King’s Rhapsody ** (1955, Anna Neagle, Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore, Martita Hunt, Finlay Currie) – Classic Movie Review 8039

Ivor Novello’s last operetta King’s Rhapsody (1950) concerns an exiled Ruritarian king, Richard of Laurentia (a sadly on-the-skids Errol Flynn), forsaking true love with commoner Marta Karillos (Anna Neagle, too old for this at the age of 51) for an arranged marriage with Princess Cristiane (Patrice Wymore).

Director Herbert Wilcox’s 1955 musical King’s Rhapsody is a family affair: the bride is played by Mrs Flynn, Patrice Wymore, and the film directed by Mr Neagle, Wilcox.

The film was wildly out of date on release when Bill Haley and Elvis Presley were the rage but it can be enjoyed now for its old-fashioned professionalism and tuneful, happy mood of escapism, though Flynn’s obvious lack of engagement in the project damps its spirits. Martita Hunt and Finlay Currie are good value as the Queen Mother and King Paul.

King’s Rhapsody is made in Spain, in Barcelona and its surroundings, and shot in Eastmancolor and CinemaScope.

Also in the cast are Francis de Wolff, Joan Benham, Reginald Tate, Miles Malleson, Lionel Blair, Alfie Bass, Jon Gregory, Nosher Powell and Terence Theobald and the voice of Edmund Hockridge as The Serenader.

King’s Rhapsody reunites Neagle and Flynn with Wilcox, after Lilacs in the Spring (1954).

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8039

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