Irishchatter I thought it was really funny at the beginning when the princess had a couple of sleeping pills, and then, being dragged by the pilots who found her not waking up. Seriously, Olivia de Havilland done that scene so well that I cant believe shes still alive today and is 100 years old! She really reminds me of Audrey Hepburn and her love interest on this, Robert Cummings reminds me of Frank Sinatra. They both really are a good match like it was a good idea to have them on together in this!Im glad it even won an Oscar, although I wouldn't expect it to get that far but De Havilland I think really made this film shine! Its very good, please watch this if you like royal romance films!

utgard14 Lovely romantic comedy about a princess (Olivia de Havilland) who falls in love with an American pilot (Robert Cummings). He falls for her, too, but the problem is he thinks she's a maid, not a princess. Charming, fun movie with an extremely likable cast. In addition to de Havilland and Cummings, there's fine support from Charles Coburn, Jack Carson, Jane Wyman, Harry Davenport, and Gladys Cooper. What a lineup! This one's pretty underrated. The more famous Roman Holiday owes a lot to this film. Also worth seeing for Olivia's bath scene, which I found pretty risqué for the time. That's probably the most skin Olivia ever showed on screen. She's beautiful in this, one of her best romantic comedy roles. Love the cute bit with FDR's dog, too.

theowinthrop There is something pathetic about how World War II hurt the institution of monarchy throughout Europe (and nearly Japan as well). In Western Europe most of the monarchs fled the onslaught of the Nazi Blitzkrieg, the most notable exceptions being the rulers of Denmark and Belgium. But it is instructive to remember what happened to them. The King of Denmarck remained defiant of the Nazis (if basically powerless) and even (to his immortal glory) purposely wore a Jewish star on his royal tunic when the Nazis began imposing their anti-Semitic policies on the Danish Jewish population. On the other hand, King Leopold III of Belgium did not show a finer spirit (though he always insisted he did the right thing). Leopold willingly surrendered to the Germans and cooperated with them. His reason for this was to protect his people. This (of course) did not include the Jewish population in Belgium. After the war the Allies were not very happy with Leopold (as they were with the Danish King). Neither were the Belgians, most of whom compared Leopold's cowardice (their view) with his father Albert's heroic defense of Belgium in World War I, that made King Albert one of the great heroes of his time. In 1951, Leopold had to abdicate in favor of his son Bauduin I. Leopold died in 1973, never recovering any popularity with his people.Eastern Europe was similar, some monarchs proving heroic even to the point of death. King Boris of Bulgaria had to make a devil's pact with the Nazis in the face of Soviet aggression. But he refused to agree with the transportation of Jews (Bulgaria's population agreed with Boris - 90 percent of the Jewish population of Bulgaria survived World War II, the highest in all Europe among occupied countries). In 1943 he again refused, and died in some sudden, unexpected way while flying home from a meeting with Hitler. To this day poison or some other odd murder devise (depressurizing the cabin of Boris's plane has been suggested) may have killed him. The nation threw out the Coburg family as royal family when the Russians set up their puppet Communist regime. But when the Communists were finally overturned, the Coburgs were welcomed back. The monarchy wasn't restored, but the current head of the house was elected Prime Minister for awhile.Most of those monarchs who fled settled in England or the U.S. or Canada for the duration. The only one who was able to return to his throne during the war was Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, as the British kicked the Italians out of that country. After the war the luckiest of the monarchs was Hirohito of Japan. Although there is still controversy about how deeply involved in the aggressions of the 1930s and 1940s he was (the title of one study, THE IMPERIAL CONSPIRACY, tells that suspicion), he was smart enough to know when to throw in the towel in the face of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was able to show to General Douglas MacArthur that he could be a damned good constitutional monarch. That's why Japan still has a royal family.Only a handful of movies deal with the flight of the royals to Allied (but non-Communist) lands. The most notable ones are WHERE'S THERE HOPE, wherein Bob Hope is an unknown heir to a Balkan throne who has to be protected by Signe Hasso, and this film, PRINCESS O'ROURKE. Written by Norman Krasna (the screenplay won him an Oscar), it tells of how one of the heirs to the throne of an invaded kingdom (Olivia De Haviland) is mistaken for a maid by an American Air Force pilot (Bob Cummings), and how he and she slowly fall in love. The comedy works here as the story is built to show the so-called superiority of the equality of Americans (at least Caucasian, Christian Americans) over old world aristocrats and out-of-date monarchies. There are some lovely bits in it. Charles Coburn plays De Haviland's uncle, a crusty old snob. But while initially opposed to the union, he begins changing his mind when he realizes that Cummings comes from a family of breeders (he has five brothers, and his father had seven, or some such set of numbers). Smiling and acting like he is considering purchasing a brood mare for breeding purposes, he keeps repeating those figures like they are a mantra. It is only when Cummings refuses the idea of his kids losing their American character and citizenship that Coburn's harsher snobbery returns.The film is famous also for the appearance (in his only movie role) of F.D.R.'s "little dog Fala" as himself. The final sequences in the film were filmed at the White House (actually quite an achievement for any studio in wartime). The best moment is at the end, when Cummings upon leaving with his bride after a secret White House marriage tips an "aide" watching at the door. We never see the face of the aide in question, but I imagine afterward he roared with laughter while having a cigarette and possibly one of his own martinis.

MartinHafer I almost gave this film a 7, since despite the film's many deficiencies it is so much fun. My advice is try to look past the silly excesses and improbabilities and you'll find a film that is both charming and a modern fairy tale.Olivia De Havilland plays a princess staying in America during WWII. It seems that her own country was overrun by the Nazis and she is waiting out the war in the US. While I am a HUGE, HUGE fan of Miss De Havilland, I must say that her part in the film wasn't all that compelling--she played an overly stiff character. However, this was made up for by the bubbly performances of Jane Wyman, Jack Carson, Charles Coburn and especially Bob Cummings.Olivia is constantly watched by her uncle as well as keepers from the State Department and she has many official duties that seem to bore her. As a result of a desire to see Americans as they really are, she leaves her hotel and eventually bumps into Wyman, Carson and Cummings. They mistake her for a penniless refugee and take her under their wing. While it is pretty predictable, she and Cummings fall in love and decide to marry--even though Cummings has no idea she is a rich princess. When he does find out, you'd think the movie was about finished, but this isn't the case. There's still about 20 to 30 minutes left in the film. Despite my assuming her uncle (Coburn) would be against the marriage, he is thrilled--especially since Cummings' family seems chock full of boys and fertility doesn't seem to be a problem! But, other problems do develop and are eventually worked out, thanks to the help of FDR and his dog, Fala! Yes, I am NOT kidding!! An adorable Scottie plays Fala (the world famous dog of President Roosevelt) and while this is almost embarrassingly ridiculous, it's also pretty cute. My advice is to watch this film but just tun off your brain during the final portion of the film--it's so unbelievable and schmaltzy that your head will explode unless you can force yourself to cope with this!