King's Rhapsody | |
---|---|
Directed by | Herbert Wilcox |
Written by | Pamela Bower Christopher Hassall Additional dialogue: A.P. Herbert |
Based on | musical King's Rhapsody by Ivor Novello |
Produced by | Herbert Wilcox |
Starring | Errol Flynn Anna Neagle Patrice Wymore |
Cinematography | Max Greene |
Edited by | Reginald Beck |
Production company | Everest Pictures (Herbert Wilcox) |
Distributed by | British Lion Film Corporation |
Release dates |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | £403,718 [1] |
Box office | £90,884 (UK) [2] |
King's Rhapsody is a 1955 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Errol Flynn and Patrice Wymore. Wymore was Errol Flynn's wife at the time of filming. [3] It was based on the successful stage musical King's Rhapsody by Ivor Novello. [4]
Prince Richard of Laurentia is summoned from exile with his mistress Marta (Anna Neagle) in Monte Carlo, to resume Royal duties following the death of his father, the King (Finlay Currie). He is charged to marry Princess Cristiane of Norseland (Patrice Wymore) and produce an heir to the throne. Although Richard's affections are with his mistress, he soon finds his heart warming to his new wife.
The film was the first of what was meant to be a six-film deal over three years worth £2,500,000. [5] The intention was that Flynn and Neagle would form a team along the lines of Neagle's pairing with Michael Wilding, starting with The White Witch of Rose Hall in Jamaica. [6] However this was the last of the two movies they made together.
The budget consisted of £227,680 for British costs, plus Errol Flynn's fee, plus a Yugoslavian contribution towards location costs. [1]
The film was not a success. [7]
Filmink said that "at times King’s Rhapsody feels like an amateur theatre production, with the stars “acting” but with enthusiasm." [8]
In Errol Flynn: The Life and Career, Thomas McNulty noted, "Shot in CinemaScope, the colorful costumes were wonderful to look at but unfortunately the actors wearing those costumes, particularly Flynn, are wooden and unconvincing," and went on to write that he found the film "merely dull," and that "The plot is a disaster disguised as a screenplay"; [9] while Allmovie considered the film "one of the few Neagle/Wilcox failures." [3]
The film underperformed at the box office. [10] A condensed 45-minute version, taken from the film's soundtrack, was broadcast as a BBC Radio play in September 1955. [11]
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia de Havilland, and reputation for his womanising and hedonistic personal life. His most notable roles include Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), which was later named by the American Film Institute as the 18th-greatest hero in American film history, the lead role in Captain Blood (1935), Major Geoffrey Vickers in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), and the hero in a number of Westerns such as Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail, Virginia City and San Antonio (1945).
Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox, known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer.
William Finlay Currie was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television. He received great acclaim for his roles as Abel Magwitch in the British film Great Expectations (1946) and as Balthazar in the American film Ben-Hur (1959).
Patrice is a given name meaning noble or patrician, related to the names Patrick and Patricia.
Against All Flags is a 1952 American pirate film directed by George Sherman, with uncredited assist from Douglas Sirk. It features Errol Flynn as Lt. Brian Hawke, Maureen O'Hara as Prudence "Spitfire" Stevens, and Anthony Quinn as Roc Brasiliano. The film is set in 1700, on the coast of Madagascar.
Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE was a British film producer and director.
King's Rhapsody is a musical with book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall.
Patrice Wymore Flynn was an American film, television and stage actress of the 1950s and 1960s, known for her marriage to Errol Flynn.
The Master of Ballantrae is a 1953 British Technicolor adventure film starring Errol Flynn and Roger Livesey. It is a loose and highly truncated adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson 1889 novel of the same name. In eighteenth century Scotland, two sons of a laird clash over the family estate and a lady. It was the last film directed by William Keighley.
Rocky Mountain is a 1950 American Western film directed by William Keighley and starring Errol Flynn. It also stars Patrice Wymore, who married Flynn in 1950. The film is set in California near the end of the American Civil War.
Goodnight, Vienna is a 1932 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan, Anna Neagle and Gina Malo. Two lovers in Vienna are separated by the First World War, but are later reunited.
Nell Gwyn is a 1934 British historical drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke, Jeanne de Casalis, Miles Malleson and Moore Marriott. The film portrays the historical romance between Charles II of England and the actress Nell Gwyn. In the opening credits, the dialogue is credited to "King Charles II, Samuel Pepys and Nell Gwyn" with additional dialogue by Miles Malleson. It was also released as Mistress Nell Gwyn.
Piccadilly Incident is a 1946 British drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Coral Browne, Edward Rigby and Leslie Dwyer. It was written by Nicholas Phipps based on a story by Florence Tranter.
The Dark Avenger is a 1955 British historical action adventure film in CinemaScope directed by Henry Levin. The screenplay was written by Daniel B. Ullman. The film stars Errol Flynn, Joanne Dru and Peter Finch. The music score is by Cedric Thorpe Davie. It is also known as The Warriors in the United States, and had a working title of The Black Prince in the United Kingdom.
Sixty Glorious Years is a 1938 British colour film directed by Herbert Wilcox. The film is a sequel to the 1937 film Victoria the Great.
No Time for Tears is a 1957 British drama film directed by Cyril Frankel in CinemaScope and Eastman Color and starring Anna Neagle, George Baker, Sylvia Syms and Anthony Quayle. It was written by Anne Burnaby and Frederix Gotfurt. The staff at a children's hospital struggle with their workload.
My Teenage Daughter is a 1956 British drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Sylvia Syms and Norman Wooland. The screenplay concerns a mother who tries to deal with her teenage daughter's descent into delinquency. It was intended as a British response to Rebel Without a Cause (1955). It was the last commercially successful film made by Wilcox.
Lilacs in the Spring is a 1954 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Errol Flynn and David Farrar. The film was made at Elstree Studios with sets designed by the art director William C. Andrews. Shot in Trucolor it was distributed in Britain by Republic Pictures. It was the first of two films Neagle and Flynn made together, the other being King's Rhapsody. It was released in the United States as Let's Make Up.
The Story of William Tell is an unfinished film about William Tell. It starred and was produced by Errol Flynn. It commenced filming in Italy in 1953 and was meant to be the directorial debut of Jack Cardiff. It was filmed in CinemaScope. A £10,000 model town set was built near Mont Blanc.
William C. Andrews was a British art director who designed film sets for a number of productions. During the 1940s he frequently worked for producer Herbert Wilcox. Later in his career he was generally credited as Bill Andrews.