The Swan

A beautiful, romantic movie, witty script with a few laughs, all around good acting, great costumes, a wonderful building to Grace Kelly and Louis Jourdan telling each other they love each other. All around a great movie, and I highly recommend it, but still I was disappointed in her choice at the end between the man she loved and becoming a princess, or was it Louis' choice? Was it a playing out of "he loved her enough to give her up"?

Purchased this to replace a VHS. Grace Kelly in one of her most memorable and alluring roles. Alec Guinness as the Crown Prince who is destined to marry Kelly, but has difficulty closing the deal. Unexpected, often comedic, twists and turns which throws the entire situation into an uproar.

I had just read a book on Grace Kelley's life. It told of all the movies she had made. I bought the VHS movies. I loved watching this beautiful actress perform. She got better in her acting with each one she starred in.

Just a sweet story, and it was especially enjoyable to see the beautiful Grace Kellyin such a role, and then to think she actually married and became a Princess in true life.So sad about her accidental death.

good

Super! Lovely to watch Grace Kelly in this old movie. It's tough to find nice movies nowadays, don't you agree?

Very nice movie, my favorite old time stars, Good movie.

One of Grace Kelly's final two releases in 1956 ("High Society" being the other), prior to her royal marriage and disappearance from film history, "The Swan" has been mostly absent from the public eye, until this new release from Warner Archives. Yes, there is a pan-and-scan VHS floating around, and I had a letterboxed laserdisc that was certainly the best way to see this film (unless TCM showed it once in a great while), but the new Warner DVD finally brings the film into sharper focus than it has been for many years, and it proved to be a pleasant surprise. The letterboxing is very good and very necessary to appreciate the beauty of the palatial settings (both outdoor and on the set), capturing the magic of the original Cinemascope, and although the color seems a bit pale at times, it is probably accurate for the time, when 1950s color was being toned down in favor of the muted tones we were about to see throughout the next several decades of filmmaking (oh, for the glory days of Technicolor!)Grace Kelly was a variable actress in terms of range and versatility, generally best used by Hitchcock in "Rear Window" and "To Catch a Thief," where his ability to bring out her humor and sensuality were unbeatable. Perhaps a bit overpraised for her Georgie in her Oscar-winning performance in "The Country Girl" two years before (let's not get started on the Judy Garland Oscar loss) and a bit underpraised for her Tracey Lord in "High Society" (not Hepburn, it's true, but surprisingly effective nonetheless and very game), her performance in "The Swan" never quite becomes the centerpiece of the film that it should be. As the fledgling princess who would be a queen, her performance is inconsistent; her "shy" scenes are not quite believable, and her aggressive scenes are not much better. She needs to hold the center of this film, which is truly a comedy of manners based on an old play by Ferenc Molnar, but something is missing. Perhaps director Charles Vidor (whose distinguised career highlights were the fabulous Technicolor gloss of "Cover Girl," the black-and-white ambisexuality of "Gilda" and above all, the romantic hard-knock realism of "Love Me or Leave Me") was the wrong director for this piece of gossamer flimflam. Similarly, Louis Jourdan as the lovelorn tutor spends too much time mooning and swooning over Grace, and when he turns angry, it just seems petulant and not very interesting (give me his Gaston in "Gigi" any time).No, what makes this piece come to vibrant life is Alec Guinness as the amused and amusing monarch, who comes in search of his queen. Sir Alec may be remembered best by the mass of moviegoers for his "Star Wars" appearances, or his obsessive colonel in "River Kwai," but his performance here is more reminiscent of the small, droll British farces of the early 1950s turned out by Ealing Studios ("Kind Hearts and Coronets," "Ladykillers," "Man in the White Suit"). Of the three principals, only Guinness gets the real humor of the piece. He is immeasurably aided by the stellar supporting cast (Agnes Moorehead, Estelle Winwood, Leo G. Carroll, Brian Ahearne, the priceless Jessie Royce Landis) who all exhibit a similarly light touch that his type of film demands.All in all, a pleasant way to spend two hours in a neverland setting. You may tune in for the beauty of Ms. Kelly and M. Jourdan, but it is Sir Alec that makes this fairytale magical.

A subtle film that might be appreciated by the fans & admirers of the late Princess Diana.