Le prince et le pauvre

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!

Excellent adaptation of Mark Twain's story about a young prince and a lookalike beggar boy who trade places. The duo are played by real-life twins Billy and Bobby Mauch. They're both very good. Despite receiving top billing, it's nearly an hour in before Errol Flynn shows up. He's lots of fun as you might expect. Claude Rains is great as the villainous Earl of Hertford. He doesn't really get to have scenes with Flynn, however. Fine WB supporting cast includes Alan Hale, Barton MacLane, Henry Stephenson, and Halliwell Hobbes. Spirited, fun adventure story. Despite the length, it never drags. Nice music score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Definitely worth checking out.

Those who hope to see a lot of Errol Flynn in this movie will be disappointed ... it is a good hour before he makes his appearance as Miles Hendon.

The novel by Mark Twain looked at what might have happened if the future Edward VI was swapped for a beggar boy who looked identical, and what that might mean for the (simplified) political situation on the death of his father, Henry VIII.

As Edward and the beggar, Tom Canty, identical twins Billy and Bobby Mauch are charming. Much better than the split screen versions in later remakes of the 60s and 70s. They were both good little actors as well, which helps in this story.

Claude Rains excels as the villain of the piece, while Alan Hale, Eric Portman, and others make up the cast. Flynn himself is fun as Hendon, swashbuckling with the best.

After 70 years this film has not dated one jot - highly enjoyable.

The family movie in all its splendor !although it's basically" an Errol Flynn movie," it's a long time before the famous handsome actor appears and anyway the real stars of the movie are the sensational Mauch Twins.

Based on a novel which tells an implausible story (but didn't Alexandre Dumas do the same in the "vicomte de Bragelonne " in which the Sun King had a twin too?), with a moral full of wisdom : the taxes on the windows is a theft,says the would be king,because the air and the sun do not belong to us; the royal seal ,which can send people to the scaffold is ridiculed and used as nutcracker; when he visits the dregs of the society ,the would be beggar discovers the sufferings of his people . His protector is foot loose and fancy free and does not care a little bit for the honors or the mountain of things the young king wants to offer .

Billy Mauch,dressed in royal clothings , is at first completely lost in this unknown world of luxury , but he regains strength when he discovers his court's greed (of which the old king Henry- colorful Montagu Love - was aware )Robert is particularly moving when he says her "our father " prayer before a traitor who wants to do away with him .

Fleischer 's color remake (1977) is fine ,but the black and white Twain adaptation was not surpassed.

Bobby Mauch and Billy Mauch are "The Prince and the Pauper," a 1937 film based on the Mark Twain story. The film also stars Errol Flynn and Claude Rains. When Tom, the pauper, is caught by the guards, the young Prince sees a playmate in him and invites him in. They change clothes so that the Prince can go and get his dog from the kennel for their next game, but he's caught by the cruel guards who think he's the pauper. This leaves the hapless Tom stuck in the palace as a prince who is about to become king any minute. He has a protector forced upon him, the Earl of Hertford (Rains), who does not have the best interests of the English people in mind.

While he's in Tom's world, Prince Edward gets a good look at the horrible way the English people are forced to live because of bad laws. Eventually he meets Miles Hendon (Flynn) who saves him from Tom's wretched father. The question is, once Hendon is convinced that he's in the presence of the true King, can he get him to the coronation before the beggar is crowned? This is a wonderfully fun movie, filled with the meanest of the mean in Alan Hale as a palace guard, Barton MacLane as Tom's father, and the diabolical, unfeeling Earl. All are very convincing. The twins are delightful. As for Errol Flynn, he's as dashing and charming as ever as he wields a sword and rides a horse. A great cast and a marvelous film for the whole family. Highly recommended.