A princess for America
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | A princess for America |
| Original title | The Princess Comes Across |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1936 |
| length | 76 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | William K. Howard |
| script |
Charles Brackett Billy Wilder Don Hartman |
| production | Arthur Hornblow Jr. for Paramount Pictures |
| music |
Phil Boutelje Jack Scholl |
| camera | Ted Tetzlaff |
| cut | Paul Weatherwax |
| occupation | |
| |
A Princess for America (Original title: The Princess Comes Across ) is a screwball comedy starring Carole Lombard and directed by William K. Howard from 1936.
action
The ocean liner Mammoth leaves Le Havre for New York. On board are Princess Olga of Sweden and Gertie, her girl. In reality, Olga is the burned down actress Wanda Nash from Brooklyn, who poses as a princess in order to get across the Atlantic for free and perhaps make a career in Hollywood. During the crossing, Olga meets Joe King Mantell, a well-known clarinetist, and immediately falls in love with the young man. At the same time, the captain learns that an escaped murderer is on board and that at least five police officers from different countries are trying to arrest him. The entanglements take their course and are made even more complicated by a corpse that keeps reappearing and by the intervention of a blackmailer who threatens almost everyone involved with revelations. In the end everything dissolves and Wanda and Joe find happiness.
background
Carole Lombard had quickly risen to become a popular actress in screwball comedies thanks to appearances in Love and My Husband Godfrey . A princess for America is a typical example of this genre, which enjoyed great popularity in the mid-1930s. Based on The Thin Man and The Ex Mrs. Bredford, the plot mixes romance with a crime story and seemingly endless entanglements, which are only resolved shortly before the end. The story is told quickly and contains a lot of surprising twists and turns. Fake noblemen were also a popular part of the comedies of the time, with Ginger Rogers playing a fake Russian countess in Roberta , Sylvia Sidney starring in a double role 30 Day Princess and Joan Crawford starring a well-born lady of English society in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney .
Carole Lombard interpreted her Princess Olga as a somewhat crude Greta Garbo parody, complete with Garbo's stretched speech and a mysterious look.
Reviews
The New York Times was not particularly fond of the film and Lombard and found harsh words:
“With the subtlety of a jackhammer, Paramount's new film tells the more than meager story about an ambitious girl from Brooklyn who poses as a princess and wants to make a career in Hollywood. Decorated with a few murders on board, a romance with a friendly clarinetist and the usual gold-and-ivory backdrops from Paramout, "A Princess for America" remains just an average-to-rather-boring comedy. "
In contrast, the lexicon of international film was benevolent:
“A successful example of the" sophisticated comedy "of the 30s; Enjoyable entertainment with pointed dialogues and some parodic excursions into the thriller genre. "
Web links
- The Princess Comes Across the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Background information at Turner Classic Movies
- numerous screenshots
Footnotes
- ↑ Frank S. Nugent: The Unfortunate Cases of 'The Princess Comes Across,' at the Paramount, and 'Nobody's Fool.' In: The New York Times . June 4, 1936 (English, online [accessed March 15, 2017]): “With the subtlety of a sledge hammer, the Paramount's new film pounds away at the pin-sized story about the ambitious Brooklyn girl who poses as a princess to win a Hollywood movie contract. Dressed up with a few shipboard murders, a romance with a personable concertina player and the usual gold-and-ivory Paramount settings, "The Princess Comes Across" just about gets across as a mild-to-boresome comedy. ”
- ↑ A princess for America. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 15, 2017 .