This is How Movies Should Be Made

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

You would honestly be most likely to look at Grace Kelly more than the other actors because, I swear she is just so beautiful and sweet. I would've loved if her character had a happy ending with Nicolas who was the teacher. Unfortunately, the girl had to choose over Alec McGuiness's character because he was a royal and the teacher wasn't.This is the first time ever in my lifetime that a good 1950's romance movie didn't have a happy ending. Maybe I should watch more 1950's movies and see if there are other good ones with unhappy endings lol!This was a really good Grace Kelly film I have to say!

Directed by Charles Vidor, with a screenplay by John Dighton (Roman Holiday (1953)), this average romantic drama with comedic elements stars Grace Kelly (The Country Girl (1954)), in the title role, as a Princess who hopes to (marry to) become a Queen. Ironically, production on this film was wrapped up (at the Biltmore House in North Carolina) just before Christmas, when Prince Rainier of Monaco, who had been corresponding with the actress since they'd met at the Cannes Film Festival (quite by chance, sometime earlier), visited her in Philadelphia, beginning his courtship which will culminate in their royal wedding.Kelly plays Princess Alexandra, a blonde icicle of a woman whose mother Princess Beatrix (Jessie Royce Landis, who also played Kelly's mother in To Catch A Thief (1955)) has prepared her for, and dreamed of, the day when their family could be reunited with the crown through marriage to Prince Albert, played wittingly as always by (now, Sir) Alec Guinness. So, in effect, Albert is the fish that Beatrix wants to "hook" for her willing daughter Alexandra, who's convinced to use her admiring "friend", and younger brothers' (Van Dyke Parks and Christopher Cook) tutor, Dr. Nicholas Agi (Louis Jourdan), to make the Prince jealous enough to show an interest in her. A problem arises when Agi, who'd lit an improbable candle for Alexandra, reads too much into her inviting him to the ball for the Prince, such that he believes he can miraculously rise above his class.Agnes Moorehead plays Albert's mom, the Queen, who appears briefly near the end of the film. Brian Aherne (Juarez (1939)) plays Beatrix's brother, now Father Hyacinth, whose insight and wise guidance proves invaluable to their "side" of the family. A nearly unrecognizable Leo G. Carroll plays Caesar, the subtle and all knowing family butler. Estelle Winwood plays Beatrix's older sister, and Alexandra's Aunt Symphorosa, who's facial expressions and "gasps" as well as her championing of Jourdan's character in the "love triangle" highlights several of the film's too few amusing scenes. Robert Coote plays Albert's ever present aide, Captain Wunderlich, whose valuable services allow the Prince to appear to be more in touch than he actually is; the Captain also "rescues" Albert from uncomfortable or otherwise boring situations. These "interventions" provide the balance of the remaining "funny" scenes.Besides the confusing and rather frustrating romantic triangle interactions that dominate the film's final third, the ending itself is especially downbeat, as are many of these "stiff upper lip", "one must not forget one's duty" royalty pictures ... though we do, finally, get an explanation for the film's title.

In one of those life imitates art situations Grace Kelly gave her farewell performance on the big screen playing a princess. She left the screen to become a princess, Princess Grace of Monaco. No Hollywood scriptwriter could come up with that.I wish she had left after High Society though. The Swan is a rather old fashioned drama set in 1910 with a royal family of some Ruritanian principality finding themselves in a financial bind. Jessie Royce- Landis and her three kids, Grace Kelly, Christopher Cook, and Van Dyke Parks will have to live in reduced circumstances and have to give up among other things, the royal tutor Louis Jourdan. That is unless mom can get visiting cousin Prince Alec Guinness interested in a royal match with Princess Grace. But when he arrives he's essentially quite indifferent to her. Which gets Jourdan's goat because he's crushing out big time.This kind of work without the accompanying publicity of Grace Kelly's real life wedding to Prince Rainer probably would have died at the box office. It's a story way too old fashioned for 1956 tastes let alone now. The choices that this family is forced to make would be imposed on most of royal Europe by the end of the decade, forced on people holding much bigger titles than this family has.No one set foot in Europe as this was shot in a recreated castle in North Carolina by the Vanderbilt family. Since that time the location has been used for several films. It certainly is one fine replica.In a recent biography of Alec Guinness it is reported that Guinness who got along with his co-stars did not with director Charles Vidor. It certainly didn't affect his performance. Guinness was a brilliant player but a strangely neurotic man who had a lot of issues.Grace Kelly did not end her acting career on a high note with The Swan. More like a middle C.

While there are some very funny moments in the film as well as a wonderful performance by Jesse Royce Landis as a scheming mother, the picture falls flat mainly due to the ending.Here we are happy to see that convention will be put aside as Grace Kelly would marry her true lover. Instead, we have an ending quite similar to "The Student Prince." It's as if everyone has to do their monarchical duty, no matter what the consequences.While radiant here and as always, Grace Kelly is rather boring, particularly at the beginning. She appears to be afraid of life. Ditto for Alec Guiness as the prince. With his dull speeches, he seems to finally wake up towards the end of the film.Brian Aherne does well as the uncle who turned to the priesthood to get away from the royal way of living. Ms. Landis is wonderful as she shows that even in the royal family, scheming shall prevail. She gets a good run for her money from Agnes Moorehead, who comes in and deftly steals her scenes away as Guiness's royal mother.No wonder Estelle Winwood lived to 103. Nothing probably ever bothered her and as a royal aunt in the film, she takes her place without misgivings.