Her Highness and the Bellboy

Hedy Lamarr is a princess in love with a commoner - and Robert Walker thinks he's the commoner - in "Her Highness and the Bellboy," a delightful 1945 movie that costars June Allyson and Rags Ragland.

Walker is one of Hollywood's most tragic stories - a talented actor whose personal problems led to a year-long institutionalization and later, his sudden death shortly after his brilliant work in "Strangers on a Train."

Here, he is energetic, fast-talking, and adorable as Jimmy, a clumsy bellhop assigned to Princess Hedy while she's in New York with her aunt (Agnes Moorhead). Hedy is fantastically beautiful, as always, though her part isn't very showy compared to the others.

June Allyson plays an invalid who lives upstairs from Jimmy and his buddy, played by Rags Ragland. She's very young, pretty, and sweet as a lonely young woman whose life is brightened by the constant entertainment of these two men.

She's in love with Walker, and when he develops a crush on Lamarr, her heart breaks. Lamarr is in love with a columnist, (a wooden Warner Anderson).

This movie seemed on the long side, but it's very warm and entertaining fare. Six years later, Walker will look as if he's aged 20 years. He's a light that went out too soon, and it's nice to remember him at his most vibrant.

This is a warm comedy and romance film with a very good cast that incudes two young stars who wouldn't have very long careers on the silver screen. As one or more other reviewers have noted, though, it's a bit strange for the time and setting and what it doesn't show. The film was made during World War II and released before the end of the war. Yet there's no sign of the war anywhere, including and especially the absence of any men in uniform. Well, that aside, the film has a nice story - sort of a mixture of smaller plots and some fantasy rolled together.

Austrian-born Hedy Lamarr plays a princess from one of those Hollywood mythical eastern European countries. But, she's been lonely and doesn't want to marry the count who's sort of been picked out for her, and she brings her entourage to the U. S. A. She hopes to rekindle a romance she had in the past with an American she had met in her home country. Of course, all of her court members are against her marrying a "nobody."

But, while she's staying at the unnamed swankiest New York hotel, she sneaks out to go for a walk on her own and bumps into Jimmy Dobson, a bellhop. He mistakes her for a new maid and discovers that she's a stranger and from a foreign country. So, he takes her under wing. On returning to the hotel after introducing her to hotdogs for lunch, he finds out that she's royalty. But, instead of his getting fired, he becomes her personal aid.

Now, before all this, Jimmy has been watching after an invalid neighbor, Leslie Odell, who lives with her aunt. June Allyson plays the young woman who had been a dancer but a shock of losing her parents left her unable to walk. Jimmy also acts like a big brother to Albert Weever, a not-too-bright but good-hearted thug of sorts. That's to keep him out of trouble. Albert had a bit of a record and some tough neighborhood boss wants Albert in his gang to pull a heist of some sort But, Albert likes Jimmy and sticks with him, and he also likes Leslie.

Well, with this somewhat convoluted plot of a few subplots, there's romance in the air. Leslie pines for Jimmy, Jimmy pines for the princess, the princess pines for her former beau, Paul MacMillan, Baron Faludi pines for the princess, and Albert himself pines a little for Leslie. The pining is further complicated by Jimmy's mistaken belief that the princess pines for him, and deep down, he really pines more for Leslie

It all works out in the end, but one has to watch the film to see how. The humor is mostly situational, with a peppering of some funny lines here and there. I mentioned two short careers - they were Lamarr and Walker. She was in 35 films and he in just 22 Lamarr was born in Austria and got her start in cinema in Berlin. She was discovered early and brought to the U. S. by MGM. She was one of the real beautiful women of Hollywood then. Not the glamorous but the natural beauties. She had some good roles and was popular to the time of this film, but her career waned after WW II and by the late 1950s she was done in films. She was married half a dozen times and died at age 85 in Florida living on a very small income.

Robert Walker was a very talented actor who had some very good roles. He could play comedy and drama equally well. He came from a broken family, which affected him emotionally for a long time. He played roles of characters who often suffered from anxiety and depression - his very problems. He died from an adverse reaction to a sedative that his psychiatrist administered after a bout of high anxiety.

In "The Princess and the Bellboy," Rags Ragland gives a superb performance as Albert, and June Allyson gives a very good performance as well. Here are some favorite lines from the film.

Jimmy Dobson, "Good evening, Miss Odell. How ae you this evening?" Aunt Gertrude Odell, "Poorly." Jimmy: Aw, that's too bad. I guess working nights doesn't agree with you." Aunt Odell, "Neither does workin' days."

Jimmy Dobson, "Well, you're a stranger here. A babe like you with a face like that - you've gotta be awfully careful in a world like this." Princes Veronica, "Careful of what?" Jimmy, "Ohhhh, things." Princess, "Things?" Jimmy, "Well... men. I'm sorry to say, but we can't be trusted."

Albert Weever, "I brought you some flowers - eh, fornot-me-gets." Leslie Odell, "Than you, Albert. I love fornot-me-gets."

Aunt Gertrude Odell, "I wish I'd been born a princess. Instead, I was born tired."

One of the best movies I've ever seen - and I've seen thousands. What I was expecting to be an empty but sweet chick flick turned into a really sweet story about appreciating the friends you have around you.

I have to say, this film has to have some of the best performances I've ever seen! Robert Walker is his usual adorable self, but I was greatly surprised and impressed by June Allyson's performance. This is my favorite of hers, as she is just so incredibly sincere and easy to love as Walker's invalid girlfriend, Leslie. Rags Ragland gives a brilliant performance as Albert, the slow, but loving friend.

Hedy Lamarr is of course, lovely, but she and Agnes Moorehead seemed to be totally overshadowed by Walker, Ragland, and Allyson who seem to steal the show right out from under them!

It's really a beautiful movie, that makes you think of who your friends really are.

Never realized that Robert Walker, "Strangers On A Train", ever played the role as a bellhop named Jimmy Dobson who gets involved with a Princess Veronica played by Hedy Lamarr who was so very beautiful and charming in 1945. Jimmy Dobson escorts Princess Veronica around the hotel and through out New York City and introduces her to Frankfurter's in Central Park. However, the Princess is really looking for a man in New York City after being divorced from another man. June Allyson,(Leslie Odell) is a young sweet charming girl who is bed ridden and is very much in love with Jimmy Dobson and there is a conflict between these two woman. This is a very cute film and the entire cast did a great job in their acting and comedy acts. Enjoy.

It's always a great thrill for me to see a long awaited film for the first time.This is a very hard title to obtain since the movie rights appear to be owned by TCM and they have not seen fit to issue it commercially on video yet.Don't they realise there is a whole army of movie buffs out there wanting to see these films?Certainly it has never even been shown on TCM in the UK to my knowledge.It seems one's only hope is to record it off TCM in the U.S.A. when they choose to transmit it.

I was fortunate in that my extensive American network was able to track down a copy to a dealer in the U.S. who specialises in rare videos.Well to the film!

Robert Walker is very good playing light comedic roles.His timing is good and in the central role of the bellboy he is...well...loveable.Its a similar part he was to play in "One Touch of Venus (1948) with Ava Gardner who he likewise addresses as "your majesty".Its a modern fairy tale where a European princess (the devine Hedy Lamarr), comes to New York to search for her American long lost love and to escape for a time royal protocol and the royal groom the court wants to assign to her.Her real love is a columnist on "The Gazette" who hangs out in a low dive and bar writing his stories for the paper.There is a touch of the plot of "Roman Holiday (1960) with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the storyline of the royal princess socialising and having a romantic relationship with a commoner.Due to a misunderstanding, the bell-boy thinks she loves him instead and he temporarily abandons his crippled girlfreind Leslie (June Allyson) who lives in the flat above his, painting dolls for a living. The main sub plot involves keeping his simple frind Albert from joining the local hoodlums since Albert was once in a boys reformatory and has picked up some rather unsavory company.When the king of Hedy's country dies she becomes Queen and has to return at once to her native country.Being a generous queen she invites the bellboy to come back with her and for one mad moment the bellboy thinks she is in love with him and he might even become king!!.Hedy is courageous and participates in a bar room brawl, even getting arrested by the cops, then giving the other arrested "dames" a valuable diamond-studded cigarette case as a keepsake of the evening.Her American boyfriend is also startled to see her carted off in the police wagon.

Of course, we all knew from the first that the bellboy would end up with Leslie his crippled girl friend whose incapacity the doctor informs us is probably psychosomatic and not a purely physical disability.She just needs love (don't we all!).In a moment of truth Robert Walker sees the light and tactfully declines Hedy's offer of a passage on the boat back to her country.This inspires the new queen to abdicate at once as she wishes to live for love in the U.S. as well and become just a plain Mrs with the man she loves.So of course it all ends happily ever after.

Hedy is of course utterly gorgeous to look at and in her prime.That genuine Viennese accent perfectly convincing us of her central European pedigree.She is attended by a duchess lady in waiting played by Agnes Moorhead who puts on a passable accent.Robert Walker is very effective in the role of the bellboy and his real love, June Allyson, warms to her part and even shows us a little dancing sequence.There is a very imaginative scene where she dreams that she can walk and meets her prince charming who transforms from a frog to a prince in a court presided over by a kingly Albert!I wonder, did Michael Powell get his idea for the dreamlike never ending stairway for "A Matter of Life and Death (1946)from the one shown in this sequence?

Everyone is portrayed in a very sympathetic light so no one goes to bed unhappy.Good old fashioned Hollywood story telling at its best.I rated it 7/10.