Norman Krasna's directorial debut didn't indicate amazing talent - some scenes are paced and staged awkwardly - but in the main this is a charming, affectionate fable. It has a strong set up - exiled European princess falls for regular joe pilot - and a team of strong comic actors: Bob Cummings, Charles Coburn, Jack Carson, Jane Wyman. They help prop up Olivia de Havilland, who is a delight and likable and all that stuff... not a great comic but the others can do that for her.
There's not a lot of jokes - it's more a charm piece. There is deception - it is Krasna after all - with de Havilland not telling Cummings she's royalty until two third in.
The film has a genuine sense of fun and camaraderie as Cummings, de Havilland, Wyman and Carson hang around town - de Havilland helps out at a woman's auxiliary service and so on.
I wasn't wild about the last act where Cummings got all uppity because he was just going to be a prince consort and accused de Havilland of being a slave - which had a point in a way but the fact is you know his solution is to be a slave to her. With a little tweak this could be made non problematic.
This is the quintessential Cummings part - he plays a flyer, an amiable guy, with a big female co star and strong support players. He and Krasna should have worked together more because the results were always effective when they dd.
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