People are voting emotionally.

A Disappointing Continuation

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

This film has a lot to recommend it. It is has some rather beautiful scenes (the scene of Henry VIII on his deathbed with his jester at the foot of the bed lingers long in the memory and deserves to be in a better film), some good fights and an all-star cast. Oliver Reed in particular puts in his usual charismatic performance. There is some impressive technical wizardry by which Mark Lester is made to appear as his own twin. But I agree with other reviews that Lester is not up to the task of the central role unfortunately. He is too old, for a start. That would not not necessarily be a problem except he is involved in some fight scenes and appears to be too gangly and delicate an adolescence to be able to best his opponents. Nor does he have much presence and one gets the distinct impression that the all star cast was drafted in to distract from his rather dull performance. Still it is worth watching.

Nice adaptation from Mark Twain's classic also titled ¨Crossed Swords¨ with a top-of-the range cast . It's a Richard Fleischer's gorgeous film plenty of action , costumed adventure , humor , swashbuckling and lots of entertainment . The movie is very amusing and funny , capturing the flavor of the old times . On the same day two boys cross their fates : the pauper Tom and prince Edward (Mark Lester in double tole) . As a street beggar, Tom flees from pursuers and sneaks into the palace garden and meets the King Henry VIII (Charlton Heston) . Later on , the pickpocket Tom meets prince Edward VI , they change clothes with each other but the guards discover them and throw out the prince, since they are almost identical. Nobody believe them when they try to tell the truth and the young prince has trouble reclaiming his crown. Soon after, the old king dies and the prince will inherit the throne. The young prince turned beggar is aided by a swashbuckling soldier-of-fortune ( Oliver Reed who steals the spectacle as intrepid adventurer ) .The flick deals about the Prince Edward VI ,son of Henry VIII of England, who's replaced by a beggar and vice versa . The film mingles comedy, adventures, humor, tongue-in-check and history. The starring boy is excellent and Oliver Reed as the preceptor is sublime. Also are splendidly, the supporting roles : Rex Harrison , Harry Andrews , Charlton Heston , Ernest Borgnine , David Hemmings , George C Scott , all are magnificent , including Raquel Welch. In the movie appears several historical characters, such as Henry VIII, Edward VI , Duke of Norfolk , and Lady Jane, princess Elizabeth , both of whom will be queens.Colorful and evocative cinematography by Jack Cardiff . Imaginative score by Maurice Jarre who includes sensible chores . Direction by Richard Fleischer is very good . This is still one of the best versions along with the starred by Errol Flynn. This entertaining movie should satisfy young and old . Other adaptations about this vintage story dealing with mistaken identity between a prince and a child from the London slums are the following : The classic rendition ( 1937) by William Keighley with Errol Flynn , Claude Rains ; Disney version by Don Chaffey with Guy Williams , TV take on ( 2000) by Gilles Foster with Aidan Quinn ; furthermore , several versions on cartoons .

My parents recorded this when my brother and I were learning English Tudor history in school, and has never lost its spark, although perhaps I still see it through my child eyes! The sets and costumes are fantastic, the all-star cast are all well cast, there's plenty of action and adventure and Oliver Reed is particularly a gem. "Your fingernails are filthy!" Although Mark Lester is fairly wooden and old for this role, I still think he was well cast. Great film for all the family, lots of action and fighting sequences, although more from Heston, Harrison and Welch would have been better, and also less of the American accents!!

Touted as the latest answer to the 1973 version of "The Three Musketeers", this film can't hold a candle to the light wit, sumptuous splendor and game cast of the first film. (The movie even cribs no less than 4 actors from the prior film.) Based on the story by Mark Twain, it concerns a pick-pocketing urchin (Lester) who finds himself in the room of King Henry VIII's son (also Lester) and discovers that the two are virtually identical. They swap places as a lark and soon find themselves up to their necks in the problems of each others' lives. Lester, so adorable in "Oliver" years before, is a lanky, fright-wigged, one-note presence. On the occasions when he stands up straight, he TOWERS above everyone including the extras, looking gangly and awkward. He has a pinched facial expression and fraught eyebrows through the entire film...as both characters! This gets very old, very quickly. Reed shows up as a game, but bulky swordsman who aids the one who's stuck as a pauper. Second-billed Welch barely appears in the film, turning up at the very end (and looking stunning.) Four (count 'em) Best Actor Oscar winners round out the cast to no great effect, done in by the laggy direction and the uncreative script. Heston (with no authentic accent) unconvincingly and hammily plays Henry VIII to the one filling in as a prince. Borgnine (in another distractingly non-British accent) plays the urchin's overbearing father. Harrison has little to do (he's offscreen for a significant portion of the film) as one of Heston's political rivals. Scott has a cameo as a grizzled leader of thieves. The good things about the film (the sets, costumes, star wattage) are done in by the bad things (mundane storytelling, lazy cinematography, a ghastly, anachronistic score by Jarre.) The biggest flaw is the casting of Lester. So much hinges on him and he is just wrong for the role by this time. Comparing this so-so piece of work to the majestic, classy and rich "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers" is blasphemy.