Main Cast: Richard Kiley, Steven Warner, Bob Fosse, Gene Wilder, Joss Ackland
Release Year: 1974
Country: UK
Run Time: 88 minutes
Plot
Stanley Donen directed this lugubrious musical fantasy based on the classic Antoine de Saint-Exupery children's parable, featuring a musical score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe -- their first film score since Gigi. The simple story concerns a French aviator (Richard Kiley) who crashes his airplane in the middle of the Sahara desert and comes upon a young blonde prince (Steven Warner) from another planet. The Little Prince tells the pilot that he is inspecting the universe and stays in the desert long enough to convey to the pilot his impressions of the earth and stories of other planets he has visited. In a supporting role as a serpent that the Little Prince met amongst his travels in the universe, Bob Fosse stops the show with a slithery dance routine. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Considering the talent associated with The Little Prince, it's something of a surprise that the movie is no better than it is. Part of the problem is that the source material itself is so delicate that even small false steps have large negative consequences -- and the film is filled with false steps, large and small. Although Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe crafted a hummable and entertaining score, it is not among their best work; worse, its tone and style are frequently at odds with the story. It doesn't help that most of the numbers are not staged imaginatively and often seem fragmented. The major exception is Bob Fosse's sly and sinuous snake dance, which is the highlight of the film and a gem by itself. Gene Wilderis also a delight as the Fox, and Steven Warner is appropriately cute as the title character. Unfortunately, Richard Kiley is a bit of a bore as the Pilot; to be fair, he is not helped by some of the dialogue and by the difficulty of making believable a story that onscreen is blatantly obvious in its use of symbolism. Director Stanley Donen is off his form here; even his usual sleek visual style is missing, replaced with a gritty, grainy look that is not attractive. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Norman Reynolds - Art Director, Ronn Forella - Choreography, Bob Fosse - Choreography, Shirley Russell - Costume Designer, Stanley Donen - Director, Peter Boita - Editor, John Guthridge - Editor, George Hively - Editor, John Barry - Composer (Music Score), Douglas Gamley - Composer (Music Score), Alan Jay Lerner - Composer (Music Score), Frederick Loewe - Composer (Music Score), Angela Morley - Composer (Music Score), Alan Jay Lerner - Songwriter, Paul Wilson - Camera Operator, John Barry - Production Designer, Christopher G. Challis - Cinematographer, Stanley Donen - Producer, John Richards - Sound/Sound Designer, Bill Rowe - Sound/Sound Designer, Jim Willis - Sound/Sound Designer, Alan Jay Lerner - Screenwriter, Antoine de Saint-Exupery - Book Author
Based on the classic book of the same name by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, the fable tells the story of a pilot (played by Richard Kiley) forced to make an emergency landing in the Sahara Desert. There he is befriended by a young boy, the Little Prince from Asteroid B-612. In the days that follow, the Pilot hears about his past and various journeys throughout the Solar System. As he travels through space, the Little Prince encounters several strange grown-ups on different planetoids, all with a skewed way of looking at life. But it is not until he finally reaches Earth, that the Little Prince learns his most important life lessons of all (mainly from the Fox played by Gene Wilder, and the Snake played by Bob Fosse). These lessons the Little Prince shares with the Pilot, before he dies.
In 1973, Lerner and Loewe recorded the score at the Palm Springs Desert Museum, with Lerner on vocals and Loewe at the piano. It included "Matters of Consequence", which was cut from the film. It is one of only a few existing recordings of the duo performing together.
