, splendorous Lubitsch gem is so fresh than ever, with a gentle, incredible and beautiful Novarro and an adorable and stunning Shearer. Beautiful scenes that get sticked in your head with an uncommon ending for the time. A must see!

Ramon Novarro is the heir to King Gustav von Seyffertitz, a virtual prisoner at the castle. His only real friend is his tutor, Jean Hersholt, who tells him that they are going to Heidelberg University, where he finds friendship in one of those drinking groups, and love in tavern wench Norma Shearer. But royalty must suffer so us plebes can feel good about our lot. So duty calls, and an arranged marriage, and Seyffertitz kicks the bucket; Novarro actually has to go work for a living as king.

Well, boo hoo. Sigmund Romberg had turned this into his biggest hit, 608 performances, and so MGM bought the rights to the straight play and not Romberg's music. Eventually they handed it to Lubitsch (with some uncredited direction by John Stahl). It's actually quite entertaining with its score by Carl Davis; Novarro is very fresh-faced, and just shy of unbearably naive. Production values are magnificent. John Alton shot the German footage, and the Lubitsch touch and Andrew Marton's editing define a character in five seconds. It's as fine a popcorn movie as ever was made. And Norma Shearer got compensated for not becoming Queen of wherever it was by becoming Queen of MGM, marrying Irving Thalberg the week this movie premiered.

Novarro and Hersholt were very convincing as the prince and his instructor/friend, and Shearer wasn't bad as the barmaid that the prince loves.

Full of amusing scenes and an authentic finale, so definitely worth watching!

Lubitsch may have had a tendency to drag scenes out, but it doesn't detract from the overall film very much.