BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

TheLittleSongbird Comedy, romance and murder mysteries are great on their own. Those three elements together seemed even more appetising and there have been numerous instances where it has worked. The story sounded so great on paper and the cast is a talented one, do like Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray and the two worked very well together in their too few appearances. This is evident in 'The Princess Comes Across', which is a very good representation of both and of their partnership. It is also a very good, if not quite great, film in its own right, what could have been a basic whodunit is elevated to a greater level by the cast, the clever writing and how the elements are balanced well. The mystery is not exactly a complicated one, but it is wholly diverting and it was a good idea to have enough to keep one guessing without trying to over-complicate.By all means, 'The Princess Comes Across' is not without faults. For me, at just an hour and a quarter it was a little too short. Would have given it 10 minutes more perhaps. With a slightly longer length, it would have made the more serious second half less hasty, don't get me wrong there is a lot to enjoy about the second half it just felt a bit rushed at times and the tonal shifts don't always gel and create a disjoint. However, there is a huge amount to enjoy about 'The Princess Comes Across'. It is especially worth seeing for a wonderful Carole Lombard, exuding glamour and enjoying herself to the hilt, her trademark zaniness and delicacy perfectly captured. Fred MacMurray may not be at his very best, but he is dashing and has amiable comic timing. The supporting cast are all solid, with the best turns coming from a deliciously sardonic Mischa Auer, Porter Hall playing a weasel to perfection and especially a delightful Alison Skipworth relishing some of the film's best lines. They are all efficiently directed and have believable chemistry, Lombard and MacMurray do sparkle together. It's a visually beautiful film too, it's sumptuously shot with beautiful costumes and the camera clearly loves Lombard. The script is witty and sophisticated in the comedic elements of the first half, which is the better half and the element where 'The Princess Comes Across' scores highest. The romantic element works a charm and for me the mystery was diverting and not too simple or complicated, reservations with it are with it being taken a little too seriously in the second half. The music is like its own character and adds hugely to the film. Concluding, well worth seeing with Lombard being the biggest attraction. 7/10 Bethany Cox

JohnHowardReid It's difficult to smoothly blend a suspenseful murder mystery with a light romantic comedy, but ace director William K. Howard achieves the almost impossible and does exactly this in Paramount's expansively produced and beautifully photographed (Ted Tetzlaff) shipboard thriller/romance. The stars, Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray, are both in fine form. They need to be, for they are up against a remarkable array of professional scene stealers including Douglass Dumbrille, Alison Skipworth, Charles Barbier, Porter Hall and Sig Ruman. You'd expect a richly produced, smoothly directed (by William K. Howard), atmospherically photographed (by Ted Tetzlaff), ingratiatingly acted and most entertainingly scripted movie fare like this to receive hurrahs from all the critics, But that was not the case. Frank Nugent of The New York Times even gave the movie a negative review. In my opinion, the movie is a most entertaining blend of romance, thrills, mystery and comedy. Alas, it was during the filming of The Princess Comes Across that Howard unwittingly set the stage for his later rebuff by the Hollywood hierarchy when he ordered the movie's production supervisor off the set for too much interference.

mark.waltz The delightful Carole Lombard was at her comic height in 1936, whether playing the dizzy heiress of "My Man Godfrey", the frazzled socialite of "Love Before Breakfast", or the phony Swedish princess in this, a delightful screwball comedy set on an ocean liner that literally is murder. She spoofs the legendary Garbo here, giving a delightful Swedish accent that is comical yet not ridiculing. The fun starts on her trip when she finds concertina player Fred MacMurray inside her state room, and from there comes blackmail, a few murders, romance and the comedy of several people pretending to be who they are not. Lombard and MacMurray are surrounded by a top-notch supporting cast including the imperious Allison Skipworth as Lombard's dowager like companion (reminding me of the late Marie Dressler), William Frawley as MacMurray's crotchety pal (hysterical in a scene wearing a beret which looks like a bad toupee), Mischa Auer, Lumsden Hare, Sig Ruman and Douglas Dumbrille as a group of European detectives conveniently aboard to get involved in the murder investigation, Bradley Page as a mystery man stalking the detectives, and Porter Hall as the blackmailer.This fun-filled voyage has a delightfully witty screenplay and everybody involved seems to be having a joyous time. After being rather obnoxious in their previous pairing ("Hands Across the Table"), MacMurray gets to downplay a bit here, and Lombard proves again as to why she was one of the most beloved actresses of the 1930's-she was simply divine, a rare actress under the age of 30 whom everybody could identify with. Her down to earth demeanor is visible through her high-falluting impersonation of the Swedish countess from Brooklyn and it becomes obvious as to why her tragic death in 1942 was mourned by the world.Two of the screen's great 1930's movie villains (Dumbrille and Page) seem to be playing against type here, but the cleverness of the screenplay is such that not everything is as it seems. It's great to see MacMurray and Frawley together 25 years before they were paired together on "My Three Sons", ironic considering that Frawley's "MTS" replacement William Demarest had appeared with him in "Hands Across the Table". Don't be drinking when Lombard, in Swedish dialect, reveals to the American press the name of her favorite movie star.

HarlowMGM THE PRINCESS COMES ALONG is a comedy/mystery that unfortunately splits itself in the middle rather than being a mix of both genres throughout the film. It stars Carole Lombard as a girl from Brooklyn who while in England somehow manages to persuade film producers that she is a Princess Olga of Sweden, is signed to a contract and on her way to America to make movies. The movie opens with the excited passengers and press eager to see the Princess board the ship (just how this ruse is successfully pulled off strains credibility, Sweden, after all is a major nation, and surely any allegations that a Princess was going to enter pictures would have quickly been denied and disproved).Fred MacMurray is a popular bandleader who is also on board and takes a shine to the Princess, attempting to romance her. She is indifferent but when a blackmailer is found dead in her room she becomes warmer to MacMurray's offer of friendship as he and buddy William Frawley remove the body. That still means a murder is loose on board and there's more mayhem in the works before the killer is revealed.This movie starts out an engaging 1930's romantic comedy with Lombard deliciously parodying Garbo as the faux Royal Highness. Alas, the movie literally turns deadly after the murder and it's pretty much a straightforward murder mystery with a surprise that isn't much of a surprise if you've seen movies of this nature. Nevertheless, the cast does very well with the material, particularly the young Fred MacMurray, quite dashing in his late twenties, and the delicious character actress Alison Skipworth, here cast as the Princess' haughty traveling companion but in truth another unemployed actress and of course the always great Lombard. Months after their triumph in MY MAN GODFREY, Lombard is reunited with Mischa Auer with the latter in a small role as the Russian detective, one of several international detectives who just so happen to be all traveling on board. THE PRINCESS COMES ALONG is not one of the better Lombard films but it's a pleasant 90 minutes and worth at least one viewing.