Student Prince, The (DVD)

US Import

Prince Karl is in love -- with a barmaid! The ways of the heart clash with the mandates of state-arranged marriage in this regal Hollywood adaptation of the operetta by Sigmund Romberg, the composer whose life was the subject of the biopic Deep in My Heart. Edmund Purdom, lip-synching the rich singing of tenor Mario Lanza, portrays the on-screen Karl and Ann Blyth, who starred opposite Lanza in The Great Caruso, is the Heidelberg sweetheart the prince meets during what is supposed to be a final revelry before his royal wedding. Hermes Pan, choreographer of many Astaire-Rogers classics, brings Oktoberfest joy to the staging of several numbers. And let's drink, drink, drink to a supporting cast that's particularly regal: Louis Calhern, Edmund Gwenn, John Williams, S.Z. Sakall and Betta St. John. Cheers!