ksf-2 Review of Her Highness and the Bellboy

Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945)

Love quadrangle with Hedy Lamarr

[8/10 · 25 April 2008]

(Poss Spoilers) Rags Ragland steals the show as the comedic sidekick working in a New York hotel. Too bad they didn't give Agnes Moorehead a bigger part..has a smallish speaking part as Lady in Waiting. "Her Highness" has some elements of Queen Christina from 1933, and maybe even Sullivan's Travels '41. Seems to have been remade as Roman Holiday 1953, with a few changes. Weird dream sequence by Leslie (June Allyson), which didn't really add anything to the already long plot. Leslie is unable to walk, and works from her apartment, and may require more than medications to be able to walk again. This is a love triangle (rectangle ?) story involving a Princess from a foreign land who falls for Jimmy the bellboy (Robert Walker) . Of course, both Jimmy and the Princess (Hedy Lamarr) already have admirers in their lives, so things get complicated. Also a running gag where Jimmy spouts the names of cities in rapid mumble, which gets them out of a couple jams. And I SWEAR that's Shemp Howard that brings them to their table when they go back to Jake's for a night on the town, although he's not mentioned in the cast list. They look at each other and the Maitre D' keeps doing double takes. Lots of fun stuff going on. The drunk in the bar was Jack Norton, who made a career by playing the drunk in Bank Dick, Day at the Races, and Jezebel, and so many more. The only really serious side of the plot is how Albert (Ragland) gets mixed up with a bad gang, and Jimmy keeps trying to get him to keep better company.... this part of the plot is never really resolved, but the princess seems to learn a lesson in love right at the last minute. Like Rags says, "they all lived happily ever after", although its ironic that he says this, since he is the only one sitting down while everyone else is up dancing. A good MGM show directed by Richard Thorpe, who had just directed Lamarr in White Cargo. Both films play now & then on Turner Classic Movies.