Il pirata e la principessa

One of an increasingly rare breed of cinema - a comedy that actually makes you laugh, and as the fella above says, without relying on smut or toilet humour, but pure comic genius delivered with finesse by Bob Hope and the rest of the supporting cast. P and the P manages to also deliver a top of the range swashbuckling adventure which immerses you within minutes and keeps you there until the end.

The Princess and the Pirate is a charming example of how comedies used to be - and is as infinitely watchable now as I can only assume it was then (me being all of 20 at time of writing!). It is certainly as delightful as when I first saw it at age 10 or so, with none of the cheesiness or insincerity that becomes apparent with many childhood favourites when I revisit them years later. And that, I suppose, is the definition of the word 'timeless'.

Of all of Bob Hopes comedies, sans Crosby, this has got to be the best. A movie you can watch not twice, but a hundred times,( as I probably have ) The classic "beer drinking scene" with "Hugo"! Virginia Mayo......... Walter Slezak.....Walter Brennan, Try as they may...Hollywood can't do any better, no filth, no bathroom jokes, what a challenge it must have been in those day's to bring you a film that did not need to rely on that. Watch and enjoy with your kids or along with the guy's and some beer, it's timeless. A true 10......

Loads of wacky fun in this costume comedy that features Hope and Mayo who try to elude "The Hook," played with devilish charm by Victor McLaglen. Great gags, rousing excitement and even a cameo by a crooner named Crosby.

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.

Hokey parody of swashbucklers, Hope, Crosby, movies, and everything else. Terrible story, ludicrous development, mediocre supporting cast - but great gags, funny and entertaining. It comes off as a fine film, even before "a bit player from Paramount" steals the final scene. I first saw this in 1945, and have seen it four times since, and it retains its comic charm beautifully.