The Prince and the Pauper (1937)

The Prince and the Pauper is a 1937 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mark Twain. It starred Errol Flynn, twins Billy and Bobby Mauch in the title roles, and Claude Rains.

The film was originally intended to coincide with the coronation of King Edward VIII, coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1936. However, its release was delayed until the following year. The film released on May 8, 1937, days before the May 12, 1937 coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

The second theme of the final movement of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's violin concerto was drawn from the music he composed for this film.

Synopsis

In Tudor England, two boys are born on the same day in the most different circumstances imaginable. Tom (Billy Mauch) is the son of vicious criminal John Canty (Barton MacLane), while Edward VI (Bobby Mauch) is a prince and the heir of King Henry VIII of England (Montagu Love). One grows up in poverty, hungering for something better for himself and his family, the other in isolated luxury, with a strong curiosity about the outside world.

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