By 1937 we’d seen the swashbuckling Errol, noble Errol, rebel Errol, romantic Errol – here we have the Cool Big Brother Errol. Although our hero is top billed he doesn’t play the lead – that goes to Billy and Bob Mauch, some twins who made some shorts but this is their only real film of note.They are the leads, and this is definitely a kid’s film – it’s a kids fantasy, find out you’re identical to the king and get to rule a country (everyone does what you want), or if you become a pauper a cool sword fighter like Errol will come along and look after you like a big brother. There is no real love interest (a bar maid flirts with Errol), the plot is kind of simple.
Warners give the film the A treatment: Claude Rains is the villain, the cast also includes Henry Stephenson, Alan Hale (as a guard Rains sends to kill Edward VI – he has a so-so duel with Errol, it’s their first movie together) and Montague Love (playing an unsympathetic Henry VIII – the film sticks it to how he treated Catholics – was this due to the influence of the Legion of Decency?), Eric Wolfgang Korngold did a score (when you see William Keighley directed it really gives you a feeling the whole movie was a trial run for Robin Hood).
This is a solid, not sensational swashbuckler – it does drag a bit in places, like the ending running-around-at-the-coronation sequence, and feels as though it could have done with a bit more fun. Apparently Warners threatened to replace Flynn, who was asking for more money, with Ian Hunter or Patrick Knowles or George Brent – Errol is better than either of those would be but to be honest I don’t think it would have made that much difference.
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