Le prince des acteurs

Except for the 1937 John Ford movie, THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND, this film is the most centered on the story of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. But that said, it misses the effectiveness of being definitive like Stone's interesting (if flawed) JFK. The film is based on Eleanor Ruggles biography (of the same name) of Edwin Booth's career. So the central figure is Edwin, probably the greatest American actor of the 19th Century. Richard Burton, as a growing Shakespearean actor, was perfect as the talented Edwin. His father, the talented but eccentric and alcoholic Junius Brutus Booth Sr, is played by Raymond Massey (ironically the same actor who played Lincoln in ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS, and John Brown in SANTA FE TRAIL and SEVEN ANGRY MEN). As the egotistical John Wilkes Booth we have the young, still promising John Derek.

The movie only goes from 1852 (when Junius Booth died) through 1866, when the American public showed Edwin Booth that it did not hold him or his family guilty for the stupid, vicious act of his brother. It does not carry the story down to Booth's death in 1893, with his success as the definitive Hamlet of his age, and his failure as a theatrical producer. Edwin Booth worked until about 1891, due to the debts he accumulated. But his last years were stable, with his second wife. He also found time to create the Player's Club (still located in his Gramercy Park brownstone). Only the tragedy of the President's death at his brother's hands left a really brutal mark on him.

Derek does the most with his role - showing the strong desire for "real fame" that took control over John Wilkes. As his character kills the character played by Massey in one film, he ironically also attends the hanging of John Brown - historically correct. But his intricate plot to first kidnap Lincoln and then kill him, and his relations with other conspirators is not really gone into. Still, the assassination, chase, capture, and death of the assassin are done fairly correctly. But to get the tone of the government's prosecution of the conspirators, see John Ford's film.

I've been known to say Richard Burton is the only person who can speak Shakespeare with the ability to get me to understand what he's saying. In Prince of Players, I got a real treat as he showed Hollywood audiences for the first time his talent in the difficult Shakespearean language. Hamlet's soliloquy, the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, and Richard III's winter monologue are all performed by Richard as his character tours the country acting in various shows.

He plays the brother of John Wilkes Booth (portrayed by John Derek) and the son of a famed Shakespearean actor who already built up a great reputation with his fans. Ever since he was a little boy, he idolized his father's (Raymond Massey) talent and passion for Shakespeare. Raymond often drank too much and had trouble with his performances, and young Richard would help him. Sometimes he recited the lines alongside his father from backstage, so it's no wonder he would grow up and follow in his footsteps, aided by his manager Charles Bickford.

You might think this movie would be about the presidential assassination and how the Booth family was affected, but that's a very short part of the movie. The vast majority follows Richard during his acting tours across the country and his romance with a fellow actress, Maggie Magnamara. They enjoy a whirlwind courtship, but that's the only cutesy part of the movie. This is a drama with family tension, tears, fears, and a heartbreaking score from Bernard Herrmann. If you don't reach for your Kleenex during the opening credits, you must not be a classic music lover. It tells you everything you need to know about the story, and it's beautiful. And with Richard Burton and John Derek to look at, there's no end to the beauty in this movie.

Prince of Players is a movie that was a near-miss when it premiered in the Box Office and was considered to be rather dull. Even so, the title of the film is somewhat looks to be misleading as it is actually Burton as Edwin Booth, the brother of the infamous John Wilkes Booth. As well his usual early on-screen performances, Burton himself also did Booth "on-stage" in those Shakespearean plays.

The film received some poor reviews around the time it hit the big screens and was Burton's first failure in the Box Office and Burton may have been miscast as the leading character. In the whole, the film's saving grace should be Burton's superb voice and over the years, should perhaps lead to a slow change in attitudes from the critics choice.

Once past the dated nature of a movie like this from the days when movies had more wordy scripts, we see Richard Burton as a classical actor in his youthful prime.

There is more than one script for this relatively obscure movie. The story of the two Booth brothers, Edwin and John Wilkes, during the Civil War is interwoven frequently with full recitations of Shakespearean excerpts, centuries older. As a skilled movie actor of the mid-20th Century playing Edwin, a leading 19th Century stage actor, young Burton imbues the role with a darkness that became his hallmark in later years.

For an actor known for bringing a more natural style to the Bard's works, Burton had to feel challenged to incorporate exaggerated gestures and profound speech characteristic of an older dramatic age into Shakespeare's lines. At times a play's lines are delivered with a different meaning in the context of the movie.

Maggie McNamara's performance as Mary Devlin, the wife who tames Edwin's darker spirit, should not be overlooked. She has a delicate but assertive quality in this production very different from her role as Maria Williams in Three Coins in the Fountain from the year before.

Overall, an excellent showcase piece for Burton early in his career.

Richard Burton plays Edwin Booth in "Prince of Players," also starring Raymond Massey, John Derek, Maggie McNamara, and Charles Bickford.

The story takes us through the young Edwin growing up, traveling with his famous actor father, and at times standing in for him. Eventually he himself becomes a great actor, and in fact, was known as the greatest Hamlet of his day. But personal tragedy strikes in his marriage and in his brother John's assassination of President Lincoln.

John Derek makes a dashing John Wilkes Booth, handsome and charismatic. Massey, a man who played Lincoln on film and recording as well, is the elder Booth and is excellent as the flamboyant drunkard. And it's wonderful to hear him recite Shakespeare.

"Prince of Players" was a showcase for Richard Burton. In 1955, when this film was released, he was young, handsome, and extremely romantic looking. Classically trained, he possessed, as he always did, a magnificent voice and a great talent. To hear his Shakespearean recitation in this film is a real treat, and there is a lot of it, including Hamlet, Richard III, and Romeo & Juliet. Sadly, Burton came from a poor Welsh family and never got over it. In pursuing movie money, he took roles in mediocre films and did very little stage work, though he shined in "Camelot" and "Equus." His last Broadway appearance, shortly before his death, was a disastrous "Private Lives" with his ex-wife Elizabeth Taylor. His fans, however, choose to remember this sweet and charming person as a glorious Prince Hal in Henry IV and as Hamlet. How wonderful that film audiences can hear his gifts forever in "Prince of Players."