The Prince and the Pauper (1937)

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Yes, I know that Billy and Bobby Mauch are playing the title roles, but my complaint still stands. Errol = cute; Mauch Twins= Not so much. Flynn really rocks thigh high boots well-- a look that really only works if you're tall and long legged.Flynn was his usual dashing hero self and Rains was excellent as the Earl. The Mauch twins were fine, though there was a little too much giggling for my tastes. I thought that they brought Mark Twain's story to life pretty well.I enjoyed Errol's 2:1 sword fight and his eventual duel with Alan Hale. This may be the only film in which Errol and Alan are adversaries rather than allies. While normally I wouldn't have a preference for a film being in color or black and white, I cannot help but think that this film would have looked better in Technicolor. With the elaborate sets and costumes, the addition of Technicolor would have aesthetically enhanced the the look of the film.

I love this wonderful story that was penned by the absolute genius Mark Twain aka Samuel Clemmons.This movie made in 1937 is a delight for the senses.Errol Flynn and the twins that play the prince and the pauper are just wonderful actors.To me they look like child Dennis Morgans.He was a wonderful actor and Irish tenor of the same time era in movies.And who could top the amazing Claude Raines.Black and white is as usual the best for these old movies and I put this to DVD from an airing on Turner Classic Movies.I put a lot of movies to DVD especially from Turner Classic Movies.Then I can watch them anytime that I want to.If you want to see a wonderful adventure then this is for you.!!

I've always thought of Mark Twain (nee, Samuel Clemens) as America's Charles Dickens. The two men lived barely a generation apart. Their lifespans actually overlapped some 35 years, from Twain's birth in 1835 to Dickens' death in 1870. Dickens's books were published from 1836 to his death in 1870. Most were printed initially as magazine serials in England. Twain no doubt read some of them, either in follow-up American serials or books. But, it's very unlikely that Dickens would have read any of Twain's work. Twain's first book, "The Innocents Abroad," was published in 1869 – the year before Dickens died. It was based on Twain's first trip to Europe – a Mediterranean sojourn in 1867. I like to fantasize what it would have been like had the two literary giants met – say toward the end of Dickens' life. The elder Dickens, an accomplished beloved English author, and a young American adventurer and journalist who was just beginning to write novels. The two would be among the most masterful, most read and most beloved storytellers of all time. Why all this comparison of Twain and Dickens? Because I think Dickens would have enjoyed thoroughly Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper." The two men wrote with obviously different references – cultures, times, people. And, with somewhat different phases of the cultural language. Yet their knack for and approach to story telling was very similar. Twain's Prince and Pauper was published in 1882. Twain and Dickens share one other distinction. I don't know the numbers, but the two authors have had more movies made on their works than any other two authors in history. Some of their books have had multiple renditions put on film. And that brings me now to this first sound production of "The Prince and the Pauper." It's a wonderful rendition of this classic tale that I think has become a classic in itself. It has a stellar cast for the period in Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, Henry Stephenson, Barton MacLane, Alan Hale and Eric Portman. And the twin brothers, Billy and Robert Mauch give top performances as the prince and the pauper. This is a delightful fictional story with just a little bit of an historical look at the times and place. It's a nice family film that educates on literature and history while it entertains.

I love "The Prince and the Pauper" and Billy and Bobby Mauch. When they laugh together, I can't help laughing, too.I wanted to comment on their enunciation -- a charming idiosyncrasy.They pronounce every "to" with unusual emphasis -- like Bette Davis, who was at Warner Brothers, too! I was imagining -- sheer speculation -- that Bette Davis and the Mauch twins had the same vocal coach who encouraged them to over-articulate.I also was amused when one of the twins pronounced his family "TU-TOR" instead of "Tudor." Still --the movie is delightful.