Princess Carole Lombard boards the ocean liner headed to America sporting a Swedish accent, with a contract from a big American film contract practically in her hand. It's soon apparent it's a publicity gimmick cooked up by her and her companion, 'Countess' Alison Skipworth. She expects the Royal Suite, but concertina player Fred MacMurray and his manager, William Frawley, have it and won't give it up until he sees Miss Lombard.
It all starts out as a screwball comedy, with some expect farceurs, like George Barbier as the captain, and Sig Ruman and Mischa Auer as two of four detectives on board, looking for an escaped French murderer. Then Porter Hall shows up, ready to blackmail MacMurray for cash; Fred spent a year in prison when he was younger. MacMurray shows him the door. Hall says he has a couple of other people who will pay him and leaves.... and then turns up as a corpse in Miss Lombard's state room.
It's a fine and shocking turn to the script, which is competently realized by William K. Howard. Although this is far more standard than the visual extravaganzas he headed at the beginning of the decade, DP Ted Tetzlaff offers some nice compositions in the ship's interior.
It all starts out as a screwball comedy, with some expect farceurs, like George Barbier as the captain, and Sig Ruman and Mischa Auer as two of four detectives on board, looking for an escaped French murderer. Then Porter Hall shows up, ready to blackmail MacMurray for cash; Fred spent a year in prison when he was younger. MacMurray shows him the door. Hall says he has a couple of other people who will pay him and leaves.... and then turns up as a corpse in Miss Lombard's state room.
It's a fine and shocking turn to the script, which is competently realized by William K. Howard. Although this is far more standard than the visual extravaganzas he headed at the beginning of the decade, DP Ted Tetzlaff offers some nice compositions in the ship's interior.