The Swan (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Swan | |
|---|---|
 Original French film poster |
|
| Directed by | Charles Vidor |
| Produced by | Dore Schary |
| Written by | John Dighton Ferenc Molnar (play) |
| Starring | Grace Kelly Alec Guinness Louis Jourdan Jessie Royce Landis Estelle Winwood Brian Aherne Agnes Moorehead |
| Music by | Bronislau Kaper |
| Cinematography | Joseph Ruttenberg Robert Surtees |
| Editing by | John D. Dunning |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) |  26 April 1956 |
| Running time | 104 min |
| Country | USA United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Swan is a 1956 remake by MGM of a 1925 film (also remade in 1930 as One Romantic Night). The film is a romantic comedy directed by Charles Vidor, produced by Dore Schary from a screenplay by John Dighton based on the play by Ferenc Molnár. The original music score was by Bronislau Kaper, the cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg and Robert Surtees, the art direction by Randall Duell and Cedric Gibbons and the costume design by Helen Rose.
The film stars Grace Kelly, Alec Guinness and Louis Jourdan with Agnes Moorehead, Jessie Royce Landis, Brian Aherne, Leo G. Carroll, Estelle Winwood and Robert Coote.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The film deals with the story of the daughter of a minor branch of a European royal house who is being considered as a wife for her cousin, the heir to the throne.
Princess Alexandra (Grace Kelly) is the princess, her cousin the crown prince, Albert, is played by Alec Guinness, and her brothers' tutor, a commoner for whom she thinks she may feel more affection than she does for the prince, is played by Louis Jourdan.
The princess's relatives — played by Jessie Royce Landis, Estelle Winwood, and Brian Aherne — are comically eccentric, and Agnes Moorehead, as the queen who shows up near the end to find out if the princess has made the grade, is crankily imperious. Leo G. Carroll plays their butler. Van Dyke Parks also appears in this movie.
[edit] Background and production notes
The play on which the film is based is A Hattyú, Vígjáték Három Felvonásban (The Swan) by Ferenc Molnár (Budapest, 1914), and the play The Swan , translated and adapted by Melville C. Baker. The original Broadway production opened at the Cort Theatre, New York, on 23 October 1923 and ran for 255 performances. Leading the cast were Eva LeGallienne, Philip Merivale, Basil Rathbone and Alison Skipworth.
The role of Prince Albert was originally offered to Rex Harrison, then to Joseph Cotten, before being given to Alec Guinness, whose first American film this was.
Grace Kelly had previously appeared in the CBS television production of The Swan on 9 June 1950.
The film was shot on location in North Carolina, at the 1895 Biltmore Estate of George W. Vanderbilt in Asheville and at Lake Junaluska.
MGM held the release of The Swan to correspond with the wedding day of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco, on 18 April 1956.
[edit] Other versions
- The 1925 silent film with the same title was directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki and starred Frances Howard as Princess Alexandra and Adolphe Menjou as Crown Prince Albert.
- One Romantic Night (1930) starred Lillian Gish as Princess Alexandra and Rod La Rocque as Prince Albert, with Conrad Nagel as the tutor. It was directed by Paul Stein (no relation to the accordionist). This version was adapted from The Swan by Maxwell Anderson, a noted playwright himself.
[edit] External links
- The Swan at the Internet Movie Database
