The Princess and the Pirate (1944)

A good laugh
This is a fun Bob Hope movie with wonderful additional acting by Walter Brennan too. A good farce in Bob Hope's classic style. My kids loved it too.

My copy of this cute movie worked just fine
This movie was not what I would call laugh out loud funny, but I did giggle a few times and it made me smile a often.

Bob hope as the cowardly vaudevillian was naturally funny, as expected. I had never watched a Virgina Mayo movie before. She was pretty, funny, and had a great singing voice. Maude Eburne was convincing as the landlady of the inn. She was just creepy enough to be funny. However, it was Walter Brennan as Featherhead who stole the show. He played a crazy pirate, who was smarter than he looked. I do not want to write more and possible divulge spoilers.

The makeup and costumes were just beautiful, especially the governor's clothes. The sets at times were a little phony, but not too bad considering that this movie was made in 1944.

Overall this movie was good and I would watch it again. I give it three and three quarters stars.

One of Bob Hope's best, a Hilarious Pirate Spoof!
When producer Samuel Goldwyn 'borrowed' Paramount's biggest comedy star, Bob Hope, for 1944's "The Princess and the Pirate", he provided the comedian with all the ingredients for a classic; a great script (by Everett Freeman, Dan Hartman, Melville Shavelson, and a host of uncredited Hope gag writers), a first-rate director (David Butler), a sexy co-star (Virginia Mayo), top-notch supporting players (including Walter Brennan, Walter Slezak, and Victor McLaglen), and a cameo by (who else?) Bing Crosby. How could the film miss? And to Hope's credit, the film still holds up as one of his best, over sixty years after it's release!

As entertainer Sylvester the Great, Hope plays his signature 'heroic coward' character, protecting incognito princess Mayo (who, naturally, falls for him), does a funny 'drag' sequence as a truly ugly gypsy (while fending off the amorous advances of addled Brennan), and thwarting the machinations of an evil island ruler (Slezak, who'd play a similar role in "The Pirate") and ruthless pirate (McLaglen, gleefully chewing up the scenery). The tone is light-hearted (Hope occasionally addresses the audience, sharing a one-liner with us), has a great song ("Kiss Me in the Moonlight"), and the end result was not only a box office hit, but earned two Oscar nominations.

If you're a Bob Hope fan, this is a 'must' for your collection!