Prince of Foxes

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!

     Speaking of Italian women, one of the most important women in this movie was Andrea’s mother. The unusual way things played out seems likely to have found origin in her prayers for her son. When he is tortured by Borgia, she comes to care for him, obviously devastated by his condition, and he weakly murmurs, “Mama…mama…” This is such a touchingly human moment, and so reminiscent of Mary seeing her Son crucified. This whole scene was set-up by Borgia to prove to Dona Camilla that Orsini was of common stock, but she boldly responds that he was never nobler to her than at that moment.

   

    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