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Princess O’Rourke

Princess Maria (Olivia de Havilland), heir to the throne of an unnamed European country, has taken refuge in New York City for the duration of WWII.  With her is her uncle Holman (Charles Coburn), who shows particular concern she marry soon and produce male heirs.  He has someone picked out, a man for whom Maria quite clearly states she feels no attraction. 

On a flight to California, Maria, who is afraid of flying, takes too many sleeping pills.  When bad weather forces the plane to return home, the pilot, Eddie O’Rourke (Robert Cummings), co-pilot Dave Campbell (Jack Carson) and stewardess (Julie Bishop) aren’t able to wake her.  To further complicate matters, Maria is flying under the name Mary Williams, and she gave no address when she booked her flight. 

Eddie takes her home, but is careful to have Dave and his wife Jean (Jane Wyman) stop by to help him care for the heavily sedated woman. 

It isn’t long before Maria and Eddie have fallen for each other.  He still doesn’t know who she is, and royal constraints are pulling tight. 

Olivia de Havilland, Julie Bishop, Robert Cummings, Jack Carson

Olivia de Havilland later called this role “one of the most satisfying” she did while under contract to Warner Bros., even though it came at a turbulent time in her life.  Between the time filming was completed and the movie was released, she sued her studio in a move that would ultimately significantly weaken the studio system Hollywood was built on.  She won the lawsuit, but did not work for nearly two years while she was essentially blacklisted. 

This was the directorial debut for Norman Krasna, who was well established as a screenwriter by this time.  His work included such movies as Bachelor Mother and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.  Krasna won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay. 

Olivia de Havilland

The final scenes allegedly include an appearance by President Franklin Roosevelt’s dog Fala, although the truth appears to be the dog on the screen was a different Scottish Terrier.  Regardless, the pup plays an endearing part as messenger for Maria.  The princess has spent a restless night trying to resolve her problem. 

This is a pleasant, lightweight comedy, not of the calibre of the film to which it is so often compared, Roman Holiday, but it has developed a following of its own.  Olivia de Havilland has the poise and beauty to make her convincing as a princess, and Robert Cummings is a pleasure as the bewildered suitor who doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into by falling in love. 

It moves at a decent pace until the final scenes, when it starts to drag a little.  It has a stellar cast, strong script and overall, is a charming film classic movie fans will enjoy.