The Princess and the Pirate

Infobox Film
name = The Princess and the Pirate


caption =
director = David Butler
producer = Samuel Goldwyn
ass. producer = Don Hartman
original story = Sy Bartlett
screen play = Don Hartman Melville Shavelson Everett Freeman Adaptation: Allen Boretz Curtis Kenyon
narrator =
starring = Bob Hope Virginia Mayo Walter Slezak Walter Brennan Victor McLaglen
music = David Rose
cinematography = Victor Milner William E. Snyder
editing = Daniel Mandell
distributor = RKO
released = 1944
runtime = 94 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 39215
imdb_id = 0037193

The Princess and the Pirate is a 1944 comedy film released by Samuel Goldwyn, starring Bob Hope and Virginia Mayo. This was the only appearance in a Goldwyn film by Paramount Pictures star Hope. It was a lavish pirate film with lots of action, filmed in Technicolor and with many great one-liners from Bob Hope.

The Plot with Spoilers

The Hook buries his treasure on an island and kills the map maker so no one else will find it. He and his cut-throat crew go after the "Mary Ann", a ship on which Princess Margaret is running away from her father, The King, so she can marry a commoner. The Hook plans to hold her for a large ransom. Sylvester the Great (Man of Seven Faces), actor is in the cabin next door to Margaret. The Hook's ship, "The Avenger" attacks the "Mary Ann" and after a big fight, the crew are killed or made to walk the plank by the pirates. Sylvester escapes by disguising himself as a gypsy woman and is taken on board "The Avenger" with Margaret.

The Ship's aged tattooist, Featherhead has taken a fancy to the gypsy which is all that saves the disguised Sylvester. It turns out that he guessed the gypsy was a man and involves Sylvester in his plot to get the Hook's treasure for himself. He gives him the treasure map and helps Sylvester and Margaret escape in a boat and they are to pass the stolen map to Featherhead's cousin on the pirate island of Casarouge. The couple make it to the island which is extremely bloodthirsty. The couple check in at the "Boar's Head Inn" where they are to meet the cousin (who at present is not on the island) and do an act at the "Bucket of Blood" to get some money to pay for their stay.

Margaret is kidnapped and Sylvester goes to the Governor (La Roche) to complain only to find out he was the kidnapper. La Roche has recognised Princess Margaret and plans on holding her for a million doubloon ransom. He stops Sylvester from leaving, planning to ransom him for 100,000 doubloons, sure that the King will want to hang him. Sylvester is well looked after and helps Margaret who is on a hunger strike. The Hook is in with La Roche and they threaten nasty things for the possessor of the map. Featherhead turns up under Sylvester's bed and knocks out Sylvester who wants to destroy the map to save his skin. Featherhead tattoos the map on the chest of the unconscious Sylvester and when he recovers, they both eat it.

After a meeting, the Hook guesses Sylvester is the gypsy who stole the map and returns to the Governor's house to kill him. The Governor sees the map on Sylvester's chest as the Hook arrives. The Hook chases him but is stopped from killing Sylvester by Featherhead who shoots him. As he has not returned, Pedro, the Hook's second-in-command leads a raid on the Governor's house to rescue the Hook and after a big fight, inadvertently rescues Sylvester who has disguised himself as the Hook, along with Margaret.

Back on "The Avenger", Sylvester as the Hook starts giving orders, not knowing that the real Hook has just been grazed by the bullet and is now also on the ship. Contradictory orders flow from the two different Hooks at different times, till Sylvester is unmasked. In chains and ready to kill themselves, "The Avenger" is attacked and they believe it is La Roche. It however turns out to be The King's ship and both are released (La Roche has been captured and has revealed all). The King says he is not going to stand in Margaret's way if she wants to marry a commoner and she rushes forwards. Sylvester is shocked as she passes him and into the arms of another man, Bing Crosby, who is playing a sailor. Indignantly, Sylvester says; "That is the last picture I do for Goldwyn" (which it was).

The Cast

* Sylvester = Bob Hope
* Margaret = Virginia Mayo
* Featherhead = Walter Brennan
* La Roche = Walter Slezak
* The Hook = Victor McLaglen
* Pedro = Mark Lawrence
* Proprietor (Bucket of Blood) = Hugo Haas
* Landlady = Maude Eburne
* Don José = Adia Kuznetzoff
* Mr Pelly = Brandon Hurst
* Alonzo = Tom Kennedy
* Captain of "Mary Ann" = Stanley Andrews
* The King = Robert Warwick

DVD release

MGM released this on DVD in 2005.

References

*" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037193/ The Princess and the Pirate] " at the Internet Movie Database.
*tcmdb title|id=87150
*amg title|id=1:39215