The Prince and The Pauper (1937) [Warner Archive Blu-ray review]

The Prince and The Pauper was meant to be a big media event to tie into King Edward VIII’s coronation, then it got delayed for unforeseen reasons. Which is kinda funny when you consider that Edward VI died at the age of 15. Everything from Twain’s original tale to the actual history behind the events creates a crazy series of coincidence. In the span of slightly under 400 years, we go from child leaders dying to fictional books about their lives to their film adaptations getting delayed around the time the next Edward was meant to take over. Throw in Errol Flynn with his questionable personal beliefs and you got the makings of a 1930s hit.

Kids do the darnedest things: 16th Century Edition

The film marks the peak performance of the twins Billy and Bobby Mauch. Mid-range child stars to this point, Warner Brothers seemed to want The Prince and The Pauper to be a star-making vehicle for them. But, it was the cinema of the 1930s and Fox was already strutting Shirley Temple around the silver screen. It’s odd to think about how much modern entertainment panders to children and how bare thin options were for child performers in decades’ past.

Billy Mauch who played the titular pauper Tom Canty grew to become one of the premiere sound editors of the 50s and 60s at WB. He designed everything from the ant noises in Them! to the stunning San Francisco car chase soundscape in Bullitt. But the brothers only served the purpose of having two boys look identical to finally bring Twain’s tale to life. It was the 1930s, somehow the studio would have found a way to do it, but the twins make sense.

Everything else is a plot about royal intrigue and how parts of The Royal Court wanted to install a new controlled leader after King Henry VIII’s death. Claude Rains plays the evil figure trying to conspire against the kids, but thankfully Miles Hendon is around to save the day. What’s funny about all of this, as we keep talking about coincidences is the ties between Edward VII and Errol Flynn. They both were super vibing with Germany in the 30s.

A tale as old as time

Mistaken identity for a purpose or by accident is an old plot point. For those that haven’t read the original Twain tale, The Prince and The Pauper is a lite romp made for late 19th Century American audiences that actually read and wanted mainstream fare. Fun fact: it was published nearly a year prior to its American release in Canada where its reception helped ease its American debut. But, what’s not to like? It’s not like it was the first major work of historical fiction. Everywhere from China to the United Kingdom to Germany had works dabbling in historical fiction for ages. Plus, it’s not like Twain was focusing on American history.

But, much like the Bill O’ Reilly novels that you find in your in-laws’ bathroom reading, this kind of work is easy on the brain and entertains. Some might ask what about accuracy? To that, I ask tell me your favorite part about Edward VI’s reign. I’ll wait. Seriously, why is accuracy getting in the way of telling a great story? As long as you don’t present The Prince and The Pauper as factual, create the story you want to tell.

If it’s good enough for a sitcom, it’s good enough for you

What is it about twins? It’s not like the historical case for Edward VI involved any known shenanigans of twins playing Switcheroo. Entertainment as a concept seems to elude modern criticism. What does that mean? Well, think about the constant pushes for deconstruction and trying to tear into the truth that lies beneath and something becomes evident. Western culture peaked with the advent of the sitcom. Situational comedies designed around fun domestic fantasies and situations you could under encounter in real life.

Take that idea up to the next level and it creates political intrigue. Throughout every version of The Prince and The Pauper, it asks the audience one thing. Do you have what it takes to be King? Alexander Korda had made a popular version of the story in Austria and Paramount made a short silent film adaptation that is now lost. So, we have very limited takes on audience reactions to those first stabs at taking Twain’s novel to the silver screen. But, the gist remains the same.

Twain made a power fantasy about kids saving the day with an adult that believes in them. How exactly is that different than most of Twain’s work? I couldn’t begin to tell you as I haven’t actively read Twain in 20 years. That’s more of my fault, outside of that one Tom Sawyer book on tape that Nick Offerman narrated. Check that out for a Twain refresher after watching this disc.

Why The Prince and The Pauper continues on

The Prince and The Pauper remains popular because it is universal. Who hasn’t wanted to live as someone else? Factor in the class perks and you’ve got a tale of different backgrounds trying to see how the other half lives. It’s like when you read about rock stars wanting to have a normal job, when you know that most of them are going to get fat or die in bathtubs before the age of 40.

Audiences need fantasies in our fiction and The Prince and The Pauper satiates that need. It doesn’t matter where you first see the story whether it’s The Simpsons, Mickey Mouse or the 18,000 times the plot has been adapted in the modern era. This is a great kind of film to start kids on to bring them into classic literature and cinema.

Warner Archive brings The Price and The Pauper to Blu-ray

Warner Archive continues bringing Warner Brothers’ classic releases to Blu-ray with an impeccable track record. You get some classic Warner Brothers cartoons and the original trailer as the special features. The A/V Quality is quite sharp with that crisp crushing black level you get on films from the era. I love how it looks, but I do want to say something about the audio track.

The DTS-HD 2.0 master audio track is a health mono mix that does well with its original audio sources. If you’re used to how Warner Archive treats their 1930s releases, then this is a must-buy. Otherwise, find something else to work up to The Prince and The Pauper.

The Prince and The Pauper (1937) is now available from the Warner Archive Collection. Purchase your own copy at MovieZyng!