An unscrupulous agent for the Borgias suffers a change of heart when asked to betray a noble count and his much younger, very beautiful wife.An unscrupulous agent for the Borgias suffers a change of heart when asked to betray a noble count and his much younger, very beautiful wife.An unscrupulous agent for the Borgias suffers a change of heart when asked to betray a noble count and his much younger, very beautiful wife.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 1 win & 3 nominations total
Adriano Ambrogi
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Alan Asherman
- Soldier
- (uncredited)
Leslie Bradley
- Don Esteban
- (uncredited)
Eva Brauer
- Beatrice
- (uncredited)
James Carney
- Alphonso d'Este
- (uncredited)
Eduardo Ciannelli
- Art Dealer
- (uncredited)
Franco Corsaro
- Mattia
- (uncredited)
Eugene Deckers
- Borgia Henchman
- (uncredited)
Ludmilla Dudarova
- Vittoria
- (uncredited)
Giuseppe Faeti
- Priest
- (uncredited)
Kenneth Lang
- Soldier
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOrson Welles made this film during one of the several breaks in the filming of his own Othello (1951) (which he began in 1949 and which was not finished until 1951). Everett Sloane, whom he had cast as Iago in his own film, came with him into this one, with his role built up by extensive script rewrites by the uncredited Welles. This may have been partly an attempt by Welles to ensure that Sloane remained with him to complete "Othello"--but, in fact, Sloane walked off the film, creating an extra difficulty for Welles, who never forgave him.
- GoofsThis story takes place during the time of Cesare Borgia, who died in 1507; however, the first scene of the movie--which shows Borgia with other characters--takes place in a room decorated with a fresco of Saint Michael by Federico Zuccari, who was born around 1540, and who started to work in Rome during the reign of HH Pius IV (1559-1565).
- Quotes
Andrea Orsini: [looking at the dead body of Lucrezia Borgia's husband] Would you say the dead man made a reluctant corpse?
Don Esteban: A loose tongue soon loses its mouth, Captain Orsini.
Andrea Orsini: A wise tongue never needs to repeat itself, Don Esteban, nor does a competent assassin.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Saracen Blade (1954)
Featured review
Welles astounds with his undeniable greatness
Once again, Welles astounds with his talent. Even though he is not listed in this film's credits as director or writer, the great Welles has left indefatigable stamp of genius on this film. His fascination and artistic absorption with great, unbridled power, moral resistance to that power and the response of the artist has once again propelled him to greatness.
His is a fascinating, swaggering, bemused, sly (as the title implies) impression of the all-powerful Borgia and his near success at corrupting the artist, Orsini. Shades of Citizen Kane and Harry Lyme..?
Naturally, there is a weaselly accomplice (Sloan), and he is terrific too. I found Tyrone Power's performance more than adequate -- for once. Production values were good, too.
But the keynote of the entire production is the masterful Welles. His portrayals are a joy to encounter, maybe because he finds the rich and powerful entertainingly evil, while the rest of us poor mortals find them too intimidating to even acknowledge.
Who cares about Welles' "troubles with Hollywood"? Skip the gossip, people, and THINK about his characters' motives and behavior. And their relevance.
(Talk is cheap. It is easy for the American Film Institute to call Citizen Kane the number one movie of all time, but which side were they on when Welles was being persecuted by his Hollywood peers? And where are they now, when talented independent filmmakers are trying to get their "dangerous" films shown -- or recognized)?
The fact is, with or without support or financing, Welles was in a class by himself. His brilliant mind, rampant creativity, sheer acting ability, courage, originality and artistic integrity have yet to be matched.
There will never never be another Welles...
Back to Prince of Foxes. This is an underrated film. See it for Welles' sake, see it for a Renaissance flash, or just see it for Everett Sloan's eyeballs...
His is a fascinating, swaggering, bemused, sly (as the title implies) impression of the all-powerful Borgia and his near success at corrupting the artist, Orsini. Shades of Citizen Kane and Harry Lyme..?
Naturally, there is a weaselly accomplice (Sloan), and he is terrific too. I found Tyrone Power's performance more than adequate -- for once. Production values were good, too.
But the keynote of the entire production is the masterful Welles. His portrayals are a joy to encounter, maybe because he finds the rich and powerful entertainingly evil, while the rest of us poor mortals find them too intimidating to even acknowledge.
Who cares about Welles' "troubles with Hollywood"? Skip the gossip, people, and THINK about his characters' motives and behavior. And their relevance.
(Talk is cheap. It is easy for the American Film Institute to call Citizen Kane the number one movie of all time, but which side were they on when Welles was being persecuted by his Hollywood peers? And where are they now, when talented independent filmmakers are trying to get their "dangerous" films shown -- or recognized)?
The fact is, with or without support or financing, Welles was in a class by himself. His brilliant mind, rampant creativity, sheer acting ability, courage, originality and artistic integrity have yet to be matched.
There will never never be another Welles...
Back to Prince of Foxes. This is an underrated film. See it for Welles' sake, see it for a Renaissance flash, or just see it for Everett Sloan's eyeballs...
helpful•2818
- MissRosa
- Oct 3, 2000
- How long is Prince of Foxes?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Samuel Shellabarger's Prince of Foxes
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,500,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 47 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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