Princess Caraboo (1994)

Director:

Michael Austin

Writers (WGA):

Michael Austin (written by) &
John Wells (written by)

Release Date:

16 September 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | History | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

She was everything they dreamed of... And nothing they expected.

Plot:

Bristol, England, early 19th century. A beautiful young stranger who speaks a weird language is tried for the crime of begging...

Plot Keywords:

Princess | 19th Century | Bristol | England | Language

Cast

Jim Broadbent	...	Mr. Worrall
Phoebe Cates	...	Princess Caraboo / Mary Baker
Wendy Hughes	...	Mrs. Worrall
Kevin Kline	...	Frixos
John Lithgow	...	Professor Wilkinson
Stephen Rea	...	Gutch
Peter Eyre	...	Lord Apthorpe
Jacqueline Pearce	...	Lady Apthorpe
Roger Lloyd-Pack	...	Magistrate Haythorne
John Wells	...	Reverend Hunt
John Lynch	...	Amon McCarthy
John Sessions	...	Prince Regent
Arkie Whiteley	...	Betty
Kate Ashfield	...	Ella
Ewan Bailey	...	Ship's Captain

Also Known As:

Princesse Caraboo (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
La princesa Caraboo (Spain) [es]
La principessa degli intrighi (Italy) [it]
Prinsessa Caraboo (Finland) [fi]
Prinzessin Caraboo (Germany) [de]

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. (w) | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG | Norway:7

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Ardican Films

Trivia:

The beige dress with paisley bodice Rachel Fielding (Mrs. Benson ) wears while being interviewed by Mr. Gutch is the same costume Sabina Franklyn (Jane Bennet) wears at Longbourn in "Pride and Prejudice" (1980), Julie Cox (Annabella Milbanke) wears to read Byron's poetry book in Byron (2003) (TV), and Freema Agyeman (Tattycoram) wears on the Marseilles wharf in "Little Dorrit" (2008). The same costume is also worn by an extra on the Marseilles wharf in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), worn by a guest at Fanny's wedding in Miss Austen Regrets (2008) (TV).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Two If by Sea (1996)

Well done and sometimes funny, based on fact

This story is set several hundred years ago. A mysterious girl who apparently speaks no English is found begging in the streets. The magistrate wants to put her in jail, but the wife of one of the prominent men of the city wants to take her home to stay with her. Several people are consulted to determine what language the girl speaks, including one language expert played by John Lithgow who is very funny (especially when he tries to speak various languages). The girl doesn't look Asian or Middle Eastern, but if she's faking it (as some suspect) she's doing a good job. She has a tattoo and strange religious customs that provide clues, though the language in which she writes is not known to anyone. It is decided that she is speaking a dialect from Asia.

When she does understand what is going on, she comes across as quite charming. Eventually, it is determined that she must be a princess, and her name seems to be Caraboo.

Phoebe Cates gave a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination. Whether her character did as well I won't say. You'll just have to watch.

I was worried when the movie wasn't funny at first, but the humor came in large doses after a while, and not the usual type of movie humor. This was quite a sophisticated film considering it often tried to be silly, and the costumes and the settings were very nice. The music was magnificent, whether highbrow classical or period music that sounded more like what ordinary people would enjoy.

Everything about this movie was well done, and while it's not normally the type of movie I would watch, I enjoyed it.