Penny Princess
Penny Princess
NR | 24 March 1952 (USA)
Penny Princess Trailers

A tiny European country which for years has survived financially only through evading its bills and smuggling is finally facing bankruptcy, when a rich American agrees to save the place by buying it. But before, the deal is closed, he dies. His nearest relative and heir turns out to be a young woman with high ethical and democratic standards, but no experience with money, or affairs of state, or Europe. A charming young English visitor helps her to muddle through. Comedy and romance follow.

Reviews
Cubussoli

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

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Odelecol

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

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Brainsbell

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

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Guillelmina

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

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David Frieze

In this haphazard Technicolor fantasy, a ditzy but dauntless young American woman becomes the heir to the throne of a tiny, insolvent European country named Lampidorra. The bumbling representative of a British cheese company convinces her that the answer to Lampidorra's problem lies in its principal product: schneese, which is cheese crossbred with schnapps. "Penny Princess" is essentially an operetta without the singing. It's all very silly, the satire is heavy-handed, and the leading lady is a bit of a pill, but it's a harmless way to spend an hour and a half. Val Guest, who wrote and directed the film, would go on to better things, particularly in the field of science fiction. He also married the leading lady.

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ktorg

This movie needs to be put on DVD. It was so funny and I loved it. Really, really cute and funny. Not realistic, but not suppose to be. The only thing I did not like about it was the girl relying on the guy too much. It represents the time period way of thinking though. I have been trying to get this movie for so long and it has been unavailable for US format only in the UK and will not play on US DVD players. It is sadly an over looked Classic film! Believe it or not, but this film could easily become a cult favorite, for all ages. Too bad, we do not legalize certain things that could really save small countries or our own. Lindy is unsinkable, a positive character that makes lemonade out of lemons. She is funny and charming. She stole the show!

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bkoganbing

Penny Princess finds American working girl Yolande Donlon the inheritor of a small kingdom that lies in that triangle where France, Italy, and Switzerland meet called Lampidorra. It seems as though the Lampidorrans owe bills all over Europe and the main occupation of the country is smuggling due to its geography. An American multi-millionaire buys the place, but dies before he can take title. His nearest heir is Donlan.But of course the estate has to go through probate in America and what are the Lampidorrans to do? Especially since Donlan who has now become a princess has forbade smuggling.Enter Dirk Bogarde who is on a trip to Switzerland to learn about the cheese industry. It seems as though the Lampidorrans have a kind of cheese that they playfully refer to as Schmeeze. With a few bumps in the road, Schmeeze solves all the problems both financial, geopolitical, and romantic between Donlan and Bogarde.How does Schmeeze work, well that's the gimmick to the whole film. But here's a hint. In Lover Come Back Jack Kruschen might just have gotten a hold of the secret of Schmeeze when he was busy inventing VIP for Rock Hudson and his advertising agency.Anyway Penny Princess is a delightful blend of British farce and romantic comedy. Yolande Donlon once again plays a role that Marilyn Monroe would have been cast in if the film had been made this side of the pond. Dirk Bogarde was well cast in the part which was at the beginning of his career as a romantic heart throb, way before anyone but him suspected he had the acting chops he had.This film was sadly shown at three o'clock in the morning on TCM. But at least I found a reason to be grateful for insomnia.

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ksf-2

Cute idea... salesgirl Linda Smith (Yolande Donlan) inherits a teeny tiny little county of Lampidorra. That country, which wasn't even in North America, was made the 49th state... (of course, there were only 48 states at the time, since this was made in 1952...) Linda travels to the country she has inherited, and we follow her along as she tries to figure out what to do with this strange country and its even quirkier people. At one point, she sings a song that she claims is from her people the Navajo, and it gets ever-more sillier from there.... although Yolande Donlan's heavy lipstick and omni-present smile never get ruffled or shmeared. There are other songs scattered through-out as the citizens sing to welcome their new princess. Filmed in a glorious British version of technicolor, or some such equivalent, about the only big name here is Dirk Bogarde as British subject Tony Craig, cheese vendor. Bogarde made a big splash in the UK film industry after serving in the war, and was even knighted by QE II. Craig and "the new princess" keep bumping into each other, and their adventures become more intertwined as Lampidorra's financial problems worsen... Fun little farce....along the lines of Marx Brothers film. Also note that Donlan later married Val Guest, the writer and director of our little project, and stayed married for 50 years! Guest was better known for writing and directing his sci-fi flicks, in both the UK & the US.

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