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The Prince and the Pauper

The Prince and the Pauper

Drama · Adventure · 1977

Tom Canty is a poor English boy who bears a remarkable resemblance to Edward, Prince of Wales and son of King Henry VIII. The two boys meet and decide to play a joke on the court by dressing in each other's clothes, but the plan goes awry when they're separated and each must live the other's life.

Movie details

The Prince and the Pauper

1977 Drama · Adventure 1h 53m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

Tom Canty is a poor English boy who bears a remarkable resemblance to Edward, Prince of Wales and son of King Henry VIII. The two boys meet and decide to play a joke on the court by dressing in each other's clothes, but the plan goes awry when they're separated and each must live the other's life.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Prince and the Pauper?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Richard Fleischer

Written by

Pierre Spengler · Berta Domínguez D. · George MacDonald Fraser

Mark Lester

Mark Lester

Prince Edward / Tom Canty

Oliver Reed

Oliver Reed

Miles Hendon

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston

Henry VIII

David Hemmings

David Hemmings

Hugh Hendon

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine

John Canty

George C. Scott

George C. Scott

The Ruffler

Harry Andrews

Harry Andrews

Hertford

Court is in session

Put The Prince and the Pauper on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.