Her Highness And The Bellboy (1945)

A bellboy (Robert Walker) at a posh New York hotel and his co-worker friend (Rags Ragland) look after a poor crippled girl (June Allyson) who paints plastic Santa Clauses to make ends meet. But when a European princess (Hedy Lamarr) comes to stay at the hotel, the bellboy becomes infatuated. It's as mawkish as it sounds. What should have been a whimsical yet sweet natured adult fairy tale is needlessly padded out. There's even a dream musical number that stops the movie in its tracks. It might have helped if the film were shot in Technicolor to give it that candy box fantasy quality but the B&W cinematography keeps the film firmly on the ground. Poor Allyson is stuck with an unbearably saccharine part with nothing to do but quiver her lower lip as her eyes water. Lamarr is gorgeous but her sex appeal is hidden by both the ugly princess dresses she has to wear as well as the wholesomeness and naivete of her character. Directed by Richard Thorpe and with Agnes Moorehead (wasted), Audrey Totter, Carl Esmond and Warner Anderson.