La petite exilée

Olivia de Havilland shows once again that she can play a quiet, timid young lady as she had done 4 years earlier in the epic "Gone With the Wind."

Cast opposite a wonderful Robert Cummings, as Eddie O'Rourke, the two provide an absolute great chemistry between them in this wonderful film.

My only surprise here is that Gladys Cooper, as a secretary, has so little to do here.

As always, Charles Coburn is terrific, especially by showing his comic and dramatic abilities in films. The scene where he tells Eddie to get out is just great.

The picture just proves over and over that wealth and status can't bring you happiness.

The odd-ball meeting between the Princess and Eddie provides for so much fun here. Rounding out the cast is Jane Wyman and Jack Carson, as the married friends of Eddie.

The scene where Mary (Olivia) is willing to do anything for the war effort was quite humorous. She is better than any princess, the woman is no snob. Eddie shows his mettle when he refuses to give up his American citizenship by marrying a foreign princess. He wishes to do his patriotic duty, the great theme for American films during World War 11.

It is, after all, 1943, so you've got to expect a little propaganda from a film, even if it is a comedy called "Princess O'Rourke," starring Olivia de Havilland, Robert Cummings, Jack Carson, and Jane Wyman. DeHavilland is a princess visiting in New York, en route by plane to San Francisco to escape from boredom. Before she leaves, she gets a sleeping pill from her uncle's secretary (Gladys Cooper) but when it doesn't work immediately, she gets another one from the flight attendant, one from the copilot (Jack Carson), and finally, two from the pilot, Eddie (Robert Cummings). Then she can sleep. Unfortunately, the plane has to turn around and return to New York and the princess can't be awakened. Eddie takes her to his place to sleep it off - all very chaste, of course - and the two fall in love.

Olivia de Havilland is very beautiful and was one of the best actresses in Hollywood. Alas, she didn't always get a chance to show it. But she is certainly lovely as a young woman torn between loyalty and love. Her sleeping pill scene and the scene where her uncle discusses a possible American suitor with her are wonderful and demonstrate her impeccable timing. Jack Carson and Jane Wyman are delightful as Eddie's friends, and Cummings gives an energetic performance as Eddie. In the film Eddie's birth date is given as 1914; Cummings was actually born in 1908 and was around 33 when the movie was made (though released in 1943, the film was made over a year earlier). He retained his youthful appearance well past the 1950s, during which time he played a swinging bachelor in his television series. Charles Coburn provides excellent support, and Gladys Cooper is totally wasted in a role that she must have been assigned for some contractual reason.

"Princess O'Rourke" enters the realm of whimsy when the President and his "little dog Fala," as Roosevelt referred to his buddy, take a hand in the romance. The dog playing Fala is excellent! One interesting bit of trivia: It's rare to see a film released 63 years ago in which two of the stars are still alive (in fact, it's rare to see a film released 63 years ago in which even one star is alive), but at this writing, both de Havilland and Wyman are still with us. So is "Princess O'Rourke." It's light and enjoyable.

Yes, it's a wartime movie, with some fairly subtle propaganda thrown in. Yes, it's a formula romance. Well, I'm afraid I love formula romances. And I guess I can even respect propaganda when it's done with panache and sincerity.

Norman Krasna's screenplay is the real star. Watching the film I was constantly amazed at how the dialog sparkled, how the situations never worked out in quite the way I expected, how the characters always seemed just a little warmer and more human than they might have in many similar films of this era.

The cast is excellent as well, consisting entirely of Hollywood stalwarts, every one of them at their most endearing. Jack Carson, Charles Coburn and Jane Wyman are all great, of course. But Olivia De Havilland is also perfectly cast, lovable on one hand, regal on the other... yet without that slightly simpering quality that made her less likable in, say, The Adventures of Robin Hood, or Gone With the Wind. Robert Cummings was a fine comedic actor who is not well-remembered today, perhaps because he was less multidimensional than someone like James Stewart; but he's used to excellent advantage here. He's not just portraying the perfect everyman Yank; he IS that (perhaps mythical) person, the Guy From Brooklyn. And, yes, the perfect wartime Yank, who's just got to join up and be in "the biggest fight of all time, and the most important." Just as Bogart had to go be a hero at the end of Casablanca. These wartime films earn much of their charm by being unashamedly part of their times.

But ultimately, it's the little touches that raise this film far above the ordinary. The extended gag with the multiple sleeping pills; the silly little bits with the president's dog... These don't distract from the warmth of the film, they add to it.

Perhaps we undervalue a film like Princess O'Rourke simply because the material and the style are so familiar. We need to step back and admire the Hollywood dream-factory at its finest, working to a certain format, yet also bringing together the talented individuals who could make that format sing.

I'll take a wonderfully-executed "formula" film like Princess O'Rourke any day, over self-consciously brilliant films that forget the basics of how to entertain.

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.