Watchingwell   

             Curated classic films

The Honor of your Viewing Presence is Requested…

       Here I am sitting in blissful anticipation of yet another royal wedding that I will sadly miss on account of sleeping through it. (I am unwilling to sacrifice sleep for anyone less than the first in line.) For this one, I can wait for the replays, of which there will be many, I’m sure.  Although not on the royal bandwagon, I wish them well. They have it so easy, though, – they fall for each other, they decide to marry, they tell the Queen. She says, “Lemme think, -- American, actress, bi-racial, divorced?  Sure, why not.”  Later, she adds, “BTW, the acting is out, she has to become a British subject, and – oh yes, baptized in the Church of England (of which I am the head), in the unlikely event that the sixth in line is ever important enough for anyone to care about his wife’s religion.”

   

But others in the royal biz have not had it so easy, if you watch the movie versions. In the case of Mayerling (1936), there was no future for the love story of Charles Boyer’s Rudolph, Crown Prince of Austria, and Danielle Darrieux’s Baroness Mary Vetsera.  Supposedly based on a true story, the consensus is that ‘loosely based’ is giving it too much credibility. However, there was really a Crown Prince Rudolph and there was a Baroness Mary Vetsera and as a result of their romance, dad (Emperor Franz Joseph) named Archduke Franz Ferdinand as his heir, and you know how that worked out for the world. Directed by Anatole Litvak, Boyer is suavely, good-looking and Darrieux is young and beautiful and it’s all very romantic.  Oh, yeah, spoiler alert. Tragically, romantic.

     Oh, FYI, there was another version in 1968 with Omar Sharif and Catherine Deneuve, directed by Terence Young. Nice to look at, but IMHO, not as good.

     

     Likewise, the 1952 remake of The Prisoner of Zenda is missing the magic of the 1937 version starring Ronald   Colman, Madeleine Carrol, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and directed by John Cromwell. The story of the Englishman drawn into the affairs of state of Ruritania by his uncanny resemblance to the endangered king is also about sacrificing one’s own happiness for honor and duty.  The sacrificing royal in this case, however, is the Princess Flavia.  Tragically romantic, but a super swashbuckler.

     Even Greta Garbo could not command happiness for herself as Queen Christina (1933). The queen of Sweden

falls in love with the Spanish envoy, but politics keeps them apart. So she sacrifices everything for love. With John Gilbert, directed by Rouben Mamoulian. The final scene is probably the most famous close-up in film history. Great vehicle for Garbo if you are not familiar with why she was such a big deal. 





     

Twenty years later, we have Audrey Hepburn making her own sacrifice in Roman Holiday (1953). Audrey, as a runaway princess, falls in love with reporter, Gregory Peck, while taking in the sites of Rome. Directed by William Wyler. Remarkably, Hepburn’s first starring role, for which she won an Oscar. If you haven’t seen it, this is one of the great romantic comedies.



     Then there is the immature prince who falls in love with a

barmaid while at university and then shapes up to take his place at the palace making the difficult choice about his romance, all while singing a Sigmund Romberg operetta. The Student Prince (1953) stars Ann Blyth and Edmund Purdom (with his songs sung by Mario Lanza). With all the singing, it's hard to remember that this is another tragically romantic story.  Directed by Richard Thorpe.

A beautiful silent version, obviously not an operetta, was made in 1927 as The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Norma Shearer and Ramon Novarro.

     Just before she chose to marry a real prince, Grace Kelly starred in 1956 as a princess who wanted desperately to marry commoner, Louis Jordan, in The Swan. But Alec Guiness, the unromantic royal to whom she was betrothed, convinces her that duty calls and one day, Louis Jordan will be old and then, what’s the difference, or words to that effect. Anyway, he convinces me. Directed by Charles Vidor.

 

However, at least one brave princess defies the court and the arranged marriage in the 1935 film of the Victor Herbert musical, Naughty Marietta. The first on-screen teaming of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy was a box office hit and they went on to make several more delightful musicals from the golden age of melody and lyrics. In this film, Jeanette escapes from the French court and marriage to a Spanish nobleman by sailing away incognito and after encountering pirates, and being rescued from same, ends up New Orleans and finds love. Ah, sweet mystery of life!

      A happy story of a royal wedding is … Royal Wedding

(1951), the film that takes place in London where a real royal wedding is taking place (We don’t actually get to see Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbattan whose marriage was the reason for the festivities). But the festive air is the backdrop to the story of Fred Astaire and his sister, Jane Powell and their dancing together and romancing with Sarah Churchill and Peter Lawford, respectively. Watch for Fred’s famous dance on the ceiling. Directed by Stanley Donen.





         

Speaking of movie brides, there are two famous ones that come to mind. Elizabeth Taylor is the bride and Spencer Tracy is Father of the Bride (1950), a great comic role for Tracy. Directed by Vicente Minnelli.





     Elsa Lanchester is the Bride of Frankenstein (1935) in the adaptation of the1916 story by Mary Shelley in which the

characters from the original tale survive and find romance, briefly. With Boris Karloff as the groom, Colin Clive as the reluctant matchmaker, deftly directed by James Whale. Although both are classics, in some ways this is better than the original 1931 film, and it has that great hairdo.






          And three weddings that figure prominently in the plots and are in the last scenes of three top-of-the-list comedies.

Academy Award winning, It Happened One Night (1934), directed by Frank Capra, where Claudette Colbert is just about to say “I do” when she remembers that Clark Gable is actually the better choice.

The Palm Beach Story (1942) where Claudette Colbert starts with a happy wedding to Joel McCrea, has second thoughts and divorces, then marries again, while Rudy Vallee and Mary Astor run interference. Directed by Preston Sturges.



 

Then there’s the story of Philadelphia society bride-to-be, Katherine Hepburn in the aptly titled, The Philadelphia Story (1940) in which the groom at the end is not the groom in the middle, but is the groom at the beginning. Confused? Only if you’ve never seen it. You should. It’s a classic, directed by George Cukor, and co-starring Cary Grant, James Stewart, and Ruth Hussey.

 Two happy brides?

 

         The real Royal Wedding of 1947.