Watch The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg For Free

Absolutely the worst movie.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Blistering performances.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Entertaining film. I watched the film on mute as the modern score (by Carl Davis) is terrible and anachronistic. I played the soundtrack to "The Kiss" a Synchronized picture from 1929 along with the film to have a more authentic viewing experience. The film would have been better with a few songs added from Romberg's 1924 operetta, but MGM didn't start adding talking sequences to their films until late in 1928.Navarro and Shearer and great together. It's a shame they didn't make more films together.

I disliked this story the first few times I saw it because of the selflessness (look it up ... in an Ayn Rand dictionary) demanded of the Student Prince.Seeing it again on Turner Classic Movies on 3 Nov 2015, in a marathon of Norma Shearer movies, I was so overwhelmed by the performance of Miss Shearer I could almost overlook the psychological destruction of Karl Heinrich.If Norma Shearer has ever given a better performance, I've not seen it and really can't imagine a better. She was lovely, and her character "Kathi," was innocent, beguiling, strong-willed, honest, exuberant, simply adorable. Simply wonderful.Henceforth, I am a confirmed Norma Shearer fan, a worshiper.Jean Hersholt has a great role as a lovable tutor who realizes the lonely little boy who is Crown Prince needs a friend as much as he needs a teacher.That Crown Prince is beautifully played by Ramon Novarro, whose career later fell on hard times for some reason, but who was so great in so many silent films, including this one and "Ben Hur."He was a good-looking young man, and more than capable. Watch his eyes, and his expression, especially during the drinking scene as the Crown Prince arrives at the school in Heidelberg. Especially watch his eyes. Magnificent performance.And watch him when he's told "Duty. Obligation. Tradition." Collectivist concepts are so destructive of human happiness.How an individual human being is subordinated to collectivist concepts is one key element of "A Student Prince" and we get a suggestion of why everyone needs to read I Samuel 8, for a look at the other side of the point of that biblical chapter.As sad as "A Student Prince in Old Heidelberg" ultimately is, it is still a classic film, with a superb cast in the sad story, and one reason it is a classic is its director: Ernst Lubitsch was one of the absolute masters of this visual art. (He directed a 1925 version of "Lady Windermere's Fan," the Oscar Wilde story. Just imagine a silent version of that talkative author's work! Yet Lubitsch pulled it off -- beautifully.)Carl Davis, a marvelous modern composer, is probably the perfect choice to create a score for a silent -- or talkie -- film, and he produced the one used here, adding one more layer of art and beauty to a moving movie.Obviously I do recommend, highly, "The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg."

I watched this delightful film on TCM last night. What a revelation! Although the print quality has clearly suffered over the years, the high quality of the original production values shines through. The famous Lubitcsh Touch is all over this sweet, moving film.The acting is also superb! Navarro and Shearer give believable performances as a star-crossed couple in turn-of-the-century Germany. Navarro, in particular, gives a pitch-perfect portrayal of a reluctant prince who longs only for a simple life surrounded by school-friends and his first love.Also giving a beautiful performance as the prince's tutor and mentor was Jean Hersholt.I have never particularly enjoyed silent films - many seem to me to be overly melodramatic. But this film changed my opinion. The actors and director were able to communicate so much with very few dialog cards. It made me realize what was lost when talking pictures took over and everything became more literal.Even if you don't think you like silent films, give this one a try.

This a delightful film full of humanistic touches-- from young Prince Karl's playful relationship with his good-natured mentor, Dr. Juttner, his carousing and drinking with the students in Old Heidelberg, to his paddling upon lakes and taking mad carriage rides with the beautiful barmaid, Kathy-- it's all at once side-stitchingly funny, bittersweet, romantic and a nostalgic tribute to youth and young love. The film is made with such a deft touch that, to the end where Prince Karl returns to visit Heidelberg, it never becomes schmaltzy. It is consistently charming and ends on a pitch perfect note. A real crowd pleaser. Highly recommended.