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| The Swan - 1956 |
Coming up next we have 1956's "The Swan", a story about a princess who must choose between a prince and a professor after using one to make the other jealous. Will she get her happily ever after?
The film's cast includes Grace Kelly, Alec Guinness, Louis Jourdan, Agnes Moorehead, Jessie Royce Landis, Brian Aherne, Leo G. Carroll, Estelle Winwood, Van Dyke Parks, Robert Coote, Doris Lloyd, and Edith Barrett.
In Europe, a member of a minor branch of royalty receives a telegram that says the crown prince of her country is coming to pay a visit in the hopes of becoming engaged to her daughter, Princess Alexandra. Alexandra's mother, Princess Beatrix, is overjoyed at the notion.
Princess Beatrix quickly gathers her staff and issues instructions on how she wants the visit to proceed.
She also informs Princess Alexandra that a glorious future awaits her. Alexandra isn't exactly excited.
Unbeknownst to Alexandra, her brothers' tutor, Dr. Nicholas Agi, is quietly in love with her.
When Crown Prince Albert arrives, he doesn't make a very good impression on the family, though they are still anxious for Alexandra to play her part in bringing about the alliance. He sleeps late and goes shooting, and when he and Alexandra are brought together, they are cordial, but nothing more.
Princess Beatrix is desperate for the match to happen. While her brother, Prince Carl, comforts her, she comes up with a plan.
She tells her daughter that in order to bring about this marriage she needs to make the prince jealous. To do this, she should pretend to take an interest in Nicholas Agi. Wanting to please her mother, Alexandra agrees.
And the professor is delighted when the object of his heart's desire begins to pay attention to him. Alexandra invites him to a ball honoring Prince Albert, and Nicholas is thrilled to accept the invitation.
At the ball, Nicholas is invited to sit with the royal family. Of course, Princess Beatrix becomes exasperated when Prince Albert pays attention to everything except her daughter.
Nicholas and Alexandra spend the evening dancing and talking. Nicholas eventually drums up enough courage to express his feelings to Alexandra, who, while feeling something for him, is reluctant to give in to those feelings.
And it turns out that Princess Beatrix's plan has worked. The prince is indeed jealous.
Unable to stand the deception any longer, Alexandra tells Nicholas that her interest in him was all a ploy to make Prince Albert jealous. Of course, Nicholas is furious. He angrily tells the royal family what he thinks of them.
Nicholas eventually calms down enough for Alexandra to get a word in, and the two embrace and share a kiss in full view of Prince Albert, who agrees to back off.
Albert's mother, Queen Dominika, arrives at the house to what she expects will be an engagement announcement. The information she is told, however, is quite another matter. When Albert asks her what she already knows, the queen says, "I know just one thing, that I'm to be told everything in the next thirty seconds!" Naturally, she is appalled.
Alexandra is prepared to leave with Nicholas. However, a visit from Prince Carl changes Nicholas's plans. He decides to give up Alexandra and leave the palace forever. Of course, she is crushed.
Prince Albert comforts Alexandra and compares her to a swan. Her relations with him warm significantly and she asks him to escort her inside, which he does with a smile.
Cast rundown:
Grace Kelly...................................Princess Alexandra
Alec Guinness...............................Prince Albert
Louis Jourdan...............................Dr. Nicholas Agi
Agnes Moorehead..........................Queen Maria Dominika
Jessie Royce Landis.......................Princess Beatrix
Brian Aherne................................Prince Carl ("Father Carl")
Leo G. Carroll...............................Caesar
Estelle Winwood............................Princess Symphorosa
Van Dyke Parks.............................Prince George
Christopher Cook...........................Prince Arsene
Robert Coote................................Captain Wunderlich
Doris Lloyd...................................Countess Sibenstoyn
Edith Barrett.................................Elsa
And that's it for The Swan. The movie studio held the film's release to coincide with Grace Kelly's civil wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco. The movie was filmed at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The filmmakers used the romance of Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend as inspiration, and closely followed the story. The director claimed, "If they had wed, we would have thought very seriously about changing our ending."
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