Monsieur Beaucaire (1946)

King Louis XV of France (Reginald Owen) orders a member of his court, a Duke (Patric Knowles) who is the King's rival for the hand of Madame Pompadour (Hillary Brooke), to marry a Spanish Princess (Marjorie Reynolds) thus not only getting rid of him but the royal marriage between France and Spain will avoid a war. However, on the way to Spain the Duke switches places with his barber (Bob Hope) who must masquerade as the Duke at the Spanish court. Very loosely based on the 1900 novel by Booth Tarkington (MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS) which was previously made as a swashbuckling silent with Rudolph Valentino, this is broad comedy with Hope dueling with wisecracks and quips rather than swords. He's in top form here whether setting up trysts with ladies of the court or trying to avoid a poisonous glass of wine during a toast to the King. The production values are impressive, so much so that it's a pity that the film was shot in B&W rather than Technicolor. It's silly but the script is good and Hope takes full advantage of the material. Directed by George Marshall. With Joan Caulfield, Joseph Schildkraut, Cecil Kellaway and Constance Collier.