Interesteg What makes it different from others?

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

SimonJack This second pairing of Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray packs a lot into 76 minutes. It's the least funny of their three comedies, but that's because the humor has to share time with crime and a murder mystery. "The Princess Comes Across" is a mixed genre of comedy, a con caper, murder mystery, and romance, with a good dose of music as well. It's a bit too much to pack into 76 minutes and expect a film to be outstanding or exceptional. Still, it's entertaining and fun to watch. Lombard assumes a Greta Garbo role with a Swedish-English accent, playing a fake Princess Olga. And, MacMurray, as King Mantell, uses some of his musical talent singing with a concertina and his band. Much of the humor comes from their sidekicks. Alison Skipworth plays Lady Gertrude, companion of the princess, and William Frawley is Mantell's cohort, Benton. But, there's crime aboard their ship in this film. And the stars share screen time with a band of international detectives. Those sleuths and other lesser roles are played very well by some of the leading supporting actors of the era. Sig Ruman, Porter Hall and Mischa Auer are especially good in their roles. This film just doesn't have as much snappy dialog, witty script and clever zingers that other films have. But the plot is good and the mystery adds a twist to the usual script of comedy-romance and music for such films of the 1930s. Both stars are exceptionally adept at truly great comedy, and they show some of the range of their acting talents here.Here are some favorite lines from the film. For more dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie. Chief Purser (Edward Keane), "There are five important police officials aboard, sir." Captain, "Police?" Chief Purser, "They're sailing for an international convention of detectives in New York. Would you like to have them at your table, sir?" Captain, "I don't even want them on my ship. They're troublemakers. Jinxes. I'd rather be followed by a seagull flying upside down. I've seen it happen again and again. Trouble's their business. They love it so much, it follows them around."Lady Gertrude, "Now I know he's no good. My dear, I am an old woman. I have traveled at home and abroad. And never, never have I known any good to come out of a concertina."Princess Olga, "You enjoyed the cocktails, didn't you?" Lady Gertrude, "Oh, the first five or six. After that I was bored."Benton, "King. I just saw Darcy go into the royal suite." King Mantell, "Yeah? Are you sure it was Darcy?" Benton, "Sure. Rats like that don't come in pairs."Benton, "Take Terry McGovern. There was a fellow with a left hook. All he had to do was hit you in the chin and break every bone in your ankle."King Mantell, "If you're ever in any kind of trouble, you can count on me." Princess Olga, "Oh, why do you think I should be in any trouble?" King Mantell, "Oh, I dunno. This is a strange ship, and there are some very odd people aboard." Princess Olga, "Ja, and the oddest of them all is you."Lady Gertrude, "Thank heaven this day is over. Such a crowd, my dear. I don't mind people stepping on my feet, but I do object to their loitering there."Lady Gertrude "Oh, my stars and garters."Benton, "I'm saving this page for your obituary notice. I can see it now. 'King Mantell Gets Himself Bumped Off for a Dame.'"Princess Olga, "Well, if you really know who the murderer is, why don't you tell them now?" King Mantell, "I would if I knew. The point is I don't." Princess Olga, "Then why did you say you did?" King Mantell, "Because to catch a rat you have to have cheese." Princess Olga, "I don't get it." King Mantell, "I'm the cheese. When the rat comes to nibble, bang goes the trap." Princess Olga, "With the cheese in it." King Mantell, "Not if it's a smart piece of cheese."Benton, "I'll stick around, all right, but I ain't no Charlie Chan. When I'm picking that guy's sewing kit out of your back, don't say I didn't tell you, that's all."Benton, "I don't know why you want to trade your concertina for a harp."

gridoon2018 What do you get when you mix together a phony princess, a professional concertina player, five illustrious detectives of five different nationalities, a slimy blackmailer, an escaped murderer, and other oddball characters, and you set them off on a transatlantic trip from France to the USA? You get the enjoyable, if slightly stagy, "The Princess Comes Across". Carole Lombard gives an accomplished comedic performance - in fact, the entire cast is terrific. But what I most appreciated about this film is that the mystery, and it's a solid one, is played straight and is not overwhelmed by the comedy; the director even makes the interesting choice of completely avoiding the use of any kind of music score during some of the tenser moments. A nice diversion. **1/2 out of 4.

theowinthrop Somehow, when thinking of movie couples in the golden age of film, Carole Lombard's partnership with Fred MacMurray gets overlooked. Not as glamorous as Tracy and Hepburn, Hepburn and Grant, Grant and Dunne, Eddy and MacDonald, MacDonald and Chevalier, Bogart and Bacall, it still got tremendous mileage in comedies (HANDS ACROSS THE TABLE, TRUE CONFESSIONS), comic thrillers (THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS), and straight drama (SWING HIGH, SWING LOW). Lombard had the ability to make the film's activities soar by her zaniness. MacMurray managed to anchor the film down by his normality (and in TRUE CONFESSIONS uses this normality against itself - by taking himself too seriously). THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS made fun of thrillers (although the dangers involved are not made funny), and of the culture of publicity that the public thrives on. Lombard has the looks and talents to make it in movies, but nobody cares. With the help of Alison Skipworth she pretends she is Princess Olga of Sweden and she wants to act in movies. Besides the spoofing of Garbo, Lombard is counting on the vast publicity from the media to get her the million dollar contract she wants. Oddly enough, the Swedish royal family does not seem to care that a fraud is being perpetrated by Lombard and Skipworth at their expense. But we have to make some concession to the plot.MacMurray is a well known musician (a concertina player of all things) and orchestra leader. He and his manager pal, William Frawley, are on the boat as well, and MacMurray is very interested in the beautiful, but snobbish Princess. However, he has another problem. MacMurray is an honest fellow, but he did one bad thing, and he is being pursued by an obnoxious little weasel (played superbly by Porter Hall) who is waiting for a big payoff from the musician. He also seems to know the truth about the Princess. MacMurray refuses to pay, and Hall promises him some problems. The ship has several internationally known detectives on board (among them are Mischa Auer, Sig Ruman, and Douglas Dumbrille), and Hall sees one of the detectives and we see him approach to talk to him. Shortly afterward Hall is found murdered. On top of this, there is word (sent to the ship) that an escaped murderer is thought to be aboard (shades of Dr. Crippen), and we do see a strange little stowaway from time to time. The film goes on to a second murder, a set of different rival detectives trying to solve the case, and MacMurray deciding to step in to clear himself and the Princess. The conclusion is quiet satisfactory.With it's cast of expert character actors supporting MacMurray and Lombard's performances, and the clever script, THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS is a first rate comic thriller. I rate it 9 out of 10.

John Braun (kartrabo) Combining the elements of a great screwball comedy with a murder mystery,Paramount again cast the great team of Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray.Carole a down-on-her-luck publicity hungry actress enlists the aid of wise-cracking hefty Alison Skipworth and together they sail aboard a luxury liner en route to America.Lombard pretending to a Swedish princess befriends Fred MacMurray and pal William Frawley and all four form an uneasy alliance.Matters become complicated when Carole is suspected of murdering a blackmailer who knew her in Brooklyn.A pack of zany international detectives attempt to solve the crime in their bumbling fashion while MacMurray tries to find the murderer before he strikes again. This fine little comedy is ably directed William K. Howard with a wonderful supporting cast led by George Barbier(ship captain) suspects Porter Hall,Douglas Dumbrille,and egocentric detectives Sig Rumann,Mischa Auer,and Tetsu Komai.Surefire fun.