The years of good living were galloping up on Errol Flynn when he decided to make the second of two films he did with British musical star Anna Neagle and her producer husband Herbert Wilcox. This film was a disaster for Flynn and unlike his previous work with Neagle, Lilacs In The Spring failed at the box office on the other side of the pond as well.
The plain truth is what was Errol Flynn doing in an operetta? On stage author Ivor Novello played the lead and sang the songs. Here no one had Errol try to sing operetta, nor was anyone's voice dubbed for him either. Instead Wilcox used the rather clumsy device of having a 'street singer' played by Edmond Hockridge sing the duets with both Neagle and Patrice Wymore who was the third and final Mrs. Errol Flynn. It was just plain ludicrous.
I'm willing to bet that Ivor Novello was probably a supporter of the Duke of Windsor because that's what the film is partially based on, an abdication crisis. Flynn's character is based on Windsor and also on King Carol of Rumania and his mistress Marie Lepescu. Martita Hunt plays Flynn's mother, the Queen Mother of the mythical Laurentia where Flynn is king. No one in the United Kingdom could possibly have mistaken the fact that Hunt's portrayal was based on Queen Mother Mary who was still alive in 1949 when King's Rhapsody debuted on the London stage.
The part of the prince, king, and later ex-king calls for Flynn to age several years. The old playboy in Monte Carlo he got down pretty good, but no amount of makeup could get Errol young again, he couldn't convince anyone as the young prince who was exiled to the Riviera because he wouldn't give up his mistress played in this film by Anna Neagle.
If you know the story of King Carol and Lepescu and of course of the Duke of Windsor who wouldn't give up Wallis Simpson, combine them and you have an idea of what King's Rhapsody was all about.
One of the great bad ideas in the history of movies, Errol Flynn in this role. Herbert Wilcox was quoted in the Citadel Film book, The Films of Errol Flynn saying when he heard Flynn had died in 1959 that he could have been a great actor, but his love of high living kept him from it. Errol's high living made him completely unsuitable for this role.
The plain truth is what was Errol Flynn doing in an operetta? On stage author Ivor Novello played the lead and sang the songs. Here no one had Errol try to sing operetta, nor was anyone's voice dubbed for him either. Instead Wilcox used the rather clumsy device of having a 'street singer' played by Edmond Hockridge sing the duets with both Neagle and Patrice Wymore who was the third and final Mrs. Errol Flynn. It was just plain ludicrous.
I'm willing to bet that Ivor Novello was probably a supporter of the Duke of Windsor because that's what the film is partially based on, an abdication crisis. Flynn's character is based on Windsor and also on King Carol of Rumania and his mistress Marie Lepescu. Martita Hunt plays Flynn's mother, the Queen Mother of the mythical Laurentia where Flynn is king. No one in the United Kingdom could possibly have mistaken the fact that Hunt's portrayal was based on Queen Mother Mary who was still alive in 1949 when King's Rhapsody debuted on the London stage.
The part of the prince, king, and later ex-king calls for Flynn to age several years. The old playboy in Monte Carlo he got down pretty good, but no amount of makeup could get Errol young again, he couldn't convince anyone as the young prince who was exiled to the Riviera because he wouldn't give up his mistress played in this film by Anna Neagle.
If you know the story of King Carol and Lepescu and of course of the Duke of Windsor who wouldn't give up Wallis Simpson, combine them and you have an idea of what King's Rhapsody was all about.
One of the great bad ideas in the history of movies, Errol Flynn in this role. Herbert Wilcox was quoted in the Citadel Film book, The Films of Errol Flynn saying when he heard Flynn had died in 1959 that he could have been a great actor, but his love of high living kept him from it. Errol's high living made him completely unsuitable for this role.