User Reviews

Two buddies are making their last runs as commercial pilots before going into the Army Air Corps in this 1943 comedy romance. Robert Cummings plays Eddie O'Rourke and Jack Carson plays Dave Campbell. But Eddie's future is drastically altered when a woman passenger, Mary Williams, boards their plane heading for California. She is Princess Maria (from some undisclosed European country) who is traveling incognito. Olivia de Havilland plays Maria/Mary who happily takes sleeping pills from several people to be able to sleep on her flight from New York.

But bad weather at all points ahead soon forces the plane to return to New York. Only her royal guardian, Maria's uncle Holman, doesn't know about this until later. Charles Coburn plays Holman with his usual wit and frequently dry humor. Eddie takes charge of the sleepy drugged Mary and tries to locate her family, to no avail. Finally, he calls Dave and his wife, Jean (played by Jane Wyman), who go to his apartment where Jean puts Mary to bed.

From there the fun continues as Uncle Holman is joined by the U.S. State Department and police in trying to locate the missing princess. They think she has been kidnapped.

This is a light, fun film with a very far-fetched plot (the displaced royalty in America during the war). The cast all are very good, and it has some interesting little insights of history. I noticed that one of the shooting locations was the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. And, that dog that we see! Could it be President Roosevelt's own Scottish Terrier, Fala? According to sources, including Wikipedia, Fala was played in this film by a stand-in pooch named Whiskers.

Many movies about World War II have shown the preparedness at home in England, and some American home front films have shown women taking up jobs in industry. But I don't recall any film before this that showed emergency training and support by women in the U.S. I don't know if the women's support group here was real or fictitious but a couple funny lines came at its expense. When Eddie suggests they go see the sights together, Jean says she can't until later because it's her day to work with the women's volunteer group. Dave says, "She's a major lieutenant." Eddie says "A major lieutenant? There's no such thing." Dave says, "There is in her crew. Everybody's something. Mrs. Maloney is a double sergeant general colonel, second class."

Another plus in this film is a look inside an early 1940s commercial aircraft that had sleeping berths. People today may find it hard to believe, but before deregulation of the airline industry in the late 1970s, airlines used to offer many amenities on board. My first flight was in 1962, but I had never seen a plane with sleeping berths. The one the boys are flying in this film seems more like a Pullman railroad car inside the cabin. Pullman sleeping cars were a thing of the past by the late 1960s, but a number of older films have scenes that show us what they looked like.

Bob Cummings actually served in the Army Air Force during WW II. He joined in November 1942 and served as a flight instructor. While this film came out in late October, 1943, that was a year after it had been made. Cummings was taught to fly while in high school in Joplin, MO, by his godfather, Orville Wright. Wright and his brother Wilbur were the first men to build and successfully fly a plane – in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC.

Cummings gave high school friends rides in his plane. When the U.S. government began licensing flight instructors, Bob Cummings was issued the very first flight instructor certificate. Besides his flying credentials, Cummings had a very colorful background in acting. He successfully imitated an upper crust Englishman to gain stage roles in England and on Broadway. He later portrayed a rich Texan to get a start in films in Hollywood. In the 1930s he reverted to his real name and had a successful career in comedy, drama and mystery films, and on radio and TV shows through the 1950s.

Cummings isn't remembered much today, but he was well known and liked for his talent in the mid-20th century. He never became a super star, but played in some memorable films and with top performers of the day. He began using methamphetamines in the mid-1950s and his addiction hurt his career from then on and contributed to two divorces. He died of kidney failure and pneumonia at age 80 in 1990.

This film is light entertainment with some fine movie stars of the time. It's a fun film fit for the whole family.

When I sat down to watch this film, I frankly wasn't in the mood for a comedy. And I wasn't always impressed with Olivia de Havilland in comedies, although I felt she was one of best actresses of her generation. However, this turned out to be quite a pleasant romantic comedy.

De Havilland and Bob Cummings had some fine chemistry on screen, and I've long felt that Cummings has been unfairly forgotten, despite some very fine performances in films such as Hitchcock's "Sabateur" and the fine comedy "The Devil And Miss Jones". Cummings plays an airline pilot here, who falls in love with a woman he doesn't realize is a princess. Of course, Cummings ruined his film reputation when he moved to television and -- in the mid-1950s -- got into amphetamines.

There's a good supporting cast here, as well. Charles Coburn is one of the best of the character actors, although I can't say this is his best role. Jack Carson is the best friend, Jane Wyman the best female friend, Harry Davenport as a Supreme Court Judge, Gladys Cooper as a governess and secretary, and Minor Watson as a diplomat. Unfortunately, the film is so focused on De Havilland and Cummings that the supporting actors don't get as much screen time as they deserve.

The one real criticism is the running gag early in the film about sleeping pills. It is important to the story, but it went on too long.

However, all things considered, this is a pleasant and entertaining film. It's a light comedy, and not the heavy duty drama in which de Havilland excelled, and it's a great film for Cummings. It's worth a watch.

I almost gave this film a 7, since despite the film's many deficiencies it is so much fun. My advice is try to look past the silly excesses and improbabilities and you'll find a film that is both charming and a modern fairy tale.

Olivia De Havilland plays a princess staying in America during WWII. It seems that her own country was overrun by the Nazis and she is waiting out the war in the US. While I am a HUGE, HUGE fan of Miss De Havilland, I must say that her part in the film wasn't all that compelling--she played an overly stiff character. However, this was made up for by the bubbly performances of Jane Wyman, Jack Carson, Charles Coburn and especially Bob Cummings.

Olivia is constantly watched by her uncle as well as keepers from the State Department and she has many official duties that seem to bore her. As a result of a desire to see Americans as they really are, she leaves her hotel and eventually bumps into Wyman, Carson and Cummings. They mistake her for a penniless refugee and take her under their wing. While it is pretty predictable, she and Cummings fall in love and decide to marry--even though Cummings has no idea she is a rich princess. When he does find out, you'd think the movie was about finished, but this isn't the case. There's still about 20 to 30 minutes left in the film. Despite my assuming her uncle (Coburn) would be against the marriage, he is thrilled--especially since Cummings' family seems chock full of boys and fertility doesn't seem to be a problem! But, other problems do develop and are eventually worked out, thanks to the help of FDR and his dog, Fala! Yes, I am NOT kidding!! An adorable Scottie plays Fala (the world famous dog of President Roosevelt) and while this is almost embarrassingly ridiculous, it's also pretty cute. My advice is to watch this film but just tun off your brain during the final portion of the film--it's so unbelievable and schmaltzy that your head will explode unless you can force yourself to cope with this!

Writer Norman Krasna had received three Academy Award nominations for his original stories or screenplays (most recently for The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)) by the time he tried his hand at directing his first film, this one. Since he only directed two more films in his career, once in 1950 and again in 1956, one might assume that he preferred writing.

For this romantic comedy, Krasna finally earned his only Oscar (on his last nomination) for an Original Screenplay. His creative story about an incognito princess out of her native country who meets and falls in love with a commoner predates by 10 years the better known classic Roman Holiday (1953) (its three different writers would share Oscar nominations and Academy Awards for their similar story and screenplay).

Olivia de Havilland plays Princess Maria, who lives with her Uncle Holman (Charles Coburn) in exile, because of World War II, in New York City. Count Peter (Curt Bois) wants to marry her, but she doesn't love him even though Holman expresses concern about their country's succession (e.g. she needs a male offspring, an heir). However, he's also concerned about his niece's well being, so he sends her to San Francisco under an assumed name, Mary Williams, to improve her state of mind and/or broaden her horizons. Because of bad weather and too many sleeping pills to combat her fear of flying, she ends up back in New York in the apartment of the plane's pilot, Eddie O'Rourke (Robert Cummings). It's not what you think, she was passed out and he was chivalrous not lecherous. He assumes she's a war refugee and she doesn't enlighten him. Instead, they begin dating during which she meets his married friends, Jean & Dave Campbell (Jane Wyman & Jack Carson), who naturally quarrel a bit (providing additional comic relief).

When Holman finds out about Maria's beau, he has an agent investigate the pilot and is delighted to learn that Eddie is from a large family of boys (as was Eddie's father). Things get rather complicated, diplomatically, at this point. The princess is willing and able to marry a commoner, provided that he'll renounce his U.S. citizenship, which is of course a showstopper for him. It's all resolved in a rather cute (if incredible) way, with Harry Davenport as the Supreme Court judge who performs the ceremony at the White House, the President (FDR) and his dog.

There is something pathetic about how World War II hurt the institution of monarchy throughout Europe (and nearly Japan as well). In Western Europe most of the monarchs fled the onslaught of the Nazi Blitzkrieg, the most notable exceptions being the rulers of Denmark and Belgium. But it is instructive to remember what happened to them. The King of Denmarck remained defiant of the Nazis (if basically powerless) and even (to his immortal glory) purposely wore a Jewish star on his royal tunic when the Nazis began imposing their anti-Semitic policies on the Danish Jewish population. On the other hand, King Leopold III of Belgium did not show a finer spirit (though he always insisted he did the right thing). Leopold willingly surrendered to the Germans and cooperated with them. His reason for this was to protect his people. This (of course) did not include the Jewish population in Belgium. After the war the Allies were not very happy with Leopold (as they were with the Danish King). Neither were the Belgians, most of whom compared Leopold's cowardice (their view) with his father Albert's heroic defense of Belgium in World War I, that made King Albert one of the great heroes of his time. In 1951, Leopold had to abdicate in favor of his son Bauduin I. Leopold died in 1973, never recovering any popularity with his people.

Eastern Europe was similar, some monarchs proving heroic even to the point of death. King Boris of Bulgaria had to make a devil's pact with the Nazis in the face of Soviet aggression. But he refused to agree with the transportation of Jews (Bulgaria's population agreed with Boris - 90 percent of the Jewish population of Bulgaria survived World War II, the highest in all Europe among occupied countries). In 1943 he again refused, and died in some sudden, unexpected way while flying home from a meeting with Hitler. To this day poison or some other odd murder devise (depressurizing the cabin of Boris's plane has been suggested) may have killed him. The nation threw out the Coburg family as royal family when the Russians set up their puppet Communist regime. But when the Communists were finally overturned, the Coburgs were welcomed back. The monarchy wasn't restored, but the current head of the house was elected Prime Minister for awhile.

Most of those monarchs who fled settled in England or the U.S. or Canada for the duration. The only one who was able to return to his throne during the war was Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, as the British kicked the Italians out of that country. After the war the luckiest of the monarchs was Hirohito of Japan. Although there is still controversy about how deeply involved in the aggressions of the 1930s and 1940s he was (the title of one study, THE IMPERIAL CONSPIRACY, tells that suspicion), he was smart enough to know when to throw in the towel in the face of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was able to show to General Douglas MacArthur that he could be a damned good constitutional monarch. That's why Japan still has a royal family.

Only a handful of movies deal with the flight of the royals to Allied (but non-Communist) lands. The most notable ones are WHERE'S THERE HOPE, wherein Bob Hope is an unknown heir to a Balkan throne who has to be protected by Signe Hasso, and this film, PRINCESS O'ROURKE. Written by Norman Krasna (the screenplay won him an Oscar), it tells of how one of the heirs to the throne of an invaded kingdom (Olivia De Haviland) is mistaken for a maid by an American Air Force pilot (Bob Cummings), and how he and she slowly fall in love. The comedy works here as the story is built to show the so-called superiority of the equality of Americans (at least Caucasian, Christian Americans) over old world aristocrats and out-of-date monarchies.

There are some lovely bits in it. Charles Coburn plays De Haviland's uncle, a crusty old snob. But while initially opposed to the union, he begins changing his mind when he realizes that Cummings comes from a family of breeders (he has five brothers, and his father had seven, or some such set of numbers). Smiling and acting like he is considering purchasing a brood mare for breeding purposes, he keeps repeating those figures like they are a mantra. It is only when Cummings refuses the idea of his kids losing their American character and citizenship that Coburn's harsher snobbery returns.

The film is famous also for the appearance (in his only movie role) of F.D.R.'s "little dog Fala" as himself. The final sequences in the film were filmed at the White House (actually quite an achievement for any studio in wartime). The best moment is at the end, when Cummings upon leaving with his bride after a secret White House marriage tips an "aide" watching at the door. We never see the face of the aide in question, but I imagine afterward he roared with laughter while having a cigarette and possibly one of his own martinis.

Producer: Hal B. Wallis. Executive producer: Jack L. Warner. Copyright 23 October 1943 by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. A Warner Bros.-First National picture. A Hal B. Wallis production. New York opening at the Strand: 5 November 1943. U.S. release: 23 October 1943. Australian release: 11 October 1945 (sic). 8,659 feet. 96 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Brash American pilot woos European princess.

NOTES: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Award to Norman Krasna for Best Original Screenplay (defeating Dudley Nichols' Air Force, Noel Coward's In Which We Serve, Lillian Hellman's The North Star, and Allan Scott's So Proudly We Hail).

COMMENT: Although Bosley Crowther gave "Princess O'Rourke" a marvelously enthusiastic write-up in The New York Times (the film was a runner-up for his "Ten Best" of the year), and although Norman Krasna defeated unusually stiff competition to carry off the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, it is not a movie all that fondly remembered today. In fact it hasn't been aired for at least 40 years on my local television, though it's certainly a far more agreeable comedy than most of the junk that nowadays passes for hilarity. Lightweight it definitely is, but Krasna displays an appropriately light touch, drawing pleasant performances from his large and distinguished cast. Photography is most attractive, and art direction superb.

"Princess O'Rourke" may not be exactly Royal Command Performance material, but it's a most enjoyable way to spend an idle 96 minutes.

As others have noted, this 1943 film bears more than a passing resemblance to William Wyler's 1953 film, "Roman Holiday" which turned its leading actress, Audrey Hepburn, into an Oscar-winning, overnight star. "Roman Holiday" is considered a classic of the romantic comedy genre, but its predecessor, "Princess O'Rourke" has been forgotten with the exception of occasional showings on TCM.

The plot: lonely, unhappy Princess Maria (a lovely Olivia De Havilland) is on an American public relations tour during the midst of WWII while her exiled family remains in the UK. Her uncle (Charles Coburn) gruffly supervises her every minute. Frustrated and bored with her structured schedule and her very limited social circle, Maria sees herself as a caged bird. That all changes when she plans to travel to the west coast and due to series of misunderstandings is drugged with a host of sleeping pills. As a result, she passes out on her plane's pilot, Eddie O'Rourke, (Bob Cummings) who has no idea who she is due to her traveling incognito. She wakes to find herself in Eddie's bed and even wearing his pajamas! Intrigued by what occurred the previous night because she can't recall, Maria agrees to go out on a date with Eddie and his two married friends (Jack Carson and Jane Wyman). Maria keeps her true identity secret while romantic sparks fly with Eddie, who feeling the pinch of time with his about to join the service and feeling sorry for this "poor refugee" recklessly asks her to marry him?!?! Of course, Maria knows she can't marry an American commoner, but there is the possibility that wartime contingencies could make an exception.

If you've ever seen "Roman Holiday" then a lot of the above plot synopsis should sound familiar. Everything from the lonely princess to the inadvertent drugging to the meeting by chance the handsome young American to her waking in his bed wearing his pajamas to keeping her identity secret while enjoying a typical date to the princess knowing her obligations prevent her from following her heart appeared to have been taken from this film and imported to "Roman Holiday." However, Norman Krasna, who wrote "Princess O'Rourke" and received an Oscar for that script, is not credited for "Roman Holiday." Nor is there any evidence of a lawsuit being initiated for copyright infringement even though it appears it would have been a slam-dunk case.

"Roman Holiday" is a superior film. "Princess O'Rourke" is even fluffier than that romantic film. It also bogs down with WWII propaganda and really loses its way with its unbelievable happy ending. It appears the creators of "Roman Holiday" recognized the stuff that worked, but also were smart enough to ditch the stuff that didn't. "Roman Holiday's" bittersweet ending is one of the big reasons it's remembered as a classic, but "Princess O'Rourke" couldn't resist giving its WWII audience a cheap smile at the end which is probably a big reason why it's forgotten.