Princess O'Rourke
| Princess O'Rourke | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Norman Krasna |
| Produced by | Hal B. Wallis |
| Written by | Norman Krasna |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Friedrich Hollaender |
| Cinematography | Ernest Haller |
| Edited by | Warren Low |
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Production
company |
Warner Bros. Pictures
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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93 or 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.3 million (US rentals) |
Princess O'Rourke is a 1943 romantic comedy film. The film was directed and written by Norman Krasna (in Krasna's directorial debut), and starred Olivia de Havilland, Robert Cummings and Charles Coburn. Krasna won the 1944 Academy Award for Writing: Original Screenplay.
Although conceived as a vehicle for de Havilland, Princess O'Rourke turned out to be a troubled project that led to the de Havilland Law, that changed the status of contracts in the U.S. film industry. Filmed in 1942, the release was held up for one year due to legal issues that resulted from the production.
During World War II, Princess Maria (Olivia de Havilland) and her uncle Holman (Charles Coburn), exiles from their (unnamed) conquered European country, live in New York City. Holman hopes that his niece will marry and produce a male heir as soon as possible, but she is not interested in his preferred choice, Count Peter de Chandome (Curt Bois) or the other candidates that he has suggested.
While flying to California incognito as "Mary Williams", the princess—fearful of flying—is given too many sleeping pills. When the Douglas DST airliner returns to New York because of bad weather, the crew cannot wake her. The pilot, Eddie O'Rourke (Robert Cummings), takes care of her, still unaware who she is. She wakes up the next morning in his apartment wearing his pajamas.
To explain her absence, Maria tells her uncle that she slept at the airport. She spends the day with Eddie, his friend and co-pilot, Dave Campbell (Jack Carson), and Dave's wife Jean (Jane Wyman) (who had put Maria to bed). "Mary" tells them she is a war refugee and was traveling to California to work as an upstairs maid. She and Eddie quickly fall in love. With both Eddie and Dave about to join the United States Army Air Forces, Eddie impulsively proposes to Mary. She accepts, but sadly believes that, as a princess, she cannot marry him.
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Wikipedia