Themes: Crowned Heads, Class Differences, Servants and Employers
Main Cast: Phoebe Cates, Jim Broadbent, Wendy Hughes, Kevin Kline, John Lithgow, Stephen Rea
Release Year: 1994
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Loosely based on an actual incident, this family-friendly British comedy is also a sly satire of class consciousness. Phoebe Cates stars as a woman who appears in the English countryside of 1817 wearing exotic garb and speaking gibberish. Delivered to a nearby manor, the mystery woman is sheltered by the Worralls (Wendy Hughes and Jim Broadbent), who are then persuaded by their suspicious Greek butler Frixos (Kevin Kline, Cates' real-life husband) to have the drifter tried for vagrancy and begging, capital crimes. At the hearing, however, the woman persuades the magistrate through pantomime that she is a princess of Javanese origin named Caraboo, escaped from pirate kidnappers. The Worralls welcome Caraboo back into their home, lavishing upon her the deference due a royal. A society sensation, Caraboo wins over a linguist (John Lithgow), the prince regent (John Session), and even Frixos. Only an Irish reporter, Gutch (Stephen Rea), remains skeptical about Caraboo's origins. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
Given the surplus of strong actors from both sides of the pond, Princess Caraboo should have made more of an impression than it does. Brits Jim Broadbent and Stephen Rea and Americans Kevin Kline and John Lithgow all loaned their considerable talents, but the result is not much more than a light farce in the vein of something like Mrs. Winterbourne. Instead of mistaken identity, Princess Caraboo deals in unknown identity -- which doesn't make it that much more interesting. Phoebe Cates is fine as the maiden fluent in a language unknown to even the most accomplished linguists, who shows no sign of comprehending the languages they do know. She's sweet but ultimately unknowable, which makes it hard to connect with her. Cates is of rather limited appeal to begin with, and she more or less retired from acting following this performance, leaving the breadwinning to her husband (Kline). Michael Austin's direction of the other performers minimizes their appeal as well. Kline gives one of his earliest unfunny performances that rely on funny accents, and Lithgow and Broadbent overdo their bulging eyeballs and angry snarls, respectively. Only Rea, in the role that comes closest to a hero, stays agreeably within himself. Princess Caraboo clearly wanted to be a thinking person's fairytale -- comical yet dignified, something that would remind viewers of The Princess Bride or a similar flight of fancy. But with a dearth of memorable scenes or characters, Austin's film is tepid and indistinct. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Peter Eyre - Lord Apthorpe; Jacqueline Pearce - Lady Apthorpe; John Wells - Reverend Hunt; John Lynch - Amon McCarthy; John Sessions - Prince Regent; Arkie Whiteley - Betty; Annabel Brooks - Lady Neville; Rachel Fielding - Mrs Benson; David Glover - Musician; Peter Howell - Clerk of the Court; Barbara Keogh - Mrs Wilberforce; Steven Mackintosh - Harold; Murray Melvin - Lord Motley; Roger Lloyd Pack - Magistrate Haythorne; Edward Tudor-Pole - Lord Neville; Stromboli; Jacqueline Tong - Mrs Hunt; Jerry Hall - Lady Motley; Andrew Seear - Mr Peake; David Sibley - Harrison; Anna Chancellor - Mrs Peake; Dougray Scott - Dragoon Captain
Credit
Sam Riley - Art Director, Lucy Boulting - Casting, Tom Rand - Costume Designer, Jonathan Benson - First Assistant Director, Michael Austin - Director, George Akers - Editor, Marc Abraham - Executive Producer, Armyan Bernstein - Executive Producer, Tom Rosenberg - Executive Producer, Richard Hartley - Composer (Music Score), Peter Glossop - Musical Direction/Supervision, Peter King - Makeup, Michael Howells - Production Designer, Freddie Francis - Cinematographer, Kelvin Pike - Cinematographer, Eddie Collins - Cinematographer, Andrew S. Karsch - Producer, Simon Bosanquet - Producer, Sasha Schwertd - Set Designer, Ian Wingrove - Special Effects, Michael Austin - Screenwriter, John Wells - Screenwriter
Princess Caraboo is a 1994 film directed by Michael Austin, based on the real-life 19th-century character Princess Caraboo, who passed herself off in British society as an exotic princess who spoke a strange foreign language. She is played in the film by Phoebe Cates. The film was written by Michael Austin and John Wells. The original music score was composed by Richard Hartley.
Plot summary
In 1817, a young woman appears in the English countryside, wearing exotic garb and speaking gibberish. She also bears unusual tattoos, that resembled Polynesian tattoos, on her legs. Delivered to a nearby manor, the mystery woman is sheltered by the Worralls, who are then persuaded by their suspicious butler Frixos to have the drifter tried for vagrancy and begging, capital crimes. At the hearing, however, the woman persuades the magistrates through pantomime that she is a princess of Polynesian origin named Caraboo, escaped from pirate kidnappers. The Worrals welcome Caraboo back into their home, lavishing upon her the deference due a royal member. A society sensation, Caraboo wins over a linguist, the prince regent, and even Frixos. Only an Irish reporter, Gutch, remains skeptical about Caraboo's origins.
