A princess falls in love (film)

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Movie
German title A princess falls in love
Original title The Sword and the Rose
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1953
length 92 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Ken Annakin
script Lawrence Edward Watkin
production Perse Pearce / Walt Disney
music Clifton Parker
camera Geoffrey Unsworth
cut Gerald Thomas
occupation

A princess falls in love is the title of a historical film about the forbidden love between the English princess Mary Tudor and the adventurer Charles Brandon . The film was first broadcast on July 23, 1953 under the English original title The Sword and the Rose in the United States . Based on Charles Major's novel When Knighthood Was in Flower , the film was also known under this title in the UK .

action

Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England , becomes aware of the newcomer Charles Brandon during a wrestling match at court. At her suggestion, Henry lets Brandon compete against the Duke of Buckingham and, after his victory, makes him captain of the royal guard. Brandon's big dream is to sail to the New World. While Mary slowly falls in love with him, she does not realize that the Duke of Buckingham is also courting her. Buckingham suspects that Henry wants to marry her off to the aging King of France and tries to win the princess over before a marriage contract can be signed. But Mary, who only regards him as a good friend, rejects him. Much to Buckingham's displeasure and to the horror of Queen Catherine of Aragón , Mary Charles invites Brandon to her ball and lets him teach her about the scandalous volta .

On a hunting trip, Mary finally manages to be alone with Charles Brandon. Playfully she gives him the royal order to write a poem for her. Brandon complies with her wish and in rhymes confesses his feelings to her, but at the same time reminds her that as a princess she is far above him and one day she will be queen. Meanwhile, Buckingham has made hints to Henry that his sister feels more than royal benevolence for Brandon. Heinrich is now pushing ahead with the marriage negotiations with France and, after tough negotiations, comes to an agreement with the French diplomats. Mary, however, refuses to see the ambassadors, which turns into a cat-and-mouse game between her and the angry Heinrich. A little later, Mary has to learn that Charles Brandon has quit the service to travel to the New World.

She is still completely stunned by Heinrich and the French ambassadors who bring her the advertisement of their king. Mary rejects her with violent words and flees, disguised as a page. In Bristol she finds Charles Brandon and convinces him to smuggle her aboard the ship in her disguise. As the ship starts moving, the entire crew, according to tradition, throws their hats into the water, revealing Mary as a woman. Since women on board bring bad luck, the captain has Mary and Charles brought back ashore. There they are found by Heinrich's soldiers and Charles is arrested. In order to save her lover, Mary agrees to marry the King of France. Buckingham can move Heinrich in addition to the promise that Mary can choose her second husband herself. Heinrich agrees, but only on the condition that Mary will be a conscientious wife to the French king and will not make any contact with Brandon during this time.

Buckingham visits Brandon in prison and offers him a chance to escape at night. Charles accepts it, but is stabbed to death by Buckingham's hired assassins and thrown into the Thames at night . Meanwhile, in France, Mary holds the aging king in suspense and encourages him to exert himself physically. At the same time she has to defend herself against the attacks of the Dauphin. When her husband finally dies and the Dauphin tries to force her to marry him, Mary sends her maid Margaret to England for help. Instead of the expected Charles Brandon, however, it is Buckingham who leads them to the crossing to England.

In England, Lady Margaret and Sir Edwin Caskoden find Charles Brandon, who unexpectedly survived Buckingham's attack. Brandon rushes to France to help his lover. On the way to the French coast, Buckingham brings the news of Brandon's death to Mary. In addition, the new King of France tries to bribe Heinrich with the repayment of Mary's dowry in order to have the English princess as his wife. Buckingham once again urges Mary to marry him before she is forced into another political marriage, but she rejects him again. A scuffle breaks out when Charles Brandon appears. He and Mary flee to the coast, where the chase culminates in a sword fight between him and Buckingham.

In England, Henry is about to agree to the French deal when Mary returns. She tells her brother about the wrong intentions of the French king and introduces him to Charles Brandon as her newlywed husband. With that, all hopes for a French marriage are dashed. However, Brandon immediately wins his brother-in-law's heart by securing him the repaid dowry. At Mary's request, Henry appoints Brandon as Duke of Suffolk, but urges him to bring Mary to Suffolk and leave her there, otherwise she would probably flatter her brother's ears.

Fact and fiction

While the plot of the film is based on historical facts - the forbidden love and secret marriage of Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon - it differs in some ways from the actual events.

  • Charles Brandon was already Duke of Suffolk and a close friend and confidante of Henry VIII at the time Mary's marriage to the French king was negotiated.
  • Mary's attempted escape to the New World with Charles Brandon did not take place, nor did Charles' imprisonment.
  • Buckingham never tried to marry the king's sister or to have Charles Brandon murdered.
  • Katharina von Aragón and Mary Tudor were close friends in reality.
  • Francis I , the new King of France, kept her dowry after Mary married Charles and did not repay it.
  • Henry VIII was furious when he learned of Mary's wedding to Charles and could only be appeased when Mary and Charles promised to repay the lost dowry out of their own pocket.

background

Although Charles Major's novel has already been filmed twice , the first version was in color. The recordings took place at Pinewood Studios . In total, over 60 matte paintings were produced by the art director and later Oscar winner Peter Ellenshaw .

After Robin Hood - The King's Rebel (original title: The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men ), A Princess falls in love was Disney's second historical film and some old friends met while shooting. Ken Annakin and Perse Pearce had already worked on Robin Hood , Richard Todd and James Robertson Justice played the roles of Robin Hood and Little John, respectively. For the young Patrick Cargill, on the other hand, A Princess falls in love was the first film. He was given a supporting role as the French envoy. Glynis Johns was later to direct another historic film with Walt Disney at Richard Todd's side: Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue .

When the film was released on July 23, 1953 under the English original title The Sword and the Rose , it was not very well received by the audience. British critics criticized the artistic freedom that Walt Disney had taken and criticized the script as historically inaccurate. The American audience was also only moderately interested and the film was not a great success overall. However, the London Times praised Mary's lively display and Henry's royal demeanor. Almost a year later, on March 5, 1954, the film was broadcast for the first time in German translation in the Federal Republic. Nowadays A princess falls relatively unknown. On Rotten Tomatoes , he received only one rating with the assessment that he was "neither historical nor romantic".

On January 11, 1956, the film was cut into a two-part television version under the title When Knighthood Was in Flower . The first VHS version, The Sword and the Rose , came out in 1985. On January 5, 1992, a second edition was released in Walt Disney's Studio Film Collection . At the end of 2010, the original English version was finally released on DVD as part of the Disney Exclusives series .

literature

  • Charles Major: When Knighthood was in Flower, or The Love Story of Charles Brandon and Mary Tudor, the King's Sister, and Happening in the Reign of his August Majesty, King Henry VIII . ISBN 978-1421211831 , 2001 Adamant Media Corporation

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c The Disney Films: The Sword and the Rose, accessed April 10, 2011 at 8:47 am
  2. ↑ Answers.com, accessed April 10, 2011, 9:06 am
  3. ↑ A princess falls in love: Trivia, accessed April 10, 2011, 11:43 am
  4. ↑ A princess falls in love on Rotten Tomatoes, accessed April 10, 2011, 9:25 am
  5. ↑ When Knighthood was in Flower Part 2, accessed April 10, 2011, 9:36 am