King's Rhapsody (film)


King's Rhapsody is a 1955 English musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Errol Flynn and Patrice Wymore. Wymore was Errol Flynn's wife at the time of filming. It was based on the successful stage musical King's Rhapsody by Ivor Novello.

Plot

Prince Richard of Laurentia is summoned from exile with his mistress Marta in Monte Carlo, to resume Royal duties following the death of his father, the King. He is charged to marry Princess Cristiane of Norseland and produce an heir to the throne. Although Richard's affections are with his mistress, he soon finds his heart warming to his new wife.

Cast

The film was the first of what was meant to be a six-film deal over three years worth £2,500,000. The intention was that Flynn and Neagle would form a team along the lines of Neagle's pairing with Michael Wilding, starting with The White Witch of Rose Hall in Jamaica. However this was the last of the two movies they made together.

Reception

The film was not a success.
Filmink said that "at times King’s Rhapsody feels like an amateur theatre production, with the stars “acting” but with enthusiasm."
In Errol Flynn: The Life and Career, Thomas McNulty noted, "Shot in CinemaScope, the colorful costumes were wonderful to look at but unfortunately the actors wearing those costumes, particularly Flynn, are wooden and unconvincing," and went on to write that he found the film "merely dull," and that "The plot is a disaster disguised as a screenplay"; while Allmovie considered the film "one of the few Neagle/Wilcox failures."

Release

The film disappointed at the box office.