''The Student Prince'' is a 1954 American

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

directed by

Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Biography Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, Richard Thorpe began his ...

and starring

Ann Blyth Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. For her performance as Veda in the 1945 Michael Curtiz film ''Mildred Pierce'', Blyth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of ...

, Edmund Purdom,

John Ericson John Ericson (sometimes spelled Erickson; September 25, 1926 – May 3, 2020) was a German-American film and television actor known primarily for his co-star role with actress Anne Francis on the ABC television series '' Honey West'' in the 196 ...

Louis Calhern Carl Henry Vogt (February 19, 1895 – May 12, 1956), known professionally as Louis Calhern, was an American stage and screen actor. Well known to film noir fans for his role as the pivotal villain in 1950's '' The Asphalt Jungle'', he was ...

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won th ...

S. Z. Sakall Szőke Szakáll (born Jakab Grünwald, akas: Gärtner Sándor and Gerő Jenő; February 2, 1883 February 12, 1955), known in the English-speaking world as S. Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian-American stage and film character actor. He appeared in m ...

and Betta St. John. The film is an adaptation of the 1924 operetta of the same name composed by

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

with lyrics by

Dorothy Donnelly Dorothy Agnes Donnelly (January 28, 1876 - January 3, 1928) was an actress, playwright, librettist, producer, and director. After a decade-long acting career that included several notable roles on Broadway, she turned to writing plays, musicals ...

. The film's screenplay was written by

Sonya Levien Sonya Levien (born Sara Opesken; 25 December 1888 – 19 March 1960) was a Russian-born American screenwriter. She became one of the highest earning female screenwriters in Hollywood in the 1930s and would help a number of directors and film ...

and William Ludwig. Based on the stage play ''Old Heidelberg'' by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster (itself an adaptation of his obscure 1898 novel ''Karl Heinrich''), the film is about a brash young prince of a small German kingdom who must choose between his romance with a barmaid and his impending royal duties. It was filmed and released in

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

and

Ansco Color An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from café in Oslo, Norway. An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from Paris, France. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Hungary. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Zakopane in Poland. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 fr ...

. During production, original star

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...

left the project before principal photography, necessitating his last-minute replacement by the lesser-known Purdom. Because of the contractual agreement between

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

and Lanza, songs that the Lanza had recorded were dubbed over Purdom's voice.

Plot

Near the turn of the 20th century, young Prince Karl of Karlsburg, a small but fiercely proud kingdom within the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, is the grandson of one of a handful of petty kings within German-speaking central Europe. Karl has been raised most of his life for the military, but when it comes time for him to marry, the princess who has been picked for him cannot stand his stiff formality. His tutor recommends that he be sent to a university in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

to develop an easier, more sociable manner. He eventually slips into the social mix at the university, becomes accepted by his peers and falls deeply in love with Kathie, a pretty, popular and musically inclined barmaid who holds court in the local

biergarten A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...

. When his grandfather dies unexpectedly, Karl must marry the princess and take his place in Karlsburg. He returns to Heidelberg one last time to bid Kathie a poignant farewell.

Cast

as Kathie Ruder * Edmund Purdom as Prince Karl **

as Karl's singing voice *

as Count Von Asterburg *

as King Ferdinand of Karlsburg *

as Prof. Juttner *

S.Z. Sakall Szőke Szakáll (born Jakab Grünwald, akas: Gärtner Sándor and Gerő Jenő; February 2, 1883 February 12, 1955), known in the English-speaking world as S. Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian-American stage and film character actor. He appeared in m ...

as Joseph Ruder (credited as S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall) * Betta St. John as Princess Johanna *

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

as Lutz * Evelyn Varden as Queen *

John Hoyt John Hoyt (born John McArthur Hoysradt; October 5, 1905 – September 15, 1991) was an American actor. He began his acting career on Broadway, later appearing in numerous films and television series. He is perhaps best known for his film and TV ...

as Prime Minister *

Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. Among his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin ( Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers ( Lindsay Wagner) i ...

as Lucas * Roger Allen as Von Fischtenstein * Steve Rowland as Feuerwald * Chris Warfield as Richter * Gilbert Legay as Von Buhler * Archer MacDonald as Head Corps Servant * Charles Davis as Hubert *

John Qualen John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Early years Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...

as Willie Klauber * Gordon Richards as Major Domo

Production

The film's credits mention "the singing voice of

"; Lanza had originally been cast as Prince Karl, but he walked off the picture and was eventually fired. Under the terms of the eventual settlement between MGM and Lanza, the studio retained the rights to use the songs for the film's soundtrack that Lanza had already recorded. The songs, including "Beloved"–written specially for the film–and the well-remembered "Serenade", from the original show, would become some of those most identified with Lanza, even though they were mouthed in the film by Edmund Purdom, who took over the role of Prince Karl.

played opposite Lanza in the 1951 blockbuster ''

The Great Caruso ''The Great Caruso'' is a 1951 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Mario Lanza as Enrico Caruso. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Joe Pasternak with Jesse L. Lasky as associate producer from a screenpla ...

''. The film was directed by

, who replaced original director

Curtis Bernhardt Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a Jewish film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1924, wi ...

, and was produced by

Joe Pasternak Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood "Golden Age" of musicals at MGM Studios, producing many successfu ...

. The

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

was written by

and William Ludwig based on the operetta ''

The Student Prince ''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play '' Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a score with some of Romberg's most enduri ...

'' by

and

, which was in turn based on the 1901 play '' Old Heidelberg'' by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster. New scenes and rewritten dialogue not found in the stage production were also added, although the basic plot remained the same. Additional songs were specially written by

Nicholas Brodszky Nicholas "Slug" Brodszky (russian: Николай Бродский; April 20, 1905December 24, 1958) was a composer of popular songs for the theatre and for films. Brodszky was born in Odessa, Russian Empire, into a Jewish family, who moved to ...

and

Paul Francis Webster Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award. Life and career Webster was born in New York City, United St ...

. Many of Donnelly's original stage lyrics were completely changed for the film. The story has been adapted for the screen several times, including the American silent film '' Old Heidelberg'' (1915), the German silent film '' Old Heidelberg'' (1923), Ernst Lubitsch's ''

The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg ''The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg'', also known as ''The Student Prince'' and ''Old Heidelberg'', is a 1927 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer silent drama film based on the 1901 play '' Old Heidelberg'' by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster. It was directed by Ern ...

'' (1927) and Ernst Marischka's '' Old Heidelberg'' (1959).

Reception

The film was a financial success. According to MGM records, it earned $2,528,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $2,813,000 in other countries, resulting in a profit of $451,000.

Soundtrack

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

issued two different soundtrack recordings, both featuring the voice of Lanza. The first, in 1954, was a genuine film soundtrack recording in

monophonic Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

sound. Rather than reissuing the original soundtrack in

stereophonic Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

sound (which would have been possible as the film's audio was in four-track stereo, and stereo records were released starting in 1958), RCA Victor recorded and released an all-new stereo album with Lanza in 1959. The original Dorothy Donnelly lyrics were restored to the album. Both albums included the three additional songs written specially for the film version ("Summertime in Heidelberg", "

I'll Walk with God "I'll Walk with God" is a popular song written for the motion picture ''The Student Prince'' with music by Nicholas Brodzsky and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster published in 1954. The film's title character, who was played by actor Edmund Purdom w ...

" and "Beloved"), and both albums omit Kathie's solo, "Come Boys."

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Student Prince Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1954 films 1950s historical musical films American historical musical films CinemaScope films Films about princes Films about royalty Films directed by Richard Thorpe American films based on plays Student societies in Germany Operetta films Films based on operettas Films set in Heidelberg Sound film remakes of silent films Films produced by Joe Pasternak Films with screenplays by William Ludwig Films with screenplays by Sonya Levien Films based on adaptations Films set in Europe Films set in Germany Films set in the 19th century 1950s English-language films 1950s American films