The First Gentleman

7/9/2022

Cecil Parker steals each scene in this flamboyant British Regency romance. He is the Prince Regent, elder son of King George III, whose daughter Princess Charlotte (Jean Hopkins) is enamoured of Prince Leopold (Jean-Pierre Aumont). Cavlacanti manages to keep the whole thing moving along in a jolly sort of fashion, with some jolly, period-style, scoring and some nice character parts from the likes of Margaretta Scott and the always reliable Hugh Griffith (this time as a Bishop!). A factual depiction? Well apart from the fact that the young couple really did exist, I can't say, but that doesn't really matter - it is an opportunity for a bit of a theatrical romp through early 19th Century British society that I found mildly entertaining - if perhaps twenty minutes too long.