The Prince and the Pauper (1937)

My Review

“The Prince and the Pauper” is the story of a wealthy prince and a poor street urchin who trade places. What begins as an intentional temporary switch so that both boys can experience different lives, actually threatens to becomes permanent as they have difficulty in returning to their original state. Director William Keighley (“Bullets or Ballots” 1936) put together a quality film with an important life lesson on “the grass isn’t always greener” on the other side. The screenplay by Laird Doyle and Catherine Chisholm Cushing was adapted from the 1881 novel of the same name by Mark Twain.

The cast is headed by twin brothers Billy Mauch as Tom Canty and Bobby Mauch as King Edward VI. Their co-stars include Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, Barton MacLane, Henry Stephenson, and Alan Hale. The watchable “The Prince and the Pauper” was popular at the box office for producers Jack L. Warner and Hal B. Wallis and Warner Bros. Pictures. It was filmed entirely on the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.