Norman Krasna

(On Cable TV, June 2022) Even the least consequential movies can poke at big issues, and what’s interesting about Princess o’ Rourke isn’t as much the incognito-princess romance, but the way the film makes backflips in order to fulfill the twin dualities of the American character. To wit: many Americans like to think of themselves as fierce independents of exceptional character, but at the same time roll over like subservient pets whenever confronted with an authoritarian figure. Yes, sure, I’m talking about the crazy turn that the right-wing has taken toward authoritarianism over the past few years, but I’m also referring to how monarchic figures still inspire romance. In Princess O’Rourke, the humble-class male lead is a supporting player to the female protagonist (Olivia de Havilland, beautiful and clearly in a star vehicle made for her) who passes herself off as a humble maid rather than an authentic princess of unspecified European origins. The fun begins when the commoner discovers that his newest crush is of aristocratic stock and finds himself uneasy at the decorative role he’s meant to play. That rugged American individualism must manifest itself! That’s when the backflips from writer-director Norman Krasna come in – Princess O’Rourke’s climax is set in the White House, with the character making a big speech about what it means to be American and no less than Franklin D. Roosevelt himself and a Supreme Court judge intervening to ensure that the happy couple gets married in a way that allows the lead to get a princess for himself while not compromising his American character. Whew. There’s more interesting material in the film’s making-of and legacy – most notably in de Havilland using the film to sue Warner Bros and get a landmark decision that would chip away at the studio system—but it’s all around a trifle of a film that ends up playing with concepts much bigger than it intended to pursue. It makes for fascinating viewing, especially for non-American viewers who aren’t as close to American Exceptionalism as the film’s intended wartime audience. Propaganda was strong in WW2-era Hollywood, and it manifests itself in more entertaining fashion here than in the overtly militaristic films of the same era.