the fact they changed the name says it all..

A_Different_Drummer

For the record, this film when released was shamelessly called The Prince and the Pauper.

Do you remember the 70s? It helps if you do.

Having survived the post-war era, rock and roll, and the chaos the 60s, the 70s ushered in big hair, big disco, big cars, big meals and ... well you get the drift.

Especially big Hollywood productions like this one.

Against such a backdrop it is easy to imagine a bunch of studio suits looking at the wonderful 1947 version of the Prince and the Pauper (a version your humble reviewer has seen over a dozen times) and saying something like .. bah humbug we can do better.

No in fact, they could not. They could do it bigger and more lavish. But better is hardly a word I would use to describe a version so different in every way that, years after release, they even changed the title (presumably to avoid reviews just like this one.) The 1947 version is sweet and clever and constantly interesting. And very true to the original story.

This version, aside from the interesting attempt to cast Reed against type, is worth one watch, maybe and my guess is you will never want to see it again.

Advice? See the original. Accept no imitations.

score 7/10

A_Different_Drummer 9 March 2017

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3658083/