Speaking of historical films...and up MBarnum's alley, historical fiction:
I watched the Warner Brothers 1937 "The Prince and the Pauper" on DVD. What a sweet surprise it was to find this film in such marvelous condition.
This has long been a favorite film...since seeing it on TV in the early 1960s. Errol Flynn is at his swashbuckling (and young Flynn) best. The Mauch twins -- Billy and Bobby -- are my favorite leads in the many filmed versions of this story. It has been decades since I read the novel. The film's dialogue is a bit "of its day" (i.e., the 1930s)...at one point, the prince falls into Flynn's arms crying about his "dad" (Henry VIII, who has died). I don't know if Twain ever put the word "dad" into either of his boys' mouth. Maybe...
The casting is marvelous...the accents a bit muddled among the poor. When the film opens and a boy has been born to Henry and his wife, the mob are exclaiming about the new Prince of "Wiles" (i.e., Wales with a Cockney accent, I'm guessing). They don't even try an accent on other words...just "Wiles".
Still...it's a cracking good movie and features a rousing Erich Wolfgang Korngold score (not a great one, but better than most other composers of that time...and this time).