February 28, 2021
The Sword and the Rose (1953) ***
Google Play
$3.99
Disney other
“Ladies, have I the honour to find the Princess Mary among you?”
“Is the Princess Mary a person of so little consequence that she is not known to a mighty Captain of the Guard?”
“Pray, forgive a blundering stranger of the Court. Since Princess Mary is reputed to be gracious, I presume she cannot be here.”
So many of the early Disney live-action films are not available on Disney +, this being one of them. Is it worth $3.99 cash money to watch this utterly unremembered film about Henry VIII’s sister wanting to marry the man she loves? I’m going with yes.
The film stars an absolutely captivating Glynis Johns as Princess Mary, eleven years before she was Mrs. Banks singing about being a suffragette, (still alive at 97, I see, stay well!), Richard Todd as Charles Brandon, the commoner she loves (recently seen as Robin Hood the other week), and a terribly young Michael Gough (Alfred in Batman) as the third corner of this love triangle, the jackass Duke of Buckingham.
But even with two such suitors, the man King Henry wants her to marry is the elderly King of France, for political purposes. Henry is played by James Robertson Justice, who was Little John in Robin Hood and, even better, Lord Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a movie that I must rewatch tout suite.
Glynis Johns is heart-stoppingly lovely, and though I have seen and loved her in many roles as an older actress (Grandma in awhile You Were Sleeping is a definite favourite), I really must do some catching up with her earlier work.
This is a completely charming and fun film, and I’m sorry that after this, there is only Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue left in this little series of films made in England by Disney at this time. Rob Roy also has the identical cast of Todd, Johns, Justice, and Gough, and I’d say I would watch it right away, but that it is the last day of February, and Disney month has ended.
365 Films in 365 Days 