The Royal Bed

Name: The Royal Bed
Director: Lowell Sherman
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1931
Duration: 1 h 13 min
Cast: Lowell Sherman, Mary Astor, Anthony Bushell, Hugh Trevor, Nance O'Neil

1931 Comedy 73 minutes Directed by Lowell Sherman

About The Royal Bed

Princess Anne means to elope with Freddie Granton, secretary to King Eric VIII. Queen Martha has already arranged Anne's marriage to Prince William of Grec. A revolt led by Laker and Doctor Fellman is brewing, and Premier Northrup wants dictatorial powers. Eric mislays the death warrants, fires Northrup, names Fellman, and calls an election. Martha comes home and says the revolution was a bluff. Eric marries Anne to Granton and sends them to France.

Cast & crew

More about The Royal Bed

Lowell Sherman directed and plays King Eric VIII. William LeBaron produced. J. Walter Ruben adapted Robert E. Sherwood's 1928 play The Queen's Husband. Leo Tover photographed it. Max Steiner wrote the music. RKO released the English version in the United States on January 15, 1931. A French-language version, with a French cast, was set for November 30, 1930, through United Artists in French-speaking countries. Running time is given as 72 to 73 minutes.

Themes

A king who will not sign the warrants
A princess's elopement against a state marriage
A revolution that turns out to be a bluff
King Eric VIII
Princess Anne
Queen Martha
elopement
RKO
The Queen's Husband

Background

Sherwood's play The Queen's Husband opened in 1928. RKO filmed it during the pre-Code seasons, when a royal bedroom farce could still joke about elopement and a fake revolution.

Making

Sherman was acting in and directing RKO comedies in the early sound years. The palace scenes are played as a Sherwood satire: a king who would rather misplace a warrant than sign it.

Look

Leo Tover photographed the palace sets for the English version.

Music

Max Steiner composed the score.

Preservation

A copy is on the Internet Archive. The film also exists in a French-language version prepared for United Artists.

Notes

Mary Astor plays Princess Anne. Anthony Bushell is Freddie Granton. Nance O'Neil is Queen Martha. Hugh Trevor is Prince William.
Robert Warwick is Premier and General Northrup. Gilbert Emery is Phipps. J. Carrol Naish is Laker.
Eric's mistake with the death warrants is what knocks Northrup out of office.
The queen's return reveals that the peasant revolt was staged.
RKO made only a few pictures in both English and French at this date. This is one of them.

Scenes

Anne plans to leave with the king's secretary while her mother books Prince William.
Eric loses the death warrants and calls an election instead.
Martha announces the revolt was a bluff, and Eric sends Anne and Granton to France.