The Prince as a Film Star

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 301, 15 September 1933, Page 16

The Prince as a Film Star

(Reuter— Special to “The Dominion.”) “'THE Prince of Wales has appeared in a new role—that of film star. And I dare say not the most; famous film star in all Hollywood can command the Prince’s ‘box office’ appeal,’ writes the “Looker-On,” from London. “‘The Prince of Wales,’ the screen record of the Prince’s life, was shown for the first time in London on the eve of the Prince’s 39th birthday and in the presence of a brilliant gathering. “The performance, was in aid of the League of Mercy, and £12,145 was rais-

“ *The Prince of Wales’ is a fascinating picture of a fascinating personality. It is over 6000 feet long and was selected from the 70,000 feet of silent and talking pictures taken since the Prince’s investiture at Carnarvon in 1911. The Prince himself helped in the editing and some of the sequences are from his own collection of films. “It is another ‘Cavalcade,’ covering a period of twenty-two years; a faithful picture of an epoch with the Prince as the central character. We saw him as a small boy (a very charming small boy), and we watched him grow into manhood. We were shown glimpses of him during the Great War,, when he served in France and learned to love the British ‘Tommy.’ 'But the most enthralling section of this first screen autobiography concerns his globe-trotting as Ambassador-in-Chief to the British Empire. “We go with him from China to Peru —not to mention Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, .Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil. Unfortunately, no film record was made of the Prince’s Indian tour, so we miss that colourful episode in his travels.

“One vivid moment in Africa of the Prince in the act of photographing a charging wild elephant, literally brought the audience to their feet in sheer excitement Nothing that has yet come out of Hollywood has surpassed it for thrills.

“Then we saw the Prince as a sportsman—at golf, polo, steeplechasing, flying. And,’ in the last section of the film, we watched the Prince performing a multitude of public duties — once fulfilling seventeen public engagements In one day. We saw him visiting' the unemployed, helping them, laughing with them, encouraging them.”