Year: 1949
Filming: Black & White
Length: 107 minutes
Genre: Adventure/Drama/History/Swashbuckler
Maturity: PG (for intense thematic elements)
Cast: Tyrone Power (Andrea Orsini), Orson Welles
(Cesare Borgia), Wanda
Hendrix (Camilla Verano), Marina Berti (Angela Borgia), Everett
Sloane (Mario Belli), Felix Aylmer (Count Marc Antonio Verano), Katina
Paxinou (Mona Constanza Zoppo), Eduardo Ciannelli (Art Dealer)
Director: Henry King
Personal Rating: 5 Stars
***
In case you haven’t
noticed by now, I am quite a fan of swashbucklers, and have been since I was
knee-high to a grasshopper. My dad and I made quite a thing of dueling with
foam noodles and rolled up skid-prevention rubber. Of course, Robin Hood was
first true love. But I do reserve a special place in my heart for several other
dashing rogues with sword in hand. One of them is Andrea Orsini from Prince of Foxes.
Our story opens in Renaissance Italy. Tyrone
Power stars as Captain Orsini, an unlikely hero who starts out as an envoy of
the power-hungry Cesare Borgia. Climbing the ladder of successes and hoping to
bury his humble beginnings, Orsini believes that he has found the true
fulfillment of his life. What could be better than living as a nobleman in a
society of learning and culture, respected for shrewdness and cunning, in which
every man is his own master and can compete as equals according to their
skills?
But the glamour of
the world and the thirst of raw ambition do not satisfy, but only warp. Orsini’s
pious widowed mother, Mona Constanza Zoppo, had tried to teach him this long
ago, but he had refused to listen, and she had prayed he would be converted, even
if it meant he would lose all his earthly powers. Orsini experiences this
prayed-for enlightenment in the most unexpected of ways, while he is on a
mission of intrigue and seduction to weaken the fortifications of a small province
so Borgia can overrun it.
However, this will
set him on a journey into his inner self and a powerful encounter with those
who can see through his silky façade to his restless heart. One of these people
is Marc Antonio Verano, the elderly count of the province he is sent to
undermine; another is the count's much younger wife, Dona Camilla, who refuses
to be seduced by Orsini. Gradually, he begins to be drawn away from his partner-in-crime,
the assassin Mario Belli, and loses his nerve to unleash to pursue his devious
plans. The rest of the story seems to mirror the life of a saint.
When Camilla
remains loyal to her husband, and that husband refuses to submit to Borgia’s
threats and prepares to defend his tiny domain from aggression, Andrea
experiences a total change of heart and declares that he will use all his wits
as “Prince of Foxes” to aid the defense. It is their own sense of nobility that
taps into his better nature and brings him to the realization that Borgia’s philosophy
of life is profoundly perverse, even though the trappings are appealing. The
ultimate reality is that it is far better to die in a good cause than prosper
in a bad one.
Prince of Foxes stands out as an
all-time classic swashbuckler gem with an atypical in its plot twists and moral
potency. This is a story about what’s really important in life. The acting in this film is excellent, led
by Tyrone Power and Orson Welles. The plot is full of intricacies and
unexpected twists and turns. There is also some wonderful sword-play and battle
sequences. I will say that I felt the ending wrapped up rather abruptly with a
few lose ends left dangling, due to budget cuts.
We are sadly
deprived of seeing the splendor of the Italian setting in color. The makers
erroneously believed Tyrone Power to be past his time and washed up, and didn’t
want to put too much into the production. This was a terrible miscalculation,
since even with its limited budget and obvious time constraints impressed up on
it. However, the masterful shadow effects are something of a saving grace in
this regard.
For once, we have
a romance based on true nobility! Indeed, it is quite evident that Lady Camilla
is quite smitten with Orsini, but still she will not betray her husband. The
reason is that she truly loves him for his goodness and wisdom, and
whole-heartedly supports the cause which he champions. In effect, she is a
nobler version of Queen Guinevere. After the count is mortally wounded, he
joins the hands of Orsini and his wife, thanking them for their faithfulness
and entrusting Orsini with her safety and that of the city. Orsini uses his
wits to out-fox Borgia for as long as he can, then gallantly agrees to turn
himself over to the enemy so Camilla and the inhabitants will be spared from
slaughter.
The power and
beauty of art is an important motif in Prince
of Foxes, which is no surprise, considering the setting is Renaissance
Italy! Orsini first wins the respect and affection of Dona Camilla when he
meets her at an art dealer’s shop and makes her a gift of a painting he was
going to sell. Later, at the castle, Camilla asks him to pain her portrait. Since
he is talented with the brush and has an eye for beauty, he accepts the commission,
thinking this will be a means of seducing her. But instead, his heart is open
to true love and honor through the project, as he learns that that the deepest
sort of beauty is found in the intangible things, which he must embrace before
he can fulfill his destiny and deepest desires.
I do have several
questions left unanswered: what made the assassin Belli spare Orsini’s life at
Borgia’s court? It’s left pretty much a mystery, but I must say that Everett
Sloane made a wonderfully ferret-like villain. Another question is how did the
rebels manage to toss Borgia out of the province at the end? All the odds were
against them, and the idea that they could just storm the place with farming
tools doesn’t really hold up to logic. It seems as if Orsini would have come up
with a more mentally stimulating plan. Lastly, why wasn’t the Lady Borgia, who
Orsini once courted, more vengeful after he ditched for another woman? I mean,
she’s a woman, she’s Italian, and she’s a Borgia!
The main thing that makes Prince of Foxes so special is its call to conversion and deep
spirituality running through all the action. It is a story of true nobility and
Christ-like sacrifice, transforming conversion, and death-defying courage. Unlike
many action and adventure films made solely for distraction, this production,
though sadly little-known, manages to penetrate the surface and reach for
deeper treasures. For those who appreciate this sort of depth, and who also love
a rousing tale of adventure set against the backdrop of historical fiction,
this classic is a must-see of the swashbuckler genre.
| Dona Camilla (Wanda Hendrix) speaks with Andrea Orsini (Tyrone Power) about his painting of her |
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