O Escândalo da Princesa

As has been mentioned before, the sets, the scenery and the cast are beautiful, if mismatched. Sophia Loren is an actress I admire greatly, and one I think is underrated, having been cast in many roles for her looks, but this does her no favours. The story is lightweight, frothy and could have been fun, but the casting is wrong - as someone has mentioned before, she could hardly have been a child of her parents. The 'royals' are a conundrum - when is Hollywood going to learn that royalty don't behave like middle class hosts or hostesses - my shock at hearing Julie Andrews, as the queen in princess diaries say "I must go, I have a press conference, I can't keep them waiting" has never abated, the royals are above all that, and they certainly don't check tables or supplies when hosting a party. I think the casting was definitely a problem, a blend of so many nationalities in supposedly a European country, and while Princess Anne of Great Britain was a great horseman, I can't see it having been permitted when this film was supposedly based.(and the commentator was American?) That aside, the constant irritations of implausibilities and the bad, BAD scripts made this film mostly unwatchable. The American guy was OK (if forgettable), Sophia was OK, as were each of the cast individually,but what they had to deal with was desperate. It's a shame, this could have been highly enjoyable, as much fun as any lightweight film of that era. But someone was very lazy.

Sometimes, particularly when one is looking at a landscape or a portrait, beauty is sufficient. Movies are a different situation altogether and visual beauty is a bonus and certainly does no harm but it cannot carry a movie all by itself. John Gavin is beautiful but miscast and wooden where a more dangerous charm would have helped. Think Grant or even Sinatra but at least think alive. As to Loren, words fail me. The look (beautiful perhaps) is entirely wrong and she is no princess. If for no other reason her accent makes no sense and screams please oh please dub me, dub me, dub me even by the actress she called mother for no discernible reason. The eligible prince actually looks like Grace Kelly's real life prince but there is no Grace Kelly to lift his form into substance. The only performer who is even slightly acceptable is the divine and immortal Angela Lansbury who actually seems to be engaged. Fortunately, she doesn't have to listen to old Maurice beat a dead horse (i.e., his tired singing routine). Speaking of horses, the four-legged ones were cute but could only move the carriage, not the plot. On the whole, I'd rather be in Pittsburgh, with or without a horse or anywhere else, as long as it is with Ms. Lansbury.

A lot of talent was wasted in this uninspired remake of 'His Glorious Night', based on a Molnar Play. The lovely Sophia Loren is beautiful to look at as a spirited Ruritanian princess falling in love with the stereotyped brash American industrialist. There are no new ideas here. Visually, it's appealing, but with all the talent involved, it should have been much better.

In 1960 this film did not receive audience attention because there were other film being shown that the public wanted to see, like "Psycho" and many other films. Most Sophia Loren films were not as popular in America and so Carlo Ponti brought his wife back to Europe and she made a very successful film, "Two Women" which won her an Academy Award and brought Sophia great notoriety. In this picture, Sophia plays the role as Princess Olympia who is a very wild and beautiful young lady who gets into all kinds of trouble. Sophia rides her horse one day and an American named Charlie Foster, (John Gavin) and his automobile scares the horse and the Princess falls to the ground and she plays games with Charlie making believe she is hurt, but she really likes him and wants to spend the night with him in a lodge. Charlie has no idea this pretty gal is a Princess and they both get along very well, with her sleeping in his pajamas and her waking up and the bottoms of the PJ's are missing. This is a great comedy and Maurice Chevalier, (Prince Philip) gives a great supporting role as Princess Olympia father along with Angela Lanwsbury, (Countess Lina) who is a gossip and trouble maker getting into everyone's private lives. Michael Curtiz directed this picture and he was a famous director who produced many great films.

This is a really beautiful and charming film with a wonderful cast. Sophia Loren has never looked more lovely in the role of Princess Olympia alongside the handsome John Gavin in the role of Charlie Foster. Maurice Chevalier is absolutely delightful as Prince Philip as is his on-screen wife Isabel Jeans in the role of Princess Eugenie. The settings are simply beautiful in different palaces around Vienna such as the Belvedere and Schoenbrunn. The Austrian countryside is also delightful. I loved the music as well. A young Angela Lansbury also makes an appearance as the devious Countess Lina. It is a lovely and enchanting film.