Don't listen to the negative reviews

Best movie ever!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A rare, for the times, Technicolor slapstick farce. Obviously, Goldwyn put a lot of resources into this film, hoping that a combination of verbal and physical comedy, along with the beautiful Virginia Mayo as the princess, and often colorful costumes and backdrops would prove irresistible to audiences. It was a box office success. We have 2 chief villains: the blustery pirate captain Hook, well played by Victor McLaglen, and the oily corrupt governor of the fictional pirate island of Casarouge., played by the generally understating Walter Slezac. These 2 appear to be working together at times, while double crossing each other at other times. Hook has learned(how??)that the princess Margaret is on the ship Mary Anne. Governor La Roche also has learned this(how??). First ,Hook captures her, along with Bob Hope, after burning and sinking the Mary Anne. After she and Hope escape in a lifeboat to Casarouge, La Rouge eventually kidnaps them for random. Later, they escape, and Hook recaptures them on shore, and takes them on a voyage. But he is spotted and defeated by a royal warship. The princess and Hope are rescued. The princesses father is on this ship and tells her she can marry her commoner boyfriend rather than a man of royal blood, which he previously insisted upon. Her boyfriend is a sailor on this ship, she discovers.Meanwhile, Hope eventually discovers that the letter he brought to Casarouge to give to Featherhead's cousin actually contains Hook's map of his treasure. But, Hope doesn't discover this until Hook's bunch show up, including Featherhead, who hides under Hope's bed. When Hope arrives, Featherhead knocks him out, then takes the map from him, and tattoos it on his chest. When Hope awakens, Featherhead tells him about the map, but he doesn't yet see the tattoo job under his shirt. Hook wants to kill whoever stole the map, thus Hope says "I'm getting this treasure map off my chest". They end up eating bits of the map to dispose of it!Eventually, Hook and La Roche discover the map on Hopes chest when he s taking a bath. Hope runs to his room with Hook close behind. Featherhead shoots Hook in the back and he falls, apparently dead. Hope puts on his clothes and acts like him in ordering his crew around. But Hook is far from dead. He recovers and gives orders contradictory to those of Hope. Eventually, Hope's masquerade is confirmed, and he and the princess are captured again. They are taken to his ship for a voyage and rescued, as described before.Many important details of this story don't make any sense. In this regard, it is most suitable for children, who are generally less bothered by gross absurdities. I've already alluded to one. Another example: Why did the princess board the Mary Anne without her boyfriend, if she wanted to elope with him?? Perhaps the idea was that they would eventually meet in some port in the Americas? Another example: Why did the supposed pirate island of Casarouge have a royal governor?Hope and McLaglen are both great in their demanding roles. The screenplay has just enough complexity to hold our interest, without being overwhelming. Allen Boretz adapted the screen play from a story written by Sy Bartlett. Virginia was winsome and gutsy in her first Hollywood starring role. Hope had been borrowed from Paramount for a hefty some, thus wouldn't do any more pictures with Virginia. Danny Kaye would be Hope's replacement in several films with Virginia.Presumably, the name Hook was derived from the pirate of the same name in the children's story of "Peter Pan". Presumably, the idea of having Hook bury a chest of gold on a desert island is derived from R.L. Stevenson's "Treasure Island". The title, presumably, is an appropriate derivation from Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper".Other examples of pirate spoofing films of this era include "Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd" and "Double Crossbones", starring Don O'Connor. Then, there's the recent animation spoof : "The Pirates: Band of Misfits".

The Princess and the Pirate finds Virginia Mayo taken prisoner by the infamous pirate the Hook played by Victor McLaglen. She's a princess who's run away to marry a commoner, a reverse on what had happened in the United Kingdom a few years back. Unfortunately the only help she can find is a ham actor who's running away from bad notices and bill collectors and he's none other than Bob Hope.Hope did two films for Samuel Goldwyn and Goldwyn paid dear to Paramount for his services. Right after this film, success though it was, the price for Hope's services convinced Goldwyn he'd better sign a comedy star of his own as he had in the Thirties with Eddie Cantor. That was why Danny Kaye was brought over from New York to start his Hollywood career in Goldwyn's next film.But The Princess and the Pirate turned out to be one of the biggest successes for both Sam Goldwyn and Bob Hope. Hope is really at the top of his game in this one. Virginia Mayo makes a perfect foil for Hope, it's a pity she didn't do more films with him. Walter Brennan plays an addled old pirate who's not quite as dumb as he lets everyone think he is and he and McLaglen compete with Hope for laughs.The only one who looks like he's enjoying himself, but playing it very straight is crooked island governor Walter Slezak. He's got a working arrangement with McLaglen, but the two of them aren't above a little double cross.Of course this is a Bob Hope movie and Hope manages to blunder his way through to survival. But as we learn he loses Mayo right at the end to a visiting bit player from Paramount. Hope did make good on his word, he never did do another film for Goldwyn again. I guess he wanted to go out on a high note and The Princess and the Pirate is as high a comic note as Bob Hope ever struck in any of his films. Not to be missed by his legion of fans.

Bob Hope again plays his cowardly character in "The Princess and the Pirate," a 1944 film from Samuel Goldwyn Studios. The film also stars Virginia Mayo, Walter Slezak, Victor McLaglen, and Walter Brennan. Hope plays Sylvester the Great (who gives his last name as Crosby), a bad performer who becomes involved with an incognito princess, played by pretty Virginia Mayo. There's really no point in going through the story - it's fairly ridiculous, concerning a map and a treasure. It's really just an excuse for some gorgeous Technicolor escapist entertainment in the midst of World War II. Beautiful women (the Goldwyn Girls) and lots of comedy abound. Hope is a scream as Sylvester, impersonating a Gypsy woman and Captain Barrett (McLaglen) who has a hook for a hand. Toward the end of the film, both Barrett and Sylvester disguised as Barrett are in Barrett's quarters, unaware of one another, each leaving the room from time to time and making opposite pronouncements to the pirates. Very funny stuff.Hope is an absolute riot with that dry, offhand delivery of his and his facial expressions. He generally played an avowed coward, though a likable one, and this time is no different. Everyone does a great job in this, and I'm sure audiences, depressed by war news, appreciated it. Lots of fun and recommended.

Bob Hope and Virginia Mayo star in this hilarious comedy about a tenth-rate actor who gets mixed up with beautiful women, corrupt politicians, pirates and treasure maps. Hope really looks like he's enjoying himself, and when you get a load of Virginia Mayo, you'll see why. She has never looked more ravishing--the gorgeous Technicolor photography actually works better for her than it did for Maureen O'Hara, who was known as "The Queen of Technicolor"--and shows an unexpected flair for comedy. Victor McLaglen seems to be having a blast as the evil pirate The Hook, Walter Slezak plays the crooked governor in another one of his fine oily villain performances, and Walter Brennan is a scream as a crazed pirate who takes a shine to Hope. Some hilarious comic routines--especially one where Hope pretends to be The Hook--and several surprisingly good action scenes, which you don't often see in comedies, make this one of Hope's best pictures without Bing Crosby (well, for the most part). Don't miss it.