The Swan (1956)

 

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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Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi (1983)

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi - 1983

Our latest film is the next installment of the original trilogy in the Star Wars saga, 1983's "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi", in which we see Luke Skywalker confront his father face to face and learns some truths about his family.  Han and Princess Leia, along with Lando Calrissian, and our favorite droids, do battle to help prevent the return of a second Death Star.

The film's cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, James Earl Jones, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, and Caroline Blakiston.

At the opening of the film, we find that a second Death Star is in the final stages of completion and is almost fully operational.  Darth Vader informs the Death Star commander that the Emperor himself will be overseeing the final preparations in person.

At Jabba the Hutt's palace on Tatooine, Han Solo is still encased in carbonite.  He is rescued by Princess Leia, but Jabba catches them and has them imprisoned.

He has Princess Leia become his personal slave.  It takes an intervention by  Luke Skywalker to make sure they are all rescued and Jabba is defeated.

After rescuing his friends, Luke returns to Dagobah to complete his training with Yoda.  Unfortunately, the aged Jedi is dying.  To his dying breath, Yoda still retains his sense of humor.  "Sick have I become, old and weak...When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you do will not, hmm?"

After Yoda's death, the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi comes to Luke and tells him the truth about Darth Vader being his father.  He also tells him that he has a sister.  Luke works out that it is Princess Leia.

The Rebels have found a way to destroy the new Death Star.  They must journey to the forest moon of Endor and deactivate a shield generator that will allow the fleet to penetrate the Death Star's defenses.

When they get to Endor, they are quickly greeted by a fierce, inquisitive, yet cute bunch of locals called Ewoks.  They eventually take C-3PO as their leader and try to barbecue Han and Luke.  However, some Jedi magic makes them all become friends.

Darth Vader comes to Luke on Endor and the two journey to the Emperor, who wants Luke to join the Dark Side.  Luke feels the good in his father and resists the Emperor's persuasions.

After walking into a trap set by the Emperor, Han, Leia, Chewbacca and the droids are rescued by the Ewoks, and they are able to destroy the shield generator that protects the Death Star.

When Luke resists Vader's attempts to turn him to the Dark Side, his thoughts betray Leia to Darth Vader.  When Vader threatens to turn her to the Dark Side, Luke renders him unable to fight.  When he further refuses to join the Dark Side, the Emperor decides to kill him.  Eventually, Darth Vader destroys the Emperor, but he is mortally wounded in the process.

As he lays dying, Darth Vader thanks Luke for believing in him and wants to look at him with his own eyes before he dies.  Luke helps him take off his helmet, and they get to look at each other for a few moments before Vader's death.

With the shield generator down, Lando Calrissian on the Millennium Falcon is able to fire a shot that sets of a chain reaction that obliterates the Death Star.

On Endor, Han and Leia kiss after the completion of their mission.  Also, Leia tells Han that Luke is her brother.  Han is relieved at the news.  He believed Luke was his competition in regards to Leia.

Luke brings his father's body to Endor and he gives him a traditional Jedi funeral.

The galaxy rejoices at the overthrow of the Empire and the death of the Emperor.

As Luke rejoins his friends, he is watched by the spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and his father, Anakin Skywalker.  (Note: For the 2004 DVD release, Hayden Christensen was digitally inserted into the film, replacing the original Anakin, Sebastian Shaw).

Cast rundown:

   Mark Hamill...............................Luke Skywalker

   Harrison Ford.............................Han Solo

   Carrie Fisher..............................Princess Leia

   Alec Guinness............................Obi-Wan Kenobi

   Billy Dee Williams.......................Lando Calrissian

   Anthony Daniels.........................C-3PO

   Kenny Baker...............................R2-D2

   James Earl Jones........................Darth Vader

   Ian McDiarmid............................Emperor Palpatine

   Frank Oz...................................Yoda

   Caroline Blakiston.......................Mon Mothma

And that's all for Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi.  The Redwood Forests of Northern California served as the location for the forest moon of Endor.  The deserts of Yuma, Arizona, became the location for the Tatooine scenes.  It took six people to work the animatronic puppet for Jabba the Hutt.  Warwick Davis, the actor who was inside the Wicket costume, said that Carrie Fisher was very concerned about him because of the heat during filming.  He was eleven years old at the time, and she would supply him with cookies and chocolate milk between takes.  "She was everything an eleven-year-old Ewok could possibly wish for," said Davis.

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