I tend to be very critical of 'historical' films but this one leaves little to be desired. The story is gripping, the characters are convincing (especially Tyrone Power, Everett Sloane and Orson Wells) and the sets and costumes are simply stunning. The people who produced this picture really did their homework. On top of all this, the film was shot in Italy, with actual renaissance buildings and artwork in the background (ok ok, one or the other fresco may have been painted only after 1500, when the story is set, but let's not be more popish than the Pope). Why then no more than seven stars? For two reasons. First, I cannot imagine what the producers were thinking of when they decided not to use technicolor. A picture like this one is crying out for glorious technicolor. The cinematography is still very good, but to see this in black and white is nevertheless a pity. Second, the female lead. I believe it was the policy of 20th-century Fox to pair Tyrone Power with relatively unknown starlets. That worked in the case of Captain from Castile, the film that made Jean Peters a star. In the case of Prince of Foxes it did not work. Wanda Hendrix, bland in child-like way, was simply not up to the job: she was completely lacking the emotional depth required of the role. Even in black and white - with just a more competent female lead - this picture would have had the potential to become THE classic Holywood epic of the renaissance. As it is, it is 'just' a very good film.
Review of Prince of Foxes
