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Princess O'Rourke

1943, Movie, NR, 93 mins

Princess O'Rourke: Review

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Olivia de Havilland was already 27, but Jack Warner still thought of her as a blushing, gushing ingenue, insisting on casting her in frothy material rather than the dramatic roles she yearned to play. Such was the case with this film. Coburn is a European diplomat assigned to Washington. He brings his niece, de Havilland, to the US to find her a suitable husband. She's a princess and Coburn feels that the European husband-fodder is thin, what with all the intermarriages, and wants a good, strong American consort for the young woman. She soon wearies of his machinations and decides to vacation at a dude ranch in the West. Cummings and Carson are piloting a small plane, and de Havilland climbs aboard for the flight. She doesn't much enjoy flying so she takes a few sleeping pills to keep her drowsy during the trip. But she miscalculates the strength of the pills and goes deeply under. The plane takes off, hits bad weather, and must return to Washington. However, de Havilland is unconscious and cannot be roused. Having no idea who she is, Cummings, Carson, and Carson's fiancee, Wyman, take de Havilland to Cummings' apartment, where they hope to revive her. When she awakens, she is struck by Cummings and his charming ways and hardly any time passes before the two are in love. He asks for her hand and she accepts, but when they tell Coburn, the old man is stunned. He'd hoped for a Rockefeller or a Ford or a Getty, and he feels that Cummings is not worthy of marrying a princess. But de Havilland insists on marrying Cummings, and Coburn gives in, then arranges to have the wedding at the White House, where he is a guest of FDR. Davenport, a justice of the Supreme Court, will perform the service. When Cummings learns that he must give up his US citizenship to marry the princess, he calls the wedding off. But de Havilland loves Cummings so much that she gives up her royal standing and the marriage takes place, with FDR lurking in the background with his real dog, Fala. The famed Scottie even plays an important part in the story, acting as a go-between for the lovers. Roosevelt enjoyed the movie and liked being part of it, since the picture was witty, joyful, and had an underlying patriotic appeal, so important to the country in the dim days of 1943. Writer/director Krasna won an Oscar for his script. He joined the Army-Air Corps film unit immediately after finishing this picture, and didn't direct again until 1950 when he did THE BIG HANGOVER. leave a comment
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