Sua altezza è innamorata

As WWII rages in Europe, Princess Maria (Olivia de Havilland) is living in New York City under the watchful eye of the U. S. Secret Service. As a guest of the country she is protected night and day. Besides layers of security, she also lives under the scrutiny of a royal retinue that acts as her watchdog and agent of propriety. She sees herself as living in a gilded cage, but things change when she is flown to San Francisco---or at least that is the intent. A series of mishaps diverts her path and places her incommunicado for a brief time.

When she reappears in New York, she "escapes" for some prosaic adventures and meets an American pilot about to join the Air Force. For the first time, she can imagine a life free of royal responsibilities, but the princess knows what she must do.

Some films are like time capsules---glimpses back at another time---and "Princess O'Rourke" is full of overt and intrinsic references to its era, making it very interesting to watch. Besides the references to wartime behaviors and values---which are many---the plot contains references to social mores and political myths.

It is always nice to watch Olivia de Havilland; even more so, knowing the battle that was being waged between the actress and the studio.

The final scenes take place in the actual White House. How preposterous it would have been to Jane Wyman, who plays the second female lead, to consider that her husband, Ronald Reagan, would eventually live there himself.