Der Pilot und die Prinzessin

Seeing Princess O'Rourke last night on TCM, it was interesting to learn that interiors at the White House were shot at the real location. And while the current president was occupied by something called World War II, he found time to have his well known Scot's terrier Fala make a guest appearance.

That is the real Fala you see playing message courier between Princess Olivia DeHavilland and the pilot from Brooklyn, Robert Cummings. She's a princess from some unnamed European country that is currently occupied by some jackbooted uninvited guests. Most of the royalty in exile settled in the United Kingdom during war time, but some actually did make it here. In fact Olivia's father the king is in London as the story goes.

And this is a Cinderella story in reverse with the boy from Brooklyn, meeting, wooing and winning a princess. Cummings is an airline pilot scheduled to go in the Army Air Corps who meets princess DeHavilland on a flight that gets canceled back to New York. A slight overdose of sleeping pills leaves her in his unwanted hands. The unwanted part changes soon enough as it does in all films of this type.

The ironic thing is while some royalty did make it back to their countries, a lot were dispossessed permanently by those other totalitarian occupiers from the East after World War II. They didn't exactly live in the diminished circumstances that Olivia was heading for. Some of Charles Coburn's concerns as her uncle are quite real.

Princess O'Rourke is a charming comedy though dated by its topical wartime references. Look also for nice performances by Jack Carson as Cummings's co-pilot and Jane Wyman as Carson's girl friend.

Pre-dating "Roman Holiday" by ten years is this charming little comedy about a runaway princess, this time in New York, falling in love with a commoner. Like "Roman Holiday" the part of the princess is played to perfection, this time by Olivia De Havilland. And she's matched well by Robert Cummings, with a brilliant supporting cast headed by Charles Coburn, Jack Carson and Jane Wyman.

Unlike "Roman Holiday" this film opts for an overly-simplistic solution that is neither believable or satisfying. It's quite fun though being in the White House and watching FDR's dog play an important role in the drama. And the Oscar winning script is pretty good until the finale.

But it is De Havilland that makes the film work. Early in the film she takes a number of sleeping pills, and her drugged acting is superb. She also has a very raunchy scene in a bath! She achieves a perfect balance between comedy and drama, and once again proves that she was one of the best actors of her generation.

Norman Krasna wrote a delightful script that is played to the hilt by Olivia de Havilland, Robert Cummings, Jane Wyman and Jack Carson--not to mention Charles Coburn. Interesting to note that de Havilland and Wyman would be up for Best Actress Oscars three years later (To Each His Own, The Yearling). Wyman was so impressive as Jack Carson's wise-cracking wife that Billy Wilder decided to use her for 'The Lost Weekend' in a more dramatic role. De Havilland's sleeping pill scene early on gets the film off to a breezy start--she even lapses into a little French (long before she became a Parisian in real life). All in all, she does a wonderful job as the Princess in love with commoner (Robert Cummings)and facing a few twists and turns of plot before the ending. John Huston, her boyfriend at the time, was said to have coached her in the role. Jack Carson and Jane Wyman have good supporting roles--and Charles Coburn has some amusing scenes as de Havilland's overprotective uncle. Ten years later, 'Roman Holiday' gave us another variation on this theme. One of de Havilland's better comedy roles.

A pilot falls in love with a woman he believes is heading cross country to become a maid, little suspecting that she's actually a princess.

Director: Norman Krasna Writer: Norman Krasna (original screenplay) Stars: Olivia de Havilland, Robert Cummings, Charles Coburn

Firstly, I have to comment that Olivia de Havilland looks absolutely beautiful in this movie. De Havilland really made this film shine! Norman Krasna wrote a delightful script that is played to the hilt by Olivia de Havilland ! Princess O'Rourke is a warm and heartfelt romantic comedy, a cute reversal of the Cinderella story with slight elements of slapstick, a good dose of wit, and some pretty cheeky and suggestive humor for 1943. The film's director, Norman Krasna, won an Academy Award for his clever screenplay. Princess marks Krasna's debut as a director . This is one of my favorite de Havilland films it is an under rated Romantic Comedy for sure. This is a hidden gem !

Princess O'Rourke isn't a well-known film , but it certainly has its charm. 8/10.

Lovely romantic comedy about a princess (Olivia de Havilland) who falls in love with an American pilot (Robert Cummings). He falls for her, too, but the problem is he thinks she's a maid, not a princess. Charming, fun movie with an extremely likable cast. In addition to de Havilland and Cummings, there's fine support from Charles Coburn, Jack Carson, Jane Wyman, Harry Davenport, and Gladys Cooper. What a lineup! This one's pretty underrated. The more famous Roman Holiday owes a lot to this film. Also worth seeing for Olivia's bath scene, which I found pretty risqué for the time. That's probably the most skin Olivia ever showed on screen. She's beautiful in this, one of her best romantic comedy roles. Love the cute bit with FDR's dog, too.