Princess O'Rourke (1943)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Writer Norman Krasna had received three Academy Award nominations for his original stories or screenplays (most recently for The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)) by the time he tried his hand at directing his first film, this one. Since he only directed two more films in his career, once in 1950 and again in 1956, one might assume that he preferred writing.For this romantic comedy, Krasna finally earned his only Oscar (on his last nomination) for an Original Screenplay. His creative story about an incognito princess out of her native country who meets and falls in love with a commoner predates by 10 years the better known classic Roman Holiday (1953) (its three different writers would share Oscar nominations and Academy Awards for their similar story and screenplay).Olivia de Havilland plays Princess Maria, who lives with her Uncle Holman (Charles Coburn) in exile, because of World War II, in New York City. Count Peter (Curt Bois) wants to marry her, but she doesn't love him even though Holman expresses concern about their country's succession (e.g. she needs a male offspring, an heir). However, he's also concerned about his niece's well being, so he sends her to San Francisco under an assumed name, Mary Williams, to improve her state of mind and/or broaden her horizons. Because of bad weather and too many sleeping pills to combat her fear of flying, she ends up back in New York in the apartment of the plane's pilot, Eddie O'Rourke (Robert Cummings). It's not what you think, she was passed out and he was chivalrous not lecherous. He assumes she's a war refugee and she doesn't enlighten him. Instead, they begin dating during which she meets his married friends, Jean & Dave Campbell (Jane Wyman & Jack Carson), who naturally quarrel a bit (providing additional comic relief).When Holman finds out about Maria's beau, he has an agent investigate the pilot and is delighted to learn that Eddie is from a large family of boys (as was Eddie's father). Things get rather complicated, diplomatically, at this point. The princess is willing and able to marry a commoner, provided that he'll renounce his U.S. citizenship, which is of course a showstopper for him. It's all resolved in a rather cute (if incredible) way, with Harry Davenport as the Supreme Court judge who performs the ceremony at the White House, the President (FDR) and his dog.

As others have noted, this 1943 film bears more than a passing resemblance to William Wyler's 1953 film, "Roman Holiday" which turned its leading actress, Audrey Hepburn, into an Oscar-winning, overnight star. "Roman Holiday" is considered a classic of the romantic comedy genre, but its predecessor, "Princess O'Rourke" has been forgotten with the exception of occasional showings on TCM.The plot: lonely, unhappy Princess Maria (a lovely Olivia De Havilland) is on an American public relations tour during the midst of WWII while her exiled family remains in the UK. Her uncle (Charles Coburn) gruffly supervises her every minute. Frustrated and bored with her structured schedule and her very limited social circle, Maria sees herself as a caged bird. That all changes when she plans to travel to the west coast and due to series of misunderstandings is drugged with a host of sleeping pills. As a result, she passes out on her plane's pilot, Eddie O'Rourke, (Bob Cummings) who has no idea who she is due to her traveling incognito. She wakes to find herself in Eddie's bed and even wearing his pajamas! Intrigued by what occurred the previous night because she can't recall, Maria agrees to go out on a date with Eddie and his two married friends (Jack Carson and Jane Wyman). Maria keeps her true identity secret while romantic sparks fly with Eddie, who feeling the pinch of time with his about to join the service and feeling sorry for this "poor refugee" recklessly asks her to marry him?!?! Of course, Maria knows she can't marry an American commoner, but there is the possibility that wartime contingencies could make an exception.If you've ever seen "Roman Holiday" then a lot of the above plot synopsis should sound familiar. Everything from the lonely princess to the inadvertent drugging to the meeting by chance the handsome young American to her waking in his bed wearing his pajamas to keeping her identity secret while enjoying a typical date to the princess knowing her obligations prevent her from following her heart appeared to have been taken from this film and imported to "Roman Holiday." However, Norman Krasna, who wrote "Princess O'Rourke" and received an Oscar for that script, is not credited for "Roman Holiday." Nor is there any evidence of a lawsuit being initiated for copyright infringement even though it appears it would have been a slam-dunk case."Roman Holiday" is a superior film. "Princess O'Rourke" is even fluffier than that romantic film. It also bogs down with WWII propaganda and really loses its way with its unbelievable happy ending. It appears the creators of "Roman Holiday" recognized the stuff that worked, but also were smart enough to ditch the stuff that didn't. "Roman Holiday's" bittersweet ending is one of the big reasons it's remembered as a classic, but "Princess O'Rourke" couldn't resist giving its WWII audience a cheap smile at the end which is probably a big reason why it's forgotten.

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.